Inside hoarder house with piles of rubbish, 200 urine bottles & bags of faeces that left landlord struggling to breathe
The interior of a hoarder’s house, which left its landlord gasping for air, is seen in stomach-turning photos.
The Plymouth, Devon property is a filthy lair filled with hundreds of bottles of pee, mounds of trash, and bags of feces.
After the tenant refused to permit routine checks on the property over their two years of occupancy, landlord Jan Pringle ripped up the tenant’s agreement at the one-bedroom basement apartment.
When Jan eventually entered, the festering heaps of trash behind the door made it difficult for him to swing it open.
The landlord was also met with sacks of feces and vodka bottles full with urine that made him throw up; he had to put on “a mask and gloves” to cope with the stink.
“As soon as the door opened, it felt like a rainforest because it was so humid,” Jan recalled.
read more in news
Southport murders must be a ‘line in the sand for Britain’, Starmer says
“There was so much trash that we were unable to push the door open, but once we did, the smell was unbearable.
“I’ve never smelled anything like this before.
“I could smell the scent of a couple hundred sacks of feces and bottles of wee.
“It was so full with trash that I had to crawl over it while wearing gloves and a mask.
“Neither the bathroom nor the bedroom are accessible. There was a blockage in the toilet.
“Trash was decomposing. There were empty tins, eggshells, and takeaway boxes.
“It was garbage for two years.
“They must have spent the entire day sitting and sleeping in that small area of the sofa.
“The windows and blinds have never been opened, despite the lovely garden outside.
“If someone challenged me to make that much mess in two years it would be difficult.”
Since then, Jan has hired a forensic cleaning service to give the apartment a thorough cleaning before handing over the keys to the next tenant.
“I’m not upset with the tenant,” Jan went on. He has gotten past the net. The system isn’t working properly.
“He requires assistance. How someone can live like that is beyond me.
“It’s harsh that there’s no one there to look after him.”
The property was purchased by the proprietor in 2017 and is rented out for $575 per month without furnishings.
His new tenant had signed a six-month lease at first, but when it ended, they switched to a rolling agreement.
Hoarding as an illness
New recommendations for general practitioners have improved the diagnosis of hoarding as a mental health condition.
About 2% of people suffer with the disorder, which makes them so cluttered that they are unable to move about their homes.
However, because they frequently have additional mental health conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), very few people are actually seen.
To assist medical professionals in identifying and treating the disease, psychologists have now published a guide.
Prior to its recognition as a mental health disorder in 2019, hoarding disorder was categorized as an OCD symptom.
The new recommendations outline how physicians can identify it and provide therapies, and they were published in the British Journal of General Practice.
Although many people can relate to some of them, hoarding disorder symptoms include:
- Clutter in living spaces, stopping you from being able to cook, sleep or wash
- Difficulty discarding items to the point it is distressing
- Obtaining too many items to be able to get rid of them easily
- Clutter is so much it is distressing you or your family
- Clutter is impairing everyday quality of life
Jan tried his hardest, but he was never allowed to use the gaff.
“He wouldn’t let us gain access,” he said frankly.
In order to make sure everything is alright, we would typically check in every six months.
“Unless there is an emergency, we are not permitted to enter without authorization.
“I was afraid to exert too much pressure. I was concerned about the upstairs neighbor since he claimed that he had never left the apartment or taken out the trash.
“I asked some welfare organizations to check on him about six or seven months ago, but they told me there was nothing they could do because he hadn’t come forward on his own.
“As a last resort, we had to obtain a section 21.
Read More on The US Sun
Trump kicks off 1st day as President what’s in store for Don after inauguration
Moment Logan Paul captures podcaster falling off chair at Trump’s inauguration
“People accuse us of being the villains. I want to make it clear that the lack of available homes is causing the private renting sector to provide a service.
“I’m not able to sell. I probably would if I owned one or two properties.