The woman would have turned 87 in August, police said. 2UE Radio reported that a neighbour said the woman had not been seen for 20 years. The resident believed the woman had gone to live with her brother in Rose Bay, in Sydney's east. Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she did not know the woman who lived in the house. "We saw her many years ago, but assumed she moved away," she said. The neighbour added that she had last seen the woman about eight or nine years ago.

"We didn't know her and we don't think anyone knew her either." Another neighbour, David, said the neighbours on Kippax and adjacent streets always thought the house was vacant. "We've got three houses 20 metres from where I'm standing that have been empty at least the 11 years I've been here," he said as he stood on the corner of Kippax and Little Riley streets. We didn’t know her and we don’t think anyone knew her either "I've never seen anyone go in and out of that house ever."

David said all the neighbours in the area knew each other and had discussions about the properties they thought were abandoned. "We discussed the fact that these are empty valuable houses. I don't think you can do anything about it if people choose to live like hermits," he said. "I don't think there's an issue here. I think it's a quite a good community." Katherine McQurie, another resident, said: "One thing that has been annoying the residents around here are the vacant houses. We've complained to the council about rats." Another resident, whose property is behind the house where the bones were found, said he thought "it was an empty building".

The remains have not been identified, but the death is not believed to be suspicious. A coronial report will be prepared. Acting Superintendent Zoran Dzevlan of Surry Hills Local Area Command said it was sad the woman died without anybody noticing. "This serves as a reminder for people to keep a neighbourly eye on those who live in their area, especially the elderly," he said in a statement. "There are no other relatives we know of except for the sister-in-law," he told reporters.

"I do think it's usual [that no one had noticed] ... I think it's very, very sad."I believe there was a family dispute ... she was very reclusive." Acting Superintendent Dzevlan said the woman's mail had been redirected before 2003 to her sister-in-law but that had eventually stopped. Her electricity had been turned off years ago and she was still receiving a Centrelink payment that had not been touched. The house was locked and furnished but looked like no one had been in there for several years, supt Dzevlan said. Loading

Kippax Street contains mostly commercial properties with a short row of seven terraced houses at the top of the road. AAP and Glenda Kwek

