Are Hoarders Entitled to Protection Under Anti-Discrimination Laws?

Over the past decade hoarding has officially been considered a disability under state and federal anti-discrimination laws.  In the context of a hoarding case, the law requires the landlord to provide a “reasonable accommodation” to the tenant in an effort to solve the problem.  The landlord’s failure to do so creates a defense to an eviction lawsuit and exposure to liability under anti-discrimination laws.  Accordingly, landlords and property managers must handle hoarding issues with sensitivity and extra caution given the protections and increased liability exposure created by anti-discrimination laws.

What Is Hoarding?

At its essence, hoarding is the excessive accumulation of items along with the inability to discard them despite their apparent uselessness.  Hoarding characteristics include serious clutter or disorganization in living areas that compromises the space’s intended use; and significant distress or impairment when faced with the prospect of having to discard items, no matter how small or seemingly insignificant.  Hoarders come from all walks of life, although the disorder seems to be most prevalent in elderly women. 

What Protections are Afforded to Hoarders under Anti-Discrimination Laws?

Fair housing laws protect individuals, including renters, from housing discrimination.  The fair housing laws guarantee a person’s right to obtain housing regardless of race, color, religion, national origin, sex, familial status, or disability.  Additionally, many state and local laws prohibit discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. Hoarding is a mental disorder and therefore qualifies as a “disability” entitled to protection under these laws. 

A frequently occurring issue in the context of a hoarding case is whether the hoarder is entitled to a “reasonable accommodation”. A “reasonable accommodation” is the request for a waiver of a policy, practice, or procedure of a housing provider in order to provide equal access and opportunity for people with disabilities. A housing provider must grant a requested reasonable accommodation if it is necessary to accommodate the disability and does not create an undue financial or administrative burden.  To determine if an undue financial burden exists, HUD and the DOJ suggest that four factors should be considered:12 1) the housing provider’s financial resources; 2) the costs of the requested accommodation; 3) the benefit to the tenant; and 4) the availability of a less expensive accommodation.  Failure to provide a reasonable accommodation may be construed as discrimination.

Implementing a Plan of Action

In the context of a hoarding problem, the most common type of a reasonable accommodation is an extension of time to resolve the hoarding problem, combined with a plan of action for holding the resident accountable and for documenting the housing provider’s efforts to accommodate the request.  This involves documentation of the dwelling’s condition using objective criteria.  Specific lease and code violations should be addressed along with potential threats to health and safety.  The plan of action should be presented to and signed by the tenant and should include a reasonable time frame for the tenant’s completion of each task. 

Evicting A Hoarder

If the hoarding continues or the tenant fails to comply with the plan of action, the landlord may be required to institute formal eviction proceedings against the tenant.  Hoarding creates several possible grounds to support an eviction case, including health and safety concerns and other issues leading to lease violations, such as fire hazards, blocked entry/exit, trip and fall risks, infestation, non-working plumbing, and unsafe structural or sanitation systems.  The tenant may assert a failure to provide a reasonable accommodation as a defense to the lawsuit.  The court would decide the issue at trial of case. 

As eviction specialists, Lynx Legal Service has extensive experience dealing with hoarders.  Feel free to contact us with any questions regarding the above or if you need to start an eviction case.  We can be reached at 888-441-2355 or info@lynxlegal.com.