Shocking footage shows a landlord barely able to walk around a flat due to a tenant piling rubbish up to three feet high.
The woman left the property, in Qingdao, in China's eastern Shandong Province, buried under mounds of trash before moving out. The owner was left horrified at the scene when he entered. The landlord's daughter, only named as Han, said they were shocked to find the place had been left in such a bad state. Phone footage shows the middle-aged landlord struggling to walk around
The floor and all the furniture had completely disappeared under mountains of trash, such as toilet paper, takeout boxes and empty drink bottles. Han said they spent a full three hours and filled more than 20 bags of rubbish cleaning the place.
She said they had a female tenant in their 20s who had not lived in it for nearly a year, but still paid the rent on time. Recently, however, she suddenly decided not to renew the lease and hurriedly moved out, it is claimed.
The tenant is said to have told them she lost her key and asked them to let themselves in and inspect the place after she had gone. Han said the place was so littered with trash they wondered where the woman had been sleeping. She added: "We were very shocked." Incredibly, Han said she and her mum managed to transform most of the flat back to how it was.
Meanwhile, a hoarder's house in Lancashire was so stuffed full of rubbish cleaners had to use a ladder to enter through a window and they discovered mummified cats inside.
Professionals sent to the property estimated that the man who lived there had been piling up junk for more than 30 years and were horrified to find the bodies of several cats in amongst the rubbish. The cleaners said it was one of the worst cases they had come across.
Hoarding is a recognised mental-health condition but perhaps receives less attention than others as sufferers are often embarrassed of their surroundings and can keep the extent of the issue quiet. This example was uncovered when the homeowner died with no close family and an heir hunting company – Kent-based Blanchards – was tasked with finding any relatives and then clearing the home in February.