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Hoarders, Tenants, Landlords and Legal Requirements: Is Hoarding Illegal?
When providing an answer to the important question “is hoarding illegal”, you have to keep in mind that hoarders can do a great deal of damage to a property. If you own a rental property and a single hoarder lives there, the damage may be contained. Those who own multi-unit rental properties might find that all the units can be impacted by the actions of a single hoarder.
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Mental Health Considerations
It’s important to note that hoarding is considered to be a mental health issue. Hoarding is often a trauma response to a terrible loss. There are also indications that collectors turn into hoarders after developing brain lesions, tumors, or post-surgical brain scarring.
Safety and Hoarding Laws
Hoarding laws have developed over time because hoarders can create dangerous living conditions for themselves and others. Those who cannot bring themselves to discard newspapers may build dangerous stacks that can tip and cause them harm. Those who hoard food may be surrounded by spoiled, inedible products that draw pests.
Animal Hoarding
Denver hoarding laws also cover animal hoarding, which can lead to criminal prosecution. If you are a landlord or a property manager, it’s crucial that your lease documents limit the number of animals allowed in or on the property grounds. It’s also a good idea to add a housekeeping addendum to your lease documents. Requirements may include keeping paths to doors and escape routes clear. Appliance cleanliness can also be specified.
Protecting the Hoarder: Allow a Sense of
Control and Safety
Is hoarding illegal? Yes, and it’s often hard to confirm. If you are a property owner and a tenant is a hoarder, you may struggle to set a time to inspect the property. Hoarders often feel a great deal of anxiety about their possessions. The idea of someone else looking at them or judging the content of their home can be very upsetting.
Hoarders suffer a very high suicide risk. Nearly 25% of those with the need to hoard suffer suicidal ideation. Because hoarders tend to self-isolate and may be separated from family and friends by their behavior, it’s critical that anyone attempting to clean up the home of a hoarder work with mental health professionals and legal support.
It’s entirely possible that your tenant is without support from family or friends. You may need to encourage them to seek mental health support. If you choose to evict, make sure you reach out to neighborhood police to help you start with a wellness check, especially if the tenant is uncommunicative.
Protecting Your Business
You may be facing penalties, fines and legal actions if your tenant has contributed to dangers for neighbors of the property. Working with the police and other first responders is critical to protecting your business from legal action by a hoarder who is unwilling to get help.
Ultimately, your responsibility to the community around the property also needs to be addressed. A resistant hoarder who refuses help may require a professional intervention, including the help of the police. Get to know the neighborhood police officers and find out what other services may be available in your area.
Cleaning the Property
You may eventually need to hire a hoarding cleaning service to address issues at the property. However, entering the property to do a hoarder cleanup without the knowledge or approval of the hoarder can be quite dangerous. Even if the tenant has been evicted, they need emotional support. Professional mental hoarding help for their hoarding disorder may need to be implemented first.
Even as the owner of a Denver property, you may face legal action as you clean up the space. Take photos of the property and the items collected. If your property has been deemed unsafe or if the hoarder is facing misdemeanor charges, reach out to your attorney to reduce the risk of lawsuits.
Tackle Hazards First
To make an effective start on the hoarding cleaning process, start with hazardous items. Those who hoard food often have many products that are far past their “use by” date. They may have stacks of cans that are rusty or bulging.
Rent a dumpster and be prepared for multiple removal fees. Moving rotten or spoiled food to the dumpster will require a quick disposal; you don’t just want to move pests out of the home or apartment, you want them out of the neighborhood. Protect yourself by photographing samples of what you’re disposing of and why.
Once hazards are gone, you can start the cleanup of trash. Papers, including newspapers and junk mail, are a common form of trash present in hoarding homes. Because some of these papers may include tax returns and other private information, you may need to separate some items. Always take photos of items that you decide to discard. Be ready to box up critical documents.
Get furniture out of the Denver home, especially if there are indications of pest infestation. As rooms are emptied, hire professionals to drive pests out. Next, experts in deep cleaning services can help you prepare the space for painting, new flooring and other necessities. Be ready to get inside cabinets and closets.
Conclusion
Because hoarders are often struggling to manage their condition, you need to work with clutter cleaning professionals that can be gentle when directly contacting a hoarder. Hoarders can benefit from the care of a mental health professional, but getting them to talk to one can be tough. The professionals at Clutter Trucker have experience in working with hoarders and may help you judge the level of resistance you’re facing.
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About Jennifer Hanzlick
Clutter Trucker is a Denver-based hoarding clean-out company founded by Jennifer Hanzlick. Jennifer leveraged 15 years of corporate experience in to start the company in 2008. Her mission is to help and educate individuals and their loved ones who have hoarding disorder. A featured speaker at Ted X Boulder, Jennifer works directly with community and non-profit organizations to boost public awareness about the condition. To that end, she founded the Colorado Hoarding Task Force in 2015.
