“Hoarding: Buried Alive.” “Confessions: Animal Hoarding.” “Hoarders.” These popular television shows continue to sweep the nation highlighting the serious pattern of behavior where a person collects excessive items and is unwilling to let go of these items. Oftentimes a hoarder’s home may by be so full of “stuff” that there is virtually no room for them to live. This “stuff” typically consists of a mixture of personal property, food products and many times animals or animal carcasses. At what point does “collecting” become hoarding and cross the line becoming a health and fire issue? What can associations do if they suspect a hoarding situation?
- Adopt a policy regarding failure to discard large amount of possessions that appear useless and take up living spaces.
- Seek help from a third party i.e., Department of Health or Fire Department
- Take the owner to court
If you have questions about a hoarding problem or would like to draft a policy contact one of our attorneys today.