Can you evict a hoarder

But while many people use the term casually, hoarding is actually a serious mental disorder that has serious health and social implications. And renting to a tenant who's a hoarder could seriously affect you as a landlord. If you discover that you have a tenant who's a hoarder, it's important to take action while also following the law.

And while a hoarding eviction may eventually be your best bet in this scenario, there are other steps you can take first. Here, let's walk through what to do if you're convinced you have a hoarding tenant on your hands. There's a difference between clutter and hoarding. With the former, there may be messy buildup and piles in odd places, but the home in question is still livable, sanitary, and safe.

In hoarding situations, your tenant's rental unit may be so filled to capacity that there's no room to walk and it's difficult to breathe. It's these dangerous, unsanitary conditions that should prompt you to take action as a landlord -- whereas if you have sloppy or dirty tenants, there's not much to do other than ignore them. You can't just kick a hoarder out of your rental unit. In fact, the Fair Housing Act prohibits you as a landlord from treating a hoarding tenant unfairly.

But extreme hoarding could result in a scenario where your tenant is damaging your property and creating a hazard for others. For example, if you have a tenant who's accumulated so many things that they're blocking vents, windows, and doorways, that could lead to mold issues , and as a property owner, you have the right to try to prevent that.

Similarly, if you rent to a hoarder who doesn't dispose of perishable food items, it could create a rodent, roach , termite , or other insect infestation in your building that extends to outside units, thereby impacting other tenants. Once you've recognized that your tenant is not only a hoarder but one who's creating an unsafe environment, your next step is to present your concerns and give your tenant a reasonable amount of time to remedy the problem.

The exact amount of time could vary based on your state's laws, but you'll want to document that conversation and time frame in writing. Hoarding itself isn't grounds for eviction. Rather, you'll need to prove that your tenant is in violation of his or her lease agreement in order to pursue a hoarding eviction. For example, if your tenant's behavior is causing damage to your property or impacting the health and safety of your remaining tenants, that's a good reason to go through the eviction process.

But that process can be a lengthy one. You'll need to serve your tenant with a formal eviction notice, give your tenant a chance to respond to it, file the eviction in court, go through a hearing, and wait to obtain a judgment against your tenant. If your tenant refuses to work with you, then eviction proceedings may be your only choice, but it's generally best to try to avoid eviction and instead find ways to help your tenant put an end to the specific behaviors that are creating an unsafe environment or lease violation.

It's considered a subtype of obsessive-compulsive disorder OCD that's characterized by the excessive acquisition of worthless items. Because hoarding has been officially recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, it means hoarding qualifies as a disability under federal and state anti-discrimination laws.

Therefore, hoarders are protected under the federal Fair Housing Act. Landlords, property managers, and HOAs must make reasonable accommodations for hoarders before considering eviction. For more information on accommodating tenants struggling with mental illness, check out this blog post: 14 Guidelines for Accommodating Mentally Ill Tenants. In most states, the landlord has a responsibility to provide a habitable dwelling. This duty is often referred to as the "warranty of habitability" and is implied in nearly every standard lease agreement.

In exchange, most states require tenants to keep their units "clean and sanitary. As a general rule of thumb, we consider a person to be "hoarding" if their behavior goes beyond clutter and exhibits the following issues:. If you suspect a person is hoarding, get in touch with that resident as soon as possible, before the problem becomes more pronounced.

Remind them of their lease obligations: To keep the unit clean, sanitary, and free from clutter. Perhaps there's a reason for the clutter. Maybe someone is preparing to move. Maybe the resident is temporarily housing furniture and other items while their parents' home is undergoing renovations. There may be a legitimate reason for the clutter, and hopefully, the matter can be resolved swiftly before it becomes a larger issue.

Consider ways that you might be able to help your hoarder tenant. Is there extra storage space in your basement that they could lease? Do you have a deal with a local facility that could offer them a discounted storage unit?

Sometimes there's nothing you can do to help. However, if it seems at all possible to extend a helping hand to resolve the issue, offer that carrot before reaching for the stick. In the worst case scenario, you might have to evict the hoarder tenant. It is estimated that somewhere between 2 and 5 percent of all Americans has the hoarding disorder. People who hoarder often believe they will eventually need the items or feel safer when surrounded by stuff, so the behavior is very difficult to stop, even when the sufferer understands that they have a problem.

Therefore, some compassion and understanding is warranted on the part of landlords dealing with this predicament. Advanced hoarding behavior can create an unsafe environment that is prone to catching fire, causing people to trip and fall, or causes people to become sick from a buildup of contaminants. Another consequence of hoarding is the increased isolation of the hoarder, not just from friends and family but from the entire outside world itself. This can lead to the hoarder becoming less in touch with reality and societal norms.

This in turn makes the disorder progress further. When hoarding makes accessing all the rooms of the living quarters impossible, the hoarder must forego such essential daily living activities as bathing and cooking.

After that may come pests such as rats and roaches. These pests can multiply rapidly so they will eventually become a nuisance for others in the community. For closely situated properties, like apartments and condominiums, having a hoarder among you puts everyone in danger of a house fire.

Furthermore, the clutter of a large hoard may make it difficult for fire fighters to access all areas of the property that need to be accessed in an emergency. This may make all the difference in rescuing someone trapped in a room from smoke inhalation or being able to douse the fire fast enough to prevent it from spreading.