Living in landfill: Melbourne family’s decade of stink, loss, and frustration in Cranbourne area
Lenti Lenko and his sons Christian and Dominic are battling the same stench they tried to escape years ago after it moved into their new neighbourhood.
Melbourne’s Lenko family have been left vomiting and suffocating in the horrific stench of their local tip for more than a decade.
The family spent years living downwind of the Hampton Park landfill, which Environmental Protection Authority (EPA) data shows has prompted more than 1200 odour complaints in two years from residents of Cranbourne and Narre Warren South.
Lenti and Rachel Lenko bought a home in Hampton Park in 2009 after the real estate agent assured them that landfill was “not an issue”.
RELATED: ‘Rock star’ Melb home with seven-car garage in major sale
‘Bulletproof’: where Melb home price has risen 1300%
Foreign buyer ban just ‘political theatre’ in Melb
“They told us we might get a faint smell late at night, but nothing that would go inside the house,” he said.
“For two years, that was true, but by 2011, it was unbearable.”
Mr Lenko said he called the EPA to question the foul odours, but was told it was temporary — while the landfill’s operators said there was “no problem”.
The Lenko family lost $150,000 trying to escape the unbearable landfill odour only to face it again years later. Picture: Mark Stewart.
“My wife was pregnant, and the smell was so bad it made her vomit,” Mr Lenko said.
“It was like being trapped inside a rotting rubbish tip.”
The EPA later confirmed the landfill had breached environmental regulations, leading to ongoing community complaints.
Lenti Lenko said his wife was left vomiting from the smell while pregnant, yet authorities assured them it was ‘not an issue’. Picture: Mark Stewart.
After five years of complaints, the family cut their losses and sold their home before buying into Narre Warren South in 2016.
“We lost $150,000 moving to escape,” Mr Lenko said.
“We’d paid off half our house. We’d be debt-free by now.”
Then, on Mother’s Day 2019, the nightmare returned — after they had moved to their new home.
“I was hanging out the washing, and suddenly it hit me — that same disgusting smell, right in my backyard,” Mr Lenko said.
Furious, he contacted the EPA again, only to be told the issue was being monitored.
Hampton Park residents have endured years of suffocating landfill stench, with more than 1,200 odour complaints lodged in just two years. Image: Gemma Scerri.
With new expansion plans on the table, Mr Lenko said he feared the issue would grow worse.
“How many more people have to lose money, lose sleep, and lose their sanity before someone does something?”
“This landfill shouldn’t even exist in 2025. And yet, here we are, still fighting the same battle.”
Apollo Auctions Victorian head Andy Reid warns that bad smells could slash home values, and potentially leave homeowners unable to sell.
In July last year, the EPA fined SBI Landfill in Cranbourne nearly $20,000 after drone flights detected breaches.
But Mr Lenko said the fines were “a drop in the ocean” compared to the damage done to their properties and quality of life.
Apollo Auctions Victorian head Andy Reid warned that bad smells could slash home values, leaving homeowners unable to sell.
“If a price looks too good to be true, it probably is,” Mr Reid said.
“Bad smells create bad emotional responses, and that translates into lower property values.”
Sign up to the Herald Sun Weekly Real Estate Update. Click here to get the latest Victorian property market news delivered direct to your inbox.
MORE: Bayswater North auction action sparks warning to other sellers
RCA: AFL legend Rex Hunt’s D’Lish Fish to reel in new landlord
Insane tax amount Vic pays on new homes exposed
david.bonaddio@news.com.au