Municipal housing company empties wrong apartment in Kirkkonummi, destroying all belongings

A family in Kirkkonummi, Finland, has lost all their possessions after a municipal housing company mistakenly cleared out their rental apartment, reports Finnish public broadcaster Yle.

The company, Kirkkonummen Vuokra-asunnot Oy, had ordered a clearance of a deceased tenant’s apartment but provided the wrong address. The error led workers to empty an occupied unit in the same building complex, where the apartment number matched but the building number differed.

“Everything was taken—furniture, personal items, even the contents of the fridge—and crushed in a compactor truck,” said Juha Marjamo, the company’s managing director. He confirmed the contractor performed the work without verifying the correct unit.

Marjamo acknowledged the severity of the mistake, calling it an “awful situation” for the affected family. “This should never have happened,” he said, expressing regret on behalf of the company. The family, who lost all their belongings, has chosen to remain out of the public eye.

Local police in Western Uusimaa confirmed receiving a report on April 7 and are conducting a preliminary investigation. No further details have been released.