House of horrors - please help me see a nicer reason for this

[HouseOfHorrors]

Today I viewed a house, I knew it would be in bad condition and was a refurb job. It beyond disgustingly bad - even had a used needle on the floor.

However what has really freaked me out is every room in the house had a heavy duty anti-cut padlock on the outside of the door! Some rooms the padlock was still done up and the door had been broken to open the room and others the padlocks had been taken off and just hooked onto the one side of the catch.

Now all I can think is that people have been locked up their against their will and potentially drugged there. I've keep wondering if it was a unwilling prostitute prison house.

I'm a wuss at the best of times, so this has got me feeling sick. Please somebody come up with a reason why you would heavy duty padlock every room in the house from the outside, that doesn't include people being held against the will.

Is this post house going on the market? Is it in a rough area?

Also, just incase it could possibly help with ideas, there were multiple religious crosses on the walls in most of the rooms

Detox center that people have entered willingly but then need to be held during detox, is the best I can come up with. But even that is pretty grim.

It's in an ok-ish area, not rough but not particularly great. This house is now on the market, in that condition

They were storing the crown jewels in there? Stacks of cash from all their charitable fundraising?

It wouldn't put me off

I hope you're not going to buy it, OP!

Is it on property pal 👀

If it's vacant the owner / landlord may have become aware it was being used as bit of a squat or drug taking den or something and padlocked the rooms to stop people getting in and using it

So people can keep their stuff safe when they’re not in their room?

hollow I definitely couldn't buy it. I had a horrible feeling as soon as I entered the house anyway. Then felt sick at the padlocks. I couldn't live there.

And they wouldn’t need to be anti cut padlocks if they were for keeping people in

If the house had muiltple occupants, they have had had padlocks on the outside to stop other people/ visitors to the house breaking into their rooms when they were out

It could have been used as a cannabis farm or to house trafficked women. Do you know who the previous residents were and have you googled the house? Did it bring anything up? Did the agent have any explanation of it's previous use?

If not, I think I'd be telling the police about this. It feels like one of those stories like Elisabeth Fritzl, where people saw lots of odd signs, but wrote it off as too far fetched, so often opportunities to rescue were missed. If there were people being held there they might still be with the person who was holding them and still need rescue. Yeah, I think police.

(PS, I'm nosey, do you have pictures of the house, is it online?)

OP now I see also didn't think of the obvious answer either!

I'd imagine it was rented out by the room and the 'tenants' wanted to keep the room secure while they were out. Bit more likely than a sex trafficking ring IMO...

So people can keep their stuff safe when they’re not in their room?

Yup, a house that has been used as an unofficial HMO sprung to mind for me too from bitter previous experience. When I was younger I lived in many different houses of multiple occupation and this was often the way we would keep our stuff safe from others (I was in bedsitland long before the current legislation round HMOs were enforced).

Sounds like it was used as a squat. Padlocks to prevent more damage to rooms - copper piping is also valuable and people have been known to rip up floorboards to get to it, and pull out radiators to sell.

Won’t say how I know this person because it’s very outing, but their house has padlocks outside all the doors. It’s some weird security thing they have, they fear intruders and don’t consider normal locks strong enough. Very religious too, but no way is this their house as it is spotless!

As above, if you were locking someone in then you wouldn't need an anti-cut padlock really, would you?

Bit weird that they weren't removed for viewings though!

I assumed a HMO would have normal locks on the door so it could be locked from the inside too? There were no form of locks inside the rooms.

It is online on Rightmove but the pictures don't show the sheer number of crosses on the walls or any of the door locks.

The agents only comment on its condition was that it was an "ex-rental that has been badly abused"

Was it a HMO? So the rooms are locked when not let to prevent other tenants subletting?

I don't think I ever had a lock on the inside of any of the rooms I rented just padlocks on the outside.

The locks could have been used be to keep dodgy people/squatters out, who would otherwise help themselves to that room, break in or move in on their own accord. Especially if there are heavy drug users around. They might take over empty rooms.

However, I would have though that if unspeakable crimes occurred in that property, that the landlord/agent would have taken them off to avoid viewers being scared off?

Please post a link. I really want to see this house

I went to view a house with my brother once a few years ago and it had what we christened a murder door, it was a door at the end of the hall that lead to some rickety brick hut thing outside (that had no other doors and bars at the one window you could see) that had about 7 heavy duty sliding locks on it all with padlocks on! When i asked the estate agent what was behind the murder door he just ignored me, walked away or started a conversation with another viewer! My brother decided not to buy that one.