Alleged Phoenix hoarder house: How trash, debris and rats fueled cycle of violations for historic home

PHOENIX - A decade-long cycle of trash, rats and court-ordered cleanups continue, as residents in a historic downtown Phoenix neighborhood are fed up with an alleged hoarder's house. The city is no stranger to the property and now Maricopa County is getting involved. 

The backstory:

One cannot ignore the character of the Frances Quarles Story Historic District. The downtown Phoenix neighborhood goes back 100 years, made up of around 600 homes constructed in the early 1920s through the late 1940s. The trees, variety of architecture and features have lasted several generations.

Liz Sisco has lived on Willetta Street for a decade. Over that timespan, she has taken issue with her neighbor, calling it a hoarding situation.

"We saw the inside very recently, and it is floor to ceiling, it is not clutter, it is not collectibles, it is not tchotchkes, it is garbage. It is actual garbage," Sisco said. "And there were officials there. The firefighters there were verbally expressing that no one should be living there, that it should be condemned."

The other side:

The owner of the home is Miguel Hernandez, and reporters were not able to knock on his door due to the entrance being gated and boarded up. Attempts were also made to call the homeowners as well, but no one answered.

What they're saying:

The clutter is clear, so what is happening with this 95-year-old home?

Maricopa County Environmental Services released a statement regarding the situation. It reads:

"Maricopa County Environmental Services is currently conducting an enforcement investigation at 1133 W. Willetta St., Phoenix, AZ 85007. Our responsibility is to investigate public health nuisances, such as conditions that may promote breeding sites for flies or rodents. During recent inspections, our department documented rodent activity and conditions conducive to rodent harborage around the home's exterior.

"Despite ongoing efforts to work with the property owner, these violations remain unresolved, and the situation has worsened in recent months. Consequently, the Department recently issued a Compliance Order and will evaluate further action if the property owner does not address the public health nuisances as required. We understand that the City of Phoenix is pursuing a court-ordered abatement to address violations of its ordinances. Because our cases overlap in several areas, we have maintained close communication with the City to bring the property into compliance as quickly and effectively as possible for the benefit of the immediate neighbors and the surrounding community."

When asked if she was surprised to know that, Sisco responded, "Absolutely not. I've seen rats crawling in and out, and with a lot of hoarder cases, especially those that are as extreme as this one, there is an odor that emanates basically all the time," Sisco said.

Meanwhile, the City of Phoenix is pursuing a court-ordered abatement to clean up the violations on the outside of the home. But Sisco has seen this situation play out before.

When asked how she would describe this process, Sisco stated, "A hamster wheel that we can't get off of."

The City of Phoenix provided an update on their enforcement actions, stating:

"The Neighborhood Services Department (NSD) received five complaints throughout the current case, opened Sept. 2, 2025. Four citations have been issued and adjudicated, and two more were issued with a court hearing scheduled for Nov. 5, 2026. In addition, NSD is pursuing a court-ordered abatement and coordinating with Maricopa County Environmental Services to address the ongoing exterior violations at the property. Prior to this case, NSD closed 14 cases, involving exterior violations such as litter/debris, inoperable vehicles, outdoor storage, and overgrown vegetation, since 2009. Most of those cases were closed after the owner brought the property into compliance, however two were closed after the city abated the property."

"Every time there's been an abatement, there is an influx of vermin and rats that hit the immediate neighbors first, and then within days, all of our surrounding neighbors start seeing a huge uptick in the rats," Sisco said.

The City of Phoenix could not speak to reporters about this specific case, but code compliance manager Bettina Gamez did discuss the enforcement process in general, and its challenges.

"We do have some limitations as it relates to the interior properties. Primarily, most of our codes do pertain to the exterior of a premise," Gamez said.

Arizona Law:

Under Arizona law, cities and towns have the authority to pass local ordinances that require property owners to clean up trash, weeds, and debris from private lots and nearby sidewalks. Failing to comply within a specific timeframe can result in a civil violation or even a Class 1 misdemeanor.

"For an abatement notice of violations, the property owner generally has about a 35-day time period to correct those violations," Gamez said.

Owner Responsibilities:

And if the city has to step in and has to do the cleanup itself, those costs are charged to the property. The owner must pay that money back over a period of one to 10 years, depending on how much is owed.

"There are times in which we come into challenges where there are some properties that, you know, ultimately are back in violation after a short period of time and some after many years," Gamez said.

Dig deeper:

That is exactly what happened with the Willetta house.

Sisco obtained the 2016 case report surrounding this home through a public records request and provided it to FOX. Back then, inspections noted an accumulation of trash and furniture littering the yard while neighbors complained about broken-down cars sitting in the driveway. Pest control also used traps to discover a rat problem around the home.

It took five months to secure a court-ordered abatement to get everything cleaned up. A cycle that has continued through 2026.

When questioned about the challenges faced when revisiting a property that shows a pattern of violations, Gamez explained, "When we come across properties that are in and out of violation, we have a policy that we have to stick to, but we do visit and review the history as it relates to that property. We have a recidivist policy, so a lot of what we try to do is education with our residents and our homeowners. But if we've exhausted, or we've already gone down a pathway of citation, then we look to our abatement process as an additional resource and tool to try to gain compliance for those violations."

What's next:

Sisco is exhausted from the process she has no choice but to rely on. She says after 10 years, health is now on her mind.

"What am I breathing and how safe is it for my family?" Sisco asked.

She knows the November court hearing could very well lead to another abatement, maintaining a pattern without a true solution.

"But if we're at a point where the home is objectively a biohazard, it's unfit for occupancy, and it is literally seeping out, and it's affecting the entire neighborhood, then at a certain point, a higher power needs to step in and help," she said.