Hoarding and Tenancy Situations.

• Date: 01 July 2019
• Author: Feng, Judy

Dealing with hoarding in a tenancy situation involves a balancing act between a landlord's rights and a tenant's rights under the law. Under the Residential Tenancies Act (RTA), a tenant has the right to quiet enjoyment of their property. A landlord has a corresponding duty to make sure this right is upheld. A tenant also has a duty to keep their home in a reasonably clean condition. And a landlord has a duty to meet minimum housing and health standards in their housing premises. Hoarding situations can be especially challenging when mental disability or other human rights issues are involved.

It is estimated that 2 to 6 out of every 100 people suffer from hoarding disorder, which is recognized as a mental disorder in the 5th Edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Hoarding disorder is the persistent difficulty in getting rid of things and/or a strong desire to acquire things, resulting in extremely cluttered living space and significant impairment in important areas of functioning (for example, social and occupational functioning).

Hoarding disorder can present in different ways and can vary in severity. For example, a hoarding tenant may simply accumulate an inordinate amount of...