Melbourne woman recalls moment she found stranger living in her garage unnoticed for months

A tenant has described the moment she discovered a stranger living in the garage of her rental for months unnoticed because of her fear of spiders.  

Melbourne woman Kate Dood was moving out of her rental when her roommate asked her to remove the miscellaneous items in the property’s separate garage. 

Confused, Ms Dood told her roommate she did not have any belongings in the garage because she was scared of spiders – a ‘legit’ reason not to store anything in the space. 

The pair went to clear out the garage together and discovered a stranger had set up a home in the storage space. 

In a series of videos shared to her business account, The Loved Up Co, Ms Dood said the pair had ‘no idea’ there was someone living in the garage.

Melbourne woman Kate Dood shared a series of videos on TikTok explaining how she and her roommate discovered a stranger was living in the garage of the property they were renting

‘We went down there together to have a look to see what was going on and lo and behold, someone was living in there,’ Ms Dood said. 

‘We never saw the person in there at this time but you can see their slippers … their sleeping bag, their bucket and lots of other bits and bobs that point to someone being there.

‘We reckon that this person must have been living there for months in terms of things that she had stolen and bags of all sorts of stuff that were also found in the garage.’

Ms Dood initially thought her housemate was ‘pranking’ her and vice versa, with the pair calling each other’s bluff by enlisting the help of the police. 

The police came and after inspecting the items in the garage, determined someone had been living there. 

The garage was locked and a sign was put up instructing the owner of the items to call the police in order to collect their belongings. 

Ms Dood said the following day she saw an ‘incredibly dressed’ woman rip the sign off the garage and storm off. 

‘The next day, we saw her pull the sign off the garage door and obviously storm away, she was pissed off,’ Ms Dood said. 

‘I’m not too sure what happened to her after that but let me tell you, this woman was so incredibly dressed and so savvy.’ 

Ms Dood gives a tour of the garage and explains the items including a sleeping bag, slippers, washing and a toothbrush proved the woman had been living there for months (pictured, Ms Dood inspecting the garage)

Ms Dood gives a tour of the garage and explains the items including a sleeping bag, slippers, washing and a toothbrush proved the woman had been living there for months (pictured, Ms Dood inspecting the garage)

In another video Ms Dood gives a tour of the garage and explains the items which prove a woman had been living there for months.

‘That’s me in the background, looking around the garage, let me give you a tour,’ Ms Dood said. 

She begins by pointing to a long brown lounge which she claims was already there, however, the sleeping bag on the sofa did not belong to her or her roommate.

‘Under the chair there’s a bucket and some towels which is obviously I assume how this person was washing themselves,’ she adds.

‘Really close in the back there’s her shoes, they’re black on the side… we found out [all the bags] had been things she had been stealing from the market. 

‘Over here on the top [shelf] we’ve got Aeroguard, Listerine, toothbrush, hairbrush. I’ve no idea where these chairs came from. But the bag hanging [on the wall] is where she was keeping her rubbish.’ 

Ms Dood added a towel was also found outside of the door to the garage, leading them to believe it was the area where the stranger was ‘showering’. 

Ms Dood, who runs The Loved Up Co, said she and her roommate had 'no idea' the stranger was living in the storage space. Her fear of spiders meant she never stored any of her items in the garage

Ms Dood, who runs The Loved Up Co, said she and her roommate had ‘no idea’ the stranger was living in the storage space. Her fear of spiders meant she never stored any of her items in the garage

The videos shared in February quickly went viral, with many asking Ms Dood to explain just how she did not know someone was living there. 

‘The garage wasn’t attached to the house, it was down a side road. so unless you parked or went there everyday you wouldn’t know,’ Ms Dood commented. 

She explained the scenario, which some viewers labelled ‘terrifying’, happened seven years ago and even said if she knew the woman was there she might have let her stay.

‘Props to her for finding a place that was not getting used at all and using it,’ Ms Dood said. ‘In hindsight, would I have let her stay? Probably.’ 

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