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Landlord discovers 40 years of hoarded rubbish inside £450,000 house he bought without even viewing
- Mehmet Koch, 33, first set foot inside the house in Finsbury Park, north London, this week after buying it at auction
- The four-storey property was shoulder-high in old clothes, toys and books, and he could not even get up the stairs
- House had been lived in by an elderly couple since the 1960s, and photos reveal poignant glimpses of family life
By HARRIET ARKELL PUBLISHED: 07:50 GMT, 27 June 2013 | UPDATED: 10:52 GMT, 27 June 2013
A landlord spent £450,000 buying a house at auction without setting foot inside it - and then discovered it was piled five feet deep in decades-worth of rubbish. Property developer Mehmet Koch, 33, bought the terraced house in north London as an investment with his brother Abbas. The elderly couple who lived there had not let him through the door, so when he finally got the keys this week he was shocked to discover the house was so packed, he could barely get up the stairs.
The house in Finsbury Park was filled with old clothes, dying plants, and poignant mementoes of long-gone family holidays
New owner Mehmet Koch, 33, right, was shocked by the scene that greeted him when he opened the front door - he had not set foot in the property before buying it
Mr Koch, whose firm Kaya Properties owns 10 homes in the capital, was shocked by the scenes that confronted him when he opened the door of the house in Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park. He said: 'I thought I was having a nightmare - I have never seen anything like this before.'We just said "How on earth are we going to clean this up?".'
Every room was shoulder-high in old clothes, shopping bags, discarded food wrappers, toys, and newspapers from years ago. Mr Koch could not get up the stairs, so packed were they with bags of junk.And the four-storey house, which has no running water, electricity or gas, stank.The new owner said: 'When we saw it, we just felt sorry for the people who lived here at first.
This ground floor bedroom is so full of rubbish that its door is wedged open - piles of toys, artificial flowers, books and an old biscuit box are among the items hoarded away
This bedroom on the second floor was also covered in old books and detritus from years gone by - a book by Tolkien, scraps of material, and old magazines and photos lie on the bed
This upstairs bedroom is completely impenetrable because of the mountains of rubbish piled up inside - the old children's wallpaper bears testament to the youngster who once slept there
These two photographs show the same staircase leading to the top floor, taken from below and above - the stairs are completely impassable because of the rubbish
'How could anyone live like this in the 21st century?'Neighbours said a reclusive couple in their 70s had lived in the house since the 1960s.
'We had come to see the property from the outside but the couple who live here would not let us in so we never saw inside,' said Mr Koch, who also lives in Finsbury Park.
'They had just been confined to one or two rooms and the garden was a forest.
'We're very worried we're not going to make a profit now because it needs so much work.'
Hal Davis, who owns clothes shop Guate Goat opposite the house, said he used to watch as the elderly couple got in and out of their front door. He said: 'To get out she would have to move about 15 bags and stick them on the door step outside and then the husband came out.
The landlord's cleaners have now thrown all the junk into the front garden, angering neighbours and the local council in north London's Finsbury Park
'Then the dog came out, and she would put all the bags back in.
'Then when they came back it was the same process.'
He added: 'I have been watching that almost every day for seven years but just had no idea what the inside of the house looked like until now.'The elderly couple are now said to be living in sheltered accommodation nearby.
The Kochs sent cleaners in to clear the property but have angered neighbours as the cleaners simply threw the rubbish into the front garden.
Islington Council has now told the landlords they will be prosecuted if the mess is not cleaned up.
A landlord spent £450,000 buying a house at auction without setting foot inside it - and then discovered it was piled five feet deep in decades-worth of rubbish. Property developer Mehmet Koch, 33, bought the terraced house in north London as an investment with his brother Abbas. The elderly couple who lived there had not let him through the door, so when he finally got the keys this week he was shocked to discover the house was so packed, he could barely get up the stairs.
The house in Finsbury Park was filled with old clothes, dying plants, and poignant mementoes of long-gone family holidays
New owner Mehmet Koch, 33, right, was shocked by the scene that greeted him when he opened the front door - he had not set foot in the property before buying it
Mr Koch, whose firm Kaya Properties owns 10 homes in the capital, was shocked by the scenes that confronted him when he opened the door of the house in Fonthill Road, Finsbury Park. He said: 'I thought I was having a nightmare - I have never seen anything like this before.'We just said "How on earth are we going to clean this up?".'
Every room was shoulder-high in old clothes, shopping bags, discarded food wrappers, toys, and newspapers from years ago. Mr Koch could not get up the stairs, so packed were they with bags of junk.And the four-storey house, which has no running water, electricity or gas, stank.The new owner said: 'When we saw it, we just felt sorry for the people who lived here at first.
This ground floor bedroom is so full of rubbish that its door is wedged open - piles of toys, artificial flowers, books and an old biscuit box are among the items hoarded away
This bedroom on the second floor was also covered in old books and detritus from years gone by - a book by Tolkien, scraps of material, and old magazines and photos lie on the bed
This upstairs bedroom is completely impenetrable because of the mountains of rubbish piled up inside - the old children's wallpaper bears testament to the youngster who once slept there
These two photographs show the same staircase leading to the top floor, taken from below and above - the stairs are completely impassable because of the rubbish
'How could anyone live like this in the 21st century?'Neighbours said a reclusive couple in their 70s had lived in the house since the 1960s.
'We had come to see the property from the outside but the couple who live here would not let us in so we never saw inside,' said Mr Koch, who also lives in Finsbury Park.
'They had just been confined to one or two rooms and the garden was a forest.
'We're very worried we're not going to make a profit now because it needs so much work.'
Hal Davis, who owns clothes shop Guate Goat opposite the house, said he used to watch as the elderly couple got in and out of their front door. He said: 'To get out she would have to move about 15 bags and stick them on the door step outside and then the husband came out.
The landlord's cleaners have now thrown all the junk into the front garden, angering neighbours and the local council in north London's Finsbury Park
'Then the dog came out, and she would put all the bags back in.
'Then when they came back it was the same process.'
He added: 'I have been watching that almost every day for seven years but just had no idea what the inside of the house looked like until now.'The elderly couple are now said to be living in sheltered accommodation nearby.
The Kochs sent cleaners in to clear the property but have angered neighbours as the cleaners simply threw the rubbish into the front garden.
Islington Council has now told the landlords they will be prosecuted if the mess is not cleaned up.
