Handling Hoarders

Property Best Practices

By Erica Rascón on Jun 19, 2018 in News

Spring is a time for cleaning house and fresh beginnings! Unfortunately, spring cleaning isn’t intuitive or easy for some residents. Your intervention may be needed to keep residents and your property safe.

Hoarding disorder is the excessive collection of possessions. It is closely linked with obsessive compulsive disorder, a mental illness that affects nearly 3 million people nationwide. As a mental illness, residents that hoard are protected under the Fair Housing Amendments Act and the Disabilities Act. They must be cared for accordingly.

When It’s More than Just a Mess

When do you need to get involved? Some residents have different standards of tidiness, or they are avid collectors of certain items. Not all collectors are hoarders.

A few key risks identify hoarding behavior:

• A living environment that is dangerous to the hoarder, neighboring tenants, and the property
• Blocked access to emergency exits, hallways, and windows
• Blocked pathways to ventilation that may result in mold, mildew, and poor air quality for the inhabitants of the unit as well as neighboring units
• Improperly stored food items that attract and harbor pests

If a resident displays one or more of the aforementioned risky behaviors, an intervention may be necessary.

Staff Training 

To address hoarding properly, early detection is key. Regularly scheduled inspections for health code compliance, fire safety compliance, and smoke detector maintenance provide staff with reasonable access to units.

When risky behaviors are identified, promptly get assistance. On-site staff members do not have to be experts in the illness to help renters in need.  More than 100 task forces are available to assist you through the International OCD Foundation. Such organizations can help property managers assist residents with hoarding issues—without compromising health and safety for other residents.

Avoiding Catastrophe

Hoarding disorder is a mental illness and must be handled with sensitivity and professional assistance. Mandatory, involuntary clean-outs executed by staff members are not recommended.

Clean-outs do not address the root causes of hoarding. Trauma caused by forced cleanouts make the situation worse. The Health Department of Nantucket, for example, reported multiple deaths following clean-outs. The deaths demonstrating the delicate approach needed to assist those with compulsive collecting tendencies.

Evictions and Lease Preparations

Noncompliant tenants may face eviction if health and safety violations are present or in cases where the unit has suffered costly damages.

Evictions, when needed, prove to be costly. Clutter disposal, odor removal, and legal counsel are accompanied by considerable expenses. In many cases, the assistance of third parties–such as the aforementioned task forces–can cut costs for the property.

It may be wise to revise your lease agreements to protect your properties. All lease revisions must comply with FHAA and Disabilities Act guidelines. To ensure fairness and prevent claims of discrimination, issue the revised lease to all tenants prior to renewals and new contracts.

See the original version of this article for more details on how you can help residents with hoarding disorder.