A tenant has described the moment she discovered a stranger living unnoticed in her rental’s garage for months because of her fear of spiders.
Melbourne woman Kate Dood left her rental home when her roommate asked her to remove various items from the property’s separate garage.
Confused, Mrs. Death told her roommate that she didn’t keep things in the garage because she was afraid of spiders—a “legitimate” reason for not storing anything in the garage.
The pair went to clean out the garage together and discovered that a stranger had set up a house in the storage area.
In a series of videos shared to her business account, The Loved Up Co, Ms Death said the couple had “no idea” anyone was living in the garage.
Melbourne woman Kate Dood shared a series of videos on TikTok explaining how she and her roommate discovered a stranger living in the garage of the property they were renting
“We went down together to see what was going on and behold, someone lived there,” Mrs. Death said.
“We’ve never seen the person there at the moment, but you can see their slippers… their sleeping bag, their bucket, and a host of other things that indicate someone is there.”
“We think this person must have been living there for months in terms of items she stole and bags of miscellaneous items also found in the garage.”
Ms. Death initially thought her housemate was “framing” her and vice versa, with the pair bluffing each other by enlisting the help of the police.
The police came and after inspecting the stuff in the garage, they determined that someone had lived there.
The garage was locked and a sign was posted instructing the owner of the items to call the police to collect their belongings.
Ms Death said the next day she saw an “incredibly dressed” woman pull the garage sign and storm off.
“The next day we saw her pull the garage door sign and clearly storm off, she was angry,” said Ms. Death.
“I’m not sure what happened to her after that, but I can tell you this woman was so incredibly dressed and so savvy.”
Mrs. Death gives a tour of the garage and explains that the items, including a sleeping bag, slippers, laundry and a toothbrush, proved that the woman had been living there for months (pictured, Mrs. Death inspects the garage)
In another video, Mrs. Dood gives a tour of the garage and explains the items that prove a woman has lived there for months.
“That’s me in the background, looking around the garage, I’ll give you a tour,” Mrs. Death said.
She starts by pointing to a long brown lounge that she claims was already there, but the sleeping bag on the couch didn’t belong to her or her roommate.
“Under the seat is a bucket and some towels. I assume this person was clearly washing up,” she adds.
“Very close in the back are her shoes, they are black on the side…we found out [all the bags] had been things she stole from the market.
‘Here at the top [shelf] we have Aeroguard, Listerine, toothbrush, hairbrush. I have no idea where these chairs come from. But the bag hangs [on the wall] is where she kept her garbage.’
Ms Death added that a towel had also been found outside the garage door leading them to believe this was the area where the stranger was ‘showering’.
Ms Death, who runs The Loved Up Co, said she and her roommate had “no idea” the stranger was living in the storage room. Because of her fear of spiders, she never kept her things in the garage
The videos shared in February quickly went viral, with many asking Ms. Death to explain why she didn’t know anyone was living there.
‘The garage was not attached to the house, it was on a side street. so unless you parked there or went there every day you wouldn’t know,’ Mrs. Death observed.
She explained the scenario, which some viewers described as “terrifying,” happened seven years ago and even said if she knew the woman was there, she might have let her stay.
“Try her she’s found a place that doesn’t get used to at all and take advantage of it,” Mrs. Death said. “In hindsight, would I have let her stay? Probably.’