A Tasmanian couple’s $2 million investment property in Sydney’s Baulkham Hills has been reduced to an unimaginable scene of “horror” by nightmare tenants, leaving behind a biohazard so extreme that professional cleaners have described it as unprecedented.
The shocking state of the home, 31km northwest of the Sydney CBD, has exposed the devastating risks landlords face in Australia’s booming property market.
After months of dodging inspections, the tenants were finally evicted, revealing a house left to rot room by room.
Ashleigh Partsch-Isaako, a professional cleaner brought in to tackle the disaster, was confronted with a scene unlike anything she had encountered in her career.
“I need to fully suit up and put on a mask because not only is the smell bad, but we don’t know what’s underneath all this rubbish as well,” she told Seven News.
“It was like a horror. It was like I’ve never seen before.”
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Ashleigh Partsch-Isaako, a professional cleaner, had to wear a hazmat suit to clean the home. Credit: 7NEWS
The house has been left to rot room by room. Credit: 7NEWS
Partsch-Isaako has already completed $4000 worth of work on the property, with the owners now facing the arduous task of restoring the home themselves.
They remain utterly baffled by how their once-pristine investment could have deteriorated so drastically.
While such extreme cases in the private rental market are rare, experts warn that landlords always face inherent risks.
Leo Patterson Ross, CEO of the Tenants’ Union of NSW, commented, “When people invest in property in Australia, they often don’t take into account all of the risks that can be associated.”
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Spilt food in the kitchen. Credit: 7NEWS
Partsch-Isaako has already completed $4000 worth of work on the property. Credit: 7NEWS
He added that tenants responsible for such damage would likely face significant hurdles in securing future accommodation due to their record.
This private rental nightmare, however, is not an isolated incident in Sydney’s complex housing landscape.
A local community hero has recently exposed an even more disturbing case within the public housing sector, highlighting profound systemic issues.
Nathan Stafford, known for his community work with Nathan’s Lawns and Gardens, bravely shone a spotlight on a property in Constitution Hill, directly criticising Housing NSW for what he describes as a failure in its duty of care.
Mr Stafford’s confronting videos from the Constitution Hill home revealed a two-level, three-bedroom property transformed into a private tip.
Piles of rubbish, human waste, rat droppings, and rotting food consumed every inch, with the sole exception of a single mattress – the only resting place for its heavily obese occupant.
“It was a shock to my system when he opened the door. I didn’t know what was going to be behind that door,” Mr Stafford admitted.
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The tenants are likely to pay the price for their actions. Credit: 7NEWS
More mess in the main living room. Credit: 7NEWS
It emerged that the man’s mental and physical health had severely declined during the COVID-19 pandemic, leading to an intense fear of the outside world and a retreat into the squalor of his home.
Mr Stafford invested approximately $3000 in labour to clean the front of the property, but he stresses that this individual tragedy points to a much larger, systemic issue.
“Why would you give a man a three-bedroom, two-level home when there are so many families needing a roof? Who made that call? Why were inspections not done here?” he questioned.
He estimates that years of neglect will require at least $100,000 to restore the property to a liveable standard.
Progress is being made in the main living zone. Credit: 7NEWS
One of the bedrooms. Credit: 7NEWS
These grim realities in both private and public housing stand in stark contrast to Sydney’s red-hot property market.
Here, even rundown homes in highly sought-after suburbs are fetching astronomical prices. Recent sales include a Hunters Hill property selling for $4.925 million despite major overgrowth and cracking paint, and a Bronte home, dubbed “probably the worst condition house ever auctioned,” still commanding $3.835 million.
The figures highlight a peculiar market dynamic: buyers are willing to invest heavily in dilapidated properties for their land value, while the public housing system struggles to maintain its existing assets.
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