Recently, a rental tenant in Changchun, Jilin, dubbed as a “garbage person” by netizens, has drawn attention. The young male tenant was found to have his room filled with takeaway food containers and household garbage, prompting the property management company to dispatch two vehicles and over a dozen employees to clean up the mess all day long.
On June 4th, a tenant in Changchun, Jilin, was discovered to have his room piled high with takeaway food containers and household garbage. The resident had never taken out the trash, leading to a strong odor permeating the area, which resulted in complaints from neighbors.
According to the report by the Ningbo Evening News, staff from the Changchun Jun Chi Property Management Company responsible for managing the neighborhood mentioned that two vehicles and about ten employees were sent to clean up the room for an entire day. All the staff involved in the cleanup reportedly felt nauseated.
It was learned that the house was inhabited by a young individual living alone. The property staff urged the resident to maintain cleanliness and hygiene in the surroundings, with the property company also conducting a comprehensive disinfection of the unit’s floor and corridors. (Video link, note: the actual situation is that the young person did not move out.)
This video has sparked discussions among netizens: “Neighbors are so unlucky to encounter such a ‘garbage person’.” “This seems to be a mental illness, but many people do not consider it as such, and there doesn’t seem to be effective treatment currently available.” “Is the ability to take care of oneself so lacking?” “Why would a young person like this end up in such a state? Is it only happening in one place? How many such cases are there?”
A search on Chinese websites revealed that such incidents are not uncommon.
In May of this year, in Guangzhou, a young man rented a house and upon moving out, left behind a shocking amount of takeaway trash in the apartment.
The blogger who shared the video commented: “Is he poor? He ordered a lot of takeout food. Is he wealthy? He rented a small single room. The crucial point is that he has been living like this, with everything continuously piling up.”
In April, in Yiwu, Zhejiang, a messy tenant hoarded nearly a thousand pounds of urine, cramming bottles and containers all over the cabinets and under the bed, resulting in a foul odor in the room. It took three people nearly eight to nine hours to clean up.
On July 22, 2025, in Panyu, Guangdong, Mr. Xu, the landlord, reclaimed his property. After the tenant moved out, the room was left with piles of garbage that emitted a strong smell, making it impossible to open the door.
Mr. Xu mentioned that the female tenant, in her 40s, worked at a nearby garment factory and earned a monthly salary of over ten thousand yuan. Despite her appearance being clean and initially paying the rent on time, she left the room filled with trash when moving out, including unopened delivery parcels, takeaway trash, and clothes, making it hard to even step inside the room. The tenant claimed she “liked shopping but was lazy to clean up,” and even failed to pay the last month’s rent.
Mr. Xu had to spend 550 yuan on cleaning, with the refrigerator becoming unusable due to contamination, resulting in a loss of over a thousand yuan. He lamented, saying, “Reciprocity led to a ‘garbage house,’ which is absurd!”
In May of 2025, in Yiwu, Zhejiang, a post-00s female tenant left her rented room filled with garbage and foul-smelling feces when the landlord came to inspect the property, leading to a breakdown. The landlord had to hire three cleaners plus himself, totaling four people, who spent nine hours cleaning up, filling seven van-loads of garbage.
During an interview, the landlord expressed, “As soon as they opened the door, they quickly backed out, shocked. The three cleaners arrived first, and I followed. There was a layer of garbage on top, while the bottom was all feces. In total, there were four of us cleaning, with three cleaners and me, about nine hours, and we filled 6 to 7 vans.”
According to the landlord, there was no indication of the tenant’s behavior beforehand. She had beautifully done eyelashes and nails, with no one expecting this side of her.
In light of these incidents, some netizens speculate that these tenants may be suffering from “Diogenes syndrome.”
“Diogenes syndrome” is a psychological disorder where patients often have a hoarding compulsion akin to obsessive-compulsive disorder, collecting clutter at home; they also neglect hygiene, leading to extremely messy living environments resembling a garbage dump, yet they feel comfortable and content living in such conditions. Additionally, there are issues of social isolation, being reserved and disliking social interactions, with a strong desire for seclusion. While more commonly seen in the elderly (particularly those living alone), it can also occur in middle-aged individuals.