DCC senior animal control officer Peter Hanlin confirmed a staff member helped the SPCA remove two dogs from "the address'' in 2014.
Mr Hanlin said they were removed because of the conditions they were living in.‘‘One dog was tied up underneath the house and the other was in that [6m by 4m, windowless chiller] container,'' he said.
The SPCA launched an investigation at the property on Thursday after it was called in by the new owner.
The new owner said he did not know how bad the house was before he bought it.
He said a dog had been locked in a chiller, which had been used as a kennel, and teeth-marks on the door showed it had tried to chew its way out.
The whereabouts of the animals previously at the house was unknown.
SPCA Otago executive officer Sophie McSkimming could not confirm whether any animals removed from the property by the former tenants were being looked after by the SPCA.
She was hesitant to make any comment for fear of jeopardizing the investigation.
She would not comment on any prior investigations.
"We are looking at this matter very seriously and we are investigating.''
A former tenant of the house was "not interested'' in talking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
The ODT visited the house on Thursday where animal mistreatment and squalid living conditions were evident.
The floors and walls were covered in cat and dog faeces, which looked to have been piled up to 30cm high in places.
The owner of a Dunedin property management company said, in his experience, this kind of behaviour from tenants, to this degree, was uncommon.
Property Scouts owner Milton Weir said prospective tenants with poor records targeted private landlords as they felt they might not have regular or thorough inspections.
The previous owner of the property, Lester Davey, of Waimate, had leased it privately.
"99% of tenants are great people and are great tenants,'' Mr Weir said.
"We have very, very few issues with tenants.''He had advice for private landlords.
"Always speak to the previous landlord ... [and] get on top of [any issue] as soon as possible. [Do not] let it escalate.''
