Housing Associations are perfectly placed to help hoarders

Hoarding is as a complex mental health condition that was officially recognised by the NHS in 2013.

Symptoms include keeping or collecting so many things that it affects someone’s life or the lives of people they care about and not being able to manage the things they have saved but still find it very difficult to get rid of them.

The exact cause of hoarding is not fully known but is believed to involve genetic, neurological and environmental factors including trauma, family history and mental health conditions that often coincide with depression, anxiety or obsessive compulsive disorders.

Housing associations are perfectly placed to help

As hoarding takes place in the home, the sector is at the heart of the issue and perfectly placed to create a co-ordinated, compassionate approach.

Social landlords are permanent fixtures in tenants’ lives and ongoing relationships with them means we can offer long-term support.

Feedback from hoarding tenants and residents at 19 North West support groups say there is currently a very inconsistent approach from housing associations and local authorities when managing cases.

They say the language, approach, systems and support varies depending on the organisation and even differs depending on who they speak to at a specific organisation.

To combat this, Prima set up the Housing and Hoarding Innovation Group last year with 13 housing association members working on the concept of developing a national charter that will set out what people living with hoarding can expect from their landlord.

The charter will help registered providers to identify hoarders and develop methods of delivering appropriate support.

It will also help bring consistency to the sector so all hoarding tenants know the landlords that sign the pledge are going to treat them the same way, for example, train and educate staff and contractors.

What housing officers can do to help

Hoarding cases need managing carefully given it is a sensitive mental health condition while balancing landlords’ legal duty to ensure tenants and their homes are safe and compliant.

Access to gas and electrical checks are made more difficult by hoarding and it can cause physical health problems too due to unhygienic conditions, increased risk of damp and mould, infestations, health and safety hazards from reduced access and create an increased fire risk residents and their neighbours.

Helping hoarders takes time. There is no quick fix and the approach needs to be built first and foremost on building trust with tenants who suffer from the condition.

It can take up to two years to have a strong enough relationship with hoarding tenants so they can trust us to work with them.

This can be due to multiple reasons that are often emotionally driven that leads to shame, isolation, fear, anxiety, being overwhelmed and a feeling of hopelessness.

There is a physical impact on daily lives too that impacts health and safety, relationships, legal risks and financial strain.

More often than not, there is a fear that they will lose their home so reassurance is vital to make sure this does not add to their anxiety.

Small progressive steps are the key in most cases and lots of encouragement. An example can be setting small tasks and returning the following week to see progress.

It is important to understand that it is not about organising a skip and throwing everything out. While a lot can be let go, there will be many items that are sentimental and want to be kept.

In cases such as this, housing officers need to be able to negotiate with tenants about what they are happy to accept.

A clear home isn’t necessarily a success either as 97% of hoarders relapse. It is more about long-term support and letting them know they can take their time.

Sign the charter

The national charter will help reassure hoarding tenants that there landlord has signed up to follow an approach that will support them in a consistent way.

It has the potential to help hundreds of thousands of tenants given over six million people live in social housing and a conservative estimate from support group Hoarding Disorders UK that 2 – 6 per cent of the population are hoarders.

Experts suggest the true figure may be higher because so many people suffering from the condition become isolated and do not seek help.

So far Housing and Hoarding Innovation Group members are Alpha Living, Cobalt Housing, Family Housing Association, Livv Housing Group, Magenta Living, Onward Homes, Prima, Regenda Homes, Riverside, South Liverpool Homes, Torus, Westfield Housing Association and Wirral Methodist Housing Association and we want as many as possible to join us in signing the pledge.

Other landlords interested should contact Prima’s Jenny Devon