They were determined to fake their deaths so they couldn't openly return to their previous house. That meant that they had to find a new place while simultaneously betraying Sheckel and planning their fake death.
Not only had they been multi-tasking, but they also had done all of it in a hurry because they didn't have much time to do it. Captain Sheckel would be impressed if she could overcome her instinctive discrimination against traitors.
As for their previous house, the important things had been moved out, and the house itself had been forced to collapse because of the generous use of bomb stones.
They did all of that in order to cut themselves off from the lamp bearers and the battle that will happen between the nobles and them.
