UNDERSTANDING WHEN HOARDING behavior can be evidence of a disability is important for property managers.

The Virginia Fair Housing Office has created a pamphlet for housing providers with facts about hoarding as it relates to fair housing laws. Learn more and download the brochure at NVAR.com/hoarding. Some of this information is excerpted here:

For fair housing purposes, disability means: “with respect to a person, (i) a physical or mental impairment that substantially limits one or more of such person’s major life activities; (ii) a record of having such an impairment, or (iii) being regarded as having such an impairment.”

Hoarding may be a mental impairment that limits a person’s ability to conduct one or more major life activities – for example, caring for one’s self. Hoarding becomes a legitimate concern to housing providers when it affects the health and safety of the hoarder, other residents, staff and the property.

REASONABLE ACCOMMODATIONS:

Residents who are compulsive hoarders have the right to request reasonable accommodation from housing providers – even though they may not always ask for an accommodation. If the housing provider knows (or should have known) the resident is a hoarder with a disability, the law requires attempts to reasonably accommodate before evicting. At the same time, minimum health and safety standards must be met, even if the resident who hoards requests or is offered a reasonable accommodation.

The reasonable accommodation request will sometimes be for an extension of time, to bring the unit up to housing codes before lease termination or eviction proceedings begin. A plan of action included in the reasonable accommodation offer is a useful tool for holding the resident who is hoarding accountable and for documenting the housing provider’s efforts to accommodate the request.

HOARDING CHARACTERISTICS:

• Hoarders’ homes may have clutter/disorganization in what appears to be random piles or paths.

• Hoarders are indecisive about discarding items for fear of making the “wrong” decision or not being able to see their things.

• Hoarders are very private and may not acknowledge they have a problem.

• Hoarders are intelligent and include people from all backgrounds and walks of life, including teachers, engineers, rocket scientists and business owners.

• Hoarders are most often elderly women.

• Hoarders are frequently obese.

• Hoarders are not messy, lazy or defiant.

FACTS ABOUT HOARDING:

1. Hoarding is the excessive accumulation of items along with the inability to discard them even if they appear useless.

2. Hoarding and squalor are not the same. Squalor is defined as filthiness or degradation from neglect.

3. Animal hoarding involves accumulation of multiple animals. It is problematic because of fecal and urine smells, sickly or diseased animals, and lack of control by the pet owner/resident. (Concerns about animal hoarding should be directed to the SPCA.)

4. Studies show that 2 to 5 percent of the population – 15 million adults – is comprised of hoarders.

5. Compulsive hoarding may be a mental disability. A vast majority (92 percent) of hoarders also suffer from one or more other mental health disorders, such as depression, anxiety, OCD and social phobia.

6. Hoarders are often unable to use their kitchens and bathrooms as intended.

7. Hoarding creates health and safety concerns that may lead to lease violations: fire hazards; blocked entry/exit; trip and fall risks; infestations; non-working plumbing; and unsafe structural or sanitation systems.