A murder probe has begun into the deaths of a couple whose bodies were found in a Sydney granny flat.

The bodies of the man in his late 40s and a woman in her early 50s were found after police conducted a welfare check in the northern beaches suburb of Forestville on Wednesday night.

Neighbours had raised concerns because the pair hadn’t been seen since Saturday.

When police entered a rented granny flat behind a three-storey mansion, they found the bodies, both with lacerations.

Their cause of death remains unknown but detectives have not ruled a domestic-violence related murder-suicide.

“We are treating the investigation as suspicious at this particular point in time,” Detective Superintendent John Duncan said.

“All I can say is there are two bodies in there. They have got lacerations to them.”

Police also found two dogs and a cat, believed to be owned by the couple.

Neighbour Coco Hau said she had spoken with the man multiple times, as he had caught her kids climbing a tree that overlooks the granny flat and her home.

“The husband has got a hot temper,” she said.

“My kids sometimes climb up the tree and play with their dog and get told off a couple of times.

“I’ve realised it (the dog) hasn’t been barking for some time.

“His partner is very quiet, only the man … could be noisy.”

While the bodies are yet to be formally identified, the couple is known to have lived in NSW for a few years after moving from Queensland.

A white van in front of the property was also seized by police. Duncan did not comment on its significance to the case.

He appealed to the public to notify police of any suspicious activity in the area in the past four days, while noting it did not appear a third party was involved.

The granny flat is on a quiet road, a short walk from the local shops.

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Men’s Referral Service 1300 766 491

-AAP