What To Do When Your Minneapolis Duplex Tenants Are Hoarders

We’ve all seen the television show Hoarders.

If you’ve owned a Minneapolis duplex for any length of time, odds are you’ve experienced your own real-life version of the show with a tenant as well.

Things are piled everywhere in their unit, rendering the furniture and countertops unusable.  There may be rotting food,  bugs or rodents. And most likely, there is little more than a narrow path between the piles and stacks of tenants belongings.

Most likely you’ve asked them to “pick up” with little to no result.

So can you evict a hoarder?

In a word, no.

According to Mayo Clinic, hoarding is “a persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possions because of a perceived need to save them”.

It is estimated that somewhere between 2 and 6 percent of the world’s population struggles with Hoarding Disorder (HD).

What’s the difference between someone with HD and someone who’s just a slob?

Hoarders have trouble parting with their things, regardless of value.

They build up clutter to the point where they can’t actually use rooms for their intended purpose.

Hoarders have trouble planning and organizing. They also have a hard time making decisions.

And, they are so attached to their stuff that they get upset and anxious just at the thought of getting rid of anything.

For over a decade, hoarding has been considered and diagnosed as a disabiltiy.  As such, it falls under the “protected classes” of Fair Housing laws. Rather than evict them, the housing provider must provide a “reasonable accommodation” to help resolve the issue.

Remedies may include the tenant working with a professional organizer, joining a support group or medication and therapy.

Of course, the housing provider isn’t responsible for paying for this.

If you’re a landlord in this situation, what steps should you take to move forward?

1. Visit the Minnesota Hoarding Task Force’s web site. You may also wish to call or email. This non-profit helps educate friends and family about hoarding, and has a directory of useful resources.
2. Find an attorney experienced with rental unit hoarding. That way, you can make sure you follow all steps correctly and legally.
3. Inspect the premises. As a housing provider, you have the right to inspect units to make repairs. Many times hoarders are too embarassed by the stuff in their units to allow landlords in simply to perform maintenance.
4. If there is evidence of unsanitary conditions, or the tenant repeatedly denies the landlord access to the unit, the landlord should try to set up a business meeting with the tenant. When the meeting occurs, try not to be argumentative. Rather, the housing provider and resident should find work together to try to identify and resolve health and safety issues.
5. Document every interaction with the tenant. That way, if you aren’t able to resolve the issue through the accommodations process, you will have evidence you tried.

The causes of hoarding are not known. However, according to Mayo Clinic, there does seem to be a higher likelihood of developing the disorder if a parent suffered from it as well. Stressful life events like death and divorce may also trigger the behavior.

Hoarders are frustrating for housing providers. Dealing with a resident with compassion and understanding may, in the end, be the only way to get the issue resolved.