front door
What to Do When Your Tenant is a Hoarder!
âTerryâ was my first hoarder client. About 50 years old, he worked as a custodian at a high school in a small town not far from where I was living at the time.
He was a genuinely nice guy and proud of his collection of washing machines from the 1940s onward. Â
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Now, âcollectiblesâ to some people are pure junk to others. To Terryâs neighbors, his front and backyard, as well as the inside of his rented home had become a dangerous junkyard, complete with rats and other vermin that freely roamed the property.
The place was overflowing with, not just washing machines, but broken-down cars, airplane parts, toilets, sinks, you name it. In those years, he was known as a junkman. Today he would be called a hoarder.
He had received and ignored notices from his townâs code compliance officers to remove the items, and especially the things that made entry or exit from his home dangerous. With few window coverings, the homeâs interior was visible, piled to the ceiling with âstuff.â
His wife and children were living in dangerous conditions that Terry did not acknowledge. With the assistance of code compliance, they and their landlord arranged for a meeting at my office to work out a clean-up plan with Terry â or he would face prosecution.
I was asked to drive Terry to my office. In reality, behind my back, during our lengthy afternoon meeting, Terryâs wife â with the enthusiastic approval of the landlord â had embarked on something like an intervention. Later she told me: âI hired a disaster restoration company and told them to remove every last piece of junk from inside and outside the home. Anything of value was purchased by a scrap dealer.â
The crew did such a good job that when I drove Terry home, it took a few minutes before we could find his house!Â
I have to admit that it made me happy to see this crap gone and a bit of sanity restored to his family and the neighborhood. Terry got into therapy and did not repeat his hoarding behavior. He was lucky as there is a high relapse rate among hoarders.
But this was well before the psychology of hoarding became widely understood. Today, if the same things happened, some poor landlord â driven out of his mind by the insanity of having a hoarder as a tenant â could wind up being sued.
Hoarding Is Protected as a Mental Illness
Once called âjunkmen,â hoarders â whom landlords and officials agree pose major risks to the health and safety of not only themselves, but their families, neighbors and communities â are viewed as suffering from various forms of mental illness. This means hoarders are generally protected under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
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âThis is why it is so important for landlords and property managers to have proper language in their rental agreements that covers these types of tenants and scenarios,â San Diego attorney Evan Walker points out.
Rent Pro, based in Lancaster, N.Y., recommends that landlords consider adding what is called a housekeeping addendum to their rental leases in states where it is permissible. The addendum outlines the standards tenants are expected to meet, including such stipulations as:
- Floors should be clean, clear, and free of hazards that could lead to a trip and fall injury.
- Trash should be disposed of properly and not left in the unit.
- The entire rental unit should be free of anything that contributes to rodent or insect infestation.
- The kitchen should be kept clear of spoiled food and grease. Appliances should be kept clean.
- Pathways to front and back doors must be clear from furniture, appliances and debris.
- Front and back yards should be free of debris, trash, old furniture and appliances.
- Porches should be free of living room-type furniture.
- Parking lot/space should be free of grease and oil. Inoperative automobiles must be removed. No repairs of automobiles are allowed on the premises.
Violating these terms will subject the tenant to eviction.
âState law requires landlords to maintain habitable dwellings, and also requires tenants to keep their units clean and sanitary, disposing of garbage properly, avoiding excessive clutter and not damaging the property or using the premises in an improper way.â Walker said. âSo, when you are on notice that the tenantâs âstuffâ is blocking exits or doorways, interferes with ventilation or sprinkler systems, and attracts pests because of improper food storage â to list just a few â this could be a hazard for other tenants, and could be considered as a violation of the rental agreement and, likely, state law.  Â
âAt this stage, contact the tenant, point out what you have seen, and politely â but firmly â indicate that if the problem isnât resolved, you may have to file an eviction suit. Be sure you can prove that you have brought these items to the tenantâs attention.â
How to Build Your Case Against a Hoarder
Pasadena, Calif., property manager Jon Anthony Dolan says: âDocument everything! If the tenant will not respond appropriately and clean up the mess, you may have no choice but to evict them. So, begin preparing for the possibility now and document your correspondence with the tenant and keep detailed, chronological records. This means taking videos, photos, detailed notes which establish a record of the property’s condition. This material is critical to prove your case.â
You must be able to prove that notice to cure the tenant’s breach has been provided. Do this with a certified letter or with a letter hand-served on the tenant, and if no one comes to the door, have it posted on the front door, with photos taken. It is important to follow your state’s rules for Service of Process just to be sure you can establish giving the tenant every possible opportunity of curing the breach.
