A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Our Business is Property Management Orange County California
Why you need to treat Hoarders with care
Keeping rental properties clean and safe is a priority to
Landlords and Property Managers, but when you are confronted with a Tenant who
is a “Hoarder” The resolution to that problem may be difficult.
First being a Hoarder is considered a mental disorder by the
American Psychiatric Association
and Hoarders are a protected class and need to be handled with care under fair
housing.
What you will find with most Hoarders is that they try to
hide their disorder from others, by not having anyone enter their home. As a Property Manager, when you try and make arrangements for any repair or
inspection they will find excuse after excuse to avoid the contact. If that is
happening the Property Manager has a good clue that there is something going on
inside the unit and needs to carefully insist with compliance. If a Landlord or
Property Manager finds that a Tenant is a Hoarder, their first reaction can’t
be Eviction.
Again, remember the Hoarder is usually embarrassed that you
have found out about their disorder, so you need to handle them with care. Then
you need to sit them down and try to somehow accommodate them.
Safety and Sanitary Conditions
The important thing to stress to the Hoarder
is that the safety of all Tenants including the Hoarder is imperative. How do
you accommodate a Hoarder, Well that may not be easy, but it’s worth a try. And
once you find out you are dealing with a Hoarder, you need to start to document
all contact with them and all efforts you make to accommodate them.
Try to work with the Hoarder
One way to accommodate a Hoarder is to find some
storage space for them to use. That way you get some of the items out of the
housing area and into a separate area. That may not always be easy depending of
the extent of the disorder.
Next try and make reasonable expectations requirements to
the Hoarder a priority and stress to them that you need the Home to be safe and
sanitary. You don’t want to make it seem as though you expect a perfect
situation, but it must be safe for all including the Hoarder themselves and
make sure your discussions are sensitive but documented.
If the Hoarder does not comply with your reasonable
requests, then you may need to move to eviction. Remember, documentation is
going to be very important to be successful.
Trying to avoid Eviction is very important for both the Tenant
and the Property Manager or the Landlord. Hoarding can be a big problem depending
on the extent of the disorder and handling the problem with care is key to a successful
outcome.
A.D. Cantelmo Property Management
Specializes in Property Management Orange County Ca.