Councils call for ‘squalor squads’ to deal with Sydney hoarder homes
Some hoarders have been crushed under their own rubbish, mummified bodies were found beneath piles of junk and one house was filled with bottles of its owner’s urine. These are some of the horror hoarder homes across Sydney, which are now set to be targeted by local councils.
NSW
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Councils across Sydney are forking out tens of thousands of dollars a week cleaning up hoarder houses, prompting calls for specialist teams of “squalor squads” to be deployed across the suburbs.
In some of the worst cases hoarders have been crushed under their own rubbish, mummified bodies found beneath piles of junk and even neighbours moving home to get away from the mess.
Despite some councils spending as much as $50,000 a year on legal fees in a bid to stop hoarders, many told The Sunday Telegraph they are powerless to stop the scourge.
Instead they are calling for tougher new powers to deal with the issue, as well as specialist teams of mental health and cleaning professionals.
Councils are only allowed to forcibly remove rubbish if it “is causing or is likely to cause a threat to public health or the health of any individual”.
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Hills Shire Council wants this definition expanded to make it clearer “what is acceptable and what is not” – making eyesores easier to remove.
Canterbury-Bankstown, Hawkesbury and Randwick councils said there needs to be dedicated teams dealing with the problem citywide.
“It would be beneficial if the State Government was able to fund a local program that provides holistic support to people with hoarding behaviours, that includes behavioural change programs, case management, clean up assistance and ongoing access to appropriate wellbeing services to support the person to change the behaviour,” a Hawkesbury Council spokeswoman said.
While councils are reluctant to reveal how much of ratepayers’ money is being used to clean up the properties, Liverpool Council spent $20,000 last year in legal fees alone, while Parramatta ratepayers forked out $50,000.
Assuming Sydney councils spend an average of $35,000 each, ratepayers are forking out are at least $23,000 every week to fix the issue.
In the past decade Waverley Council has recovered $600,000 in costs in dealing with a notorious property in Boonara Ave, Bondi, with the actual cost to ratepayers estimated to be much more.
The council said squalor cases normally take extended periods of time to resolve as a result of appeal provisions available to the landowner.
In the case of the Boonara Ave property, repeated attempts by the council to have owners Mary Bobolas and her daughters Elena and Liana have the property cleaned up has seen police and courts involved on many occasions.
The most recent incident led to the two sisters being fined $5100 each in November last year after a magistrate found they had wilfully obstructed police during a court-approved council-led clean-up of the multimillion-dollar property.
“The removal of appeal provisions would enable faster clean-ups reducing hazards to both occupants and surrounding residents and dramatically reducing costs to all involved,” a Waverley Council spokeswoman said.
As director of cleaning company Living Fresh, Ahmad Merhi told The Sunday Telegraph he is still constantly surprised by how some people choose to live.
“I have entered homes where there has been so much junk I literally had to walk sideways throughout the whole home,” Mr Merhi said.
“It’s almost always the case that hoarders never call for help – rather it’s a fire, water escape or some other major event which means we come in.
“There’s definitely a massive level of frustration among neighbours but these cases are rarely simple.”
Presented with a list of solutions, NSW Local Government Minister Shelley Hancock declined to comment.
But one hoarder told The Sunday Telegraph it is not all that bad.
The man who lives behind a mountain of metal at a home in Marrickville said people need to lighten up.
“People who don’t collect anything don’t have any imagination, aren’t good with their hands and are too busy watching Netflix,” the man, who chose to remain anonymous, said.
NSW Labor local government spokesman Greg Warren said a proactive and cooperative approach between councils and local health districts would be the best solution.
“If a dedicated tip line was established in each health district, health professionals could then liaise with the relevant council to formally investigate the matter,” he said.
“Giving councils greater powers to act through legislative changes would be beneficial, however it is of the utmost importance that these situations be handled sensitively given the delicate nature of the situation.”
MORE SUBURBAN SQUALOR
Brereton Ave, Marrickville
Value: $1.6m
When the owner of this metal fortress first climbed out of his home onto the street, he told The Sunday Telegraph to “go catch the coronavirus”.
Ten minutes later he was boasting about his $150 metal cut off saws, the fact he knows where every individual item is and that his seemingly impenetrable wall of junk means he never gets visited by Jehovah’s Witnesses.
“People who don’t collect anything don’t have any imagination, aren’t good with their hands and are too busy watching Netflix,” the man, who chose to remain anonymous, said
The owner said a lot more people are hoarding now because of the coronavirus.
“People might be stressing about toilet paper but my stash is twenty years old and is covered in dust – I’ve got six months supply,” he said.
Near Ewart St, Dulwich Hill
Value: $1.5m
An occupant claims to be running an electrical business from its front yard but it’s hard to believe him when you see golf balls, tracksuit pants, a sea of styrofoam and a car submerged in the mess.
