Channel-surfing one night landed me on the television program called Hoarders. Adult social services was intervening, and the families were at risk of losing their homes. The very next morning, I saw an article about an Ypsilanti Township public nuisance case where hoarding in a condo caused insect and rodent infestation. All this brought back memories of an emotional case I handled as a young lawyer.
The case involved an elderly woman whose apartment was jammed with possessions, rotting debris, and cat feces. The property manager realized there was a problem when bug infestation and odors spread into the hallway and other apartments. Before the hearing, the tearful property manager described the hours she’d spent working with the woman to try to get help from the woman’s family and social services. But without the woman’s cooperation, the problems continued and there was no choice but to seek eviction. The health and safety of all the tenants in the building was at risk. As we left the courthouse that day, the elderly woman was sitting on the courthouse steps.
All this prompted me to do a little digging. It turns out the compassion the property manager extended to the elderly woman in my case many years ago is something landlords might want to consider doing today.
For some time, state and federal regulators have recognized hoarding as a disability subject to fair housing laws. This became even clearer in May 2013 when hoarding was officially recognized as a mental disorder in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5). What does this mean for landlords?
If the landlord subject to fair housing laws knows or has reason to know that a tenant has a disability, it must offer reasonable accommodations upon request. The first step, however, before a hoarding situation develops is to have language in the lease that can be used to require a tenant to address hoarding. Roger Chard’s lease in the ICLE Formbank has good language to use in a hoarding situation (see paragraph 14 on Maintenance).
As far as next steps, reasonable accommodations in the context of hoarding usually means providing a reasonable amount of time for the tenant to clear and clean the premises. Landlords might also want to refer the tenant to community or social services that might assist. Many resources also recommend using remedy plans with scheduled inspections once the hoarding is discovered. Even after all that, however, the landlord might find itself in the same position as the property manager in my case with no choice but to seek eviction.