Important: You Are NOT Evicting Because They Are a Hoarder!
Dolan stressed the importance of understanding what you are NOT evicting them for. âYou are not evicting them because they are a hoarder, because if you use that language, it is a violation of Fair Housing laws, since mental illness is a protected class.
âIn addition to a possible violation of the rental agreement, often the hoarding behavior can be seen as a nuisance to other tenants if it substantially interferes with their use of the property. For example, filth that creates a pest infestation, and clutter in common areas can create accessibility issues for EMS personnel.â
Walker strongly recommends retaining experienced landlord-tenant counsel, âas hoarders are among the most difficult of tenants. They may be unlike any tenant you will ever have, and the risks of being sued for violating their rights are very real.â
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Caregivers Share Their Stories
My column on caregiving generated a number of responses from readers who offered their own perspectives. âPeople not in this situation donât have a clue, and that includes âexperts,â â writes Ken Jarosch, sole caregiver for his wife, Kathy, who suffers from muscular dystrophy. âI went to several care-giving classes, where we were served a nice dinner and a sunshine talk. But the real help came from the people in attendance, who actually live this.âÂ
Iâm devoting this column to advice from people who have found ways to cope with caregiving, starting with the Jarosches. The pandemic and labor shortages have made it hard to find home care, and Ken and Kathy donât want to be separated. Their solution: âA very good geriatric care manager who gives us emergency contacts,â says Ken. âWe do the best we can, even if itâs not perfect.âÂ
Allen Nixon was the caregiver for his wife, Eileen, who passed away of a rare disease. Nixon kept all of his wifeâs information in a folder by the front door so he could grab it âif we had to run to the emergency room.â Because Eileen had lost her ability to speak and write, Nixon realized that if he had a health emergency, she wouldnât be able to communicate with medical personnel. âSo I put all of my information in an envelope and taped it to the fridge.âÂ
To prepare for possible caregiving responsibilities in the future, reader David Gelb recommends that families âseriously consider purchasing long-term-care insurance for themselves and their parents (if itâs not too late).â With encouragement and input from their widowed mother, Gelb and his brother made a family decision to buy long-term-care coverage for their mother when she was in her sixties. When she suffered a stroke at age 87, the insurance âwas a godsend,â says Gelb. âKnowing that we had the finances covered allowed us to make well-thought-out, rational decisions.â
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Tricky Topics
Other voices have weighed in on handling tricky situations, such as how to raise the subject of future needs and wishes with parents or adult children. Meredith Stoddard, vice president for life events planning at Fidelity Investments, says that when her mother was cleaning house, âshe was focused on what would happen to her teacups.â Says Stoddard, âKnowing what she values makes it easier to follow her wishes. And having a conversation with a little levity makes it easier to raise other issues matter-of-factly.âÂ
The prospect of moving is another one of those sticky issues. In a survey by SeniorLiving.org, 31% of adult children said they would expect their parents to move in with them if assistance was necessary, but only 10% of adults older than 65 preferred that option (62% would rather live at home with care services).Â
If moving is necessary, itâs all in how you approach it, says Suzanne Asaff Blankenship, author of How to Take Care of Old People Without Losing Your Marbles. âIf we had talked to my parents-in-law about leaving Montana, they would have said no,â says Blankenship. âBut if we put it in the context of what they were struggling with, which was the winter weather or having to drive so far for health care, they were more receptive.â They eventually moved closer to Blankenship in Colorado.Â
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Postscript
Writing about eldercare has made me think that my husband and I need to share more of our personal information and wishes with our three grown children. Kids, hold us to it.
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