Neighbours say this elderly man’s home has been a rubbish tip for more than 20 years – but they just appear grateful he doesn’t collect perishable waste.
“If he was an arsehole it would be different but because he is such a nice guy, it is hard to get angry with him,” one nearby resident said.
“I’ve caught him going through my recycling bin a few times. He just doesn’t see that there is any issue with hoarding materials.”
Boonara Ave, Bondi
Value: $2.1m
Set among multimillion-dollar homes in Sydney’s eastern suburbs, this festering tip smells as bad as it looks. The 30-year eyesore sets the standard for Sydney’s nightmare hoarder houses.
The property is owned and occupied by three women from the Bobolas family who spend almost all of their time out the front interacting with hungry birds or in their backyard tent.
Waverley Council has recovered $600,000 in cleaning and legal bills but previous attempts to remove them to recover costs have been thwarted.
The council has called for the removal of appeal provisions to make clean-ups faster.
O’Neill St, Guildford
Value: $1.16m
To some this front yard is an artwork in the making, but to others it is an epic eyesore.
The property has been rented out by an artist and handyman for more than 15 years and appears to have enough disused fence palings to ring fence the whole suburb.
House proud locals were hoping the sale would prompt a clean up, but selling agent Matt Carpenter said the new owners have been happy to keep him there.
“The tenant has a good relationship with the neighbours and while the front might look that way, inside it is quite nice,” the Starr Partners Merrylands agent said.
“With sales like this it is all about the land value. The previous owner let the property get run down and the tenant was happy only paying about $300 per week rent in return.”
Greendale St, Greenwich
Value: $2.07m
It was the home with the ‘creepy’ owner that always looked derelict, but it was only when cleaners got inside this North Shore property that they discovered its dark secret.
In among shoulder-high stacks of newspapers, appliances and general waste, the mummified body of small-time thief Shane Snellman was found wrapped in carpet in May 2018.
The body had been there for a decade and was discovered after owner Bruce Roberts died from a heart attack the year before.
It was purchased by an expatriate family living in Singapore in 2018 in a deal overseen by McGrath Lane Cove estate agent Karl Ferguson.
Mr Ferguson said the property was demolished three weeks ago and will soon be put on the market – with DA approval for an extensive new home.
“During demolition I had at least 20 calls from local residents saying ‘thank god that home is gone’,” Mr Ferguson said.
Elizabeth St, Mt Pritchard
$500,000 (estimate)
Professional cleaner Ahmad Merhi has had some shockers in his time but a housing commission property in Mount Pritchard – where a person was hoarding their own bottles of urine and used toilet paper – was the worst.
“Our workers estimated there were at least 1000 German cockroaches in the villa as well as the most awful smells you can imagine,” Mr Merhi, the managing director of Living Fresh, said.
“It’s almost always the case that hoarders never call for help – rather it’s a fire, water escape or some other major event which means we come in.”
Blandford Ave, Bronte
Value: $3m
When this property was advertised for sale in 2017 the flyer came with a warning: ‘Enter at own risk’.
Located in one of the most picturesque streets in the eastern suburbs with water views, it was filled with an incredible amount of junk – much of it building materials.
It had been inhabited by longtime resident Ernest Towell, who died aged 67 after a long fight with cancer. He was well loved in the community.
New owner Kivan Derak sold the leftover junk and donated the proceeds to charity.
He paid $500,000 over the $2.5m reserve when he purchased.
Delamere St, Canley Vale
Value: $550,000
A woman living in this property literally fell victim to her own hoarding after she became trapped under piles of rubbish for 13 hours.
During the November 2019 incident NSW Fire and Rescue crews were forced to use hydraulic equipment to prevent more rubbish from falling on her.
There was so much rubbish – including 21-year-old Mars Bar wrappers and a Woman’s Day magazine from 1998 – crews were forced to pull out a window and a wall to get to her.
Neighbour Gary Bhurra told The Daily Telegraph at the time the woman’s husband refused to live in the home, instead sleeping in a white sedan parked on the front lawn.
Malabar Rd, Maroubra
Value: $2m
There’s a washing machine on the veranda, five cars out the front, more metal than a scrapyard and rats galore. The backyard is worse.
Residents say it’s nothing short of “depressing” and “revolting” living near this home Sydney’s eastern suburbs, which sits on a massive 522sq m block.
Locals say the pile has been building for more than 20 years yet their complaints to the council have gone nowhere.
Randwick Council claims “we don’t currently have any complaints about hoarder homes in our LGA”.
Single Ridge Rd, The Slopes
Value: $1.4m
Hawkesbury locals say this 2ha property at the foot of the Blue Mountains has been a junkyard for more than 35 years.
With the owner having connections with nearby tips, he has managed to collect enough old cars, appliances, glass and bottles, building materials, old caravans and other miscellaneous items to fill his own tip.
“It’s a complete mess but they have managed to avoid clean ups because they are so isolated,” one local said.