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Hoarding As A Mental Disorder: New Rights For TenantsThat Aren’t Sitting Well With Landlords

September 12, 2016 By Avery Associates

Hoarding as a mental disorder: New rights for tenants that aren’t sitting well with landlords

Global News
Three years ago, Steven Vassilev was thrown into the public eye and labelled a “hoarder” by some of his neighbours. His newspaper and book collection – some of it on his balcony – helped fuel a massive fire, sparked by a cigarette butt tossed from a tenant above. The apartment fire resulted in a successful $4.85 million class action suit against the landlord and property manager for not dealing with complaints that Stephen’s paper collection was a fire hazard.
The hallways in Stephen’s new apartment complex are thick with cigarette smoke. I knock on Stephen’s door, noticing the mail slot is covered with a facecloth pinned to the inside of the door. Waiting for Stephen, I can hear him moving things around inside. Finally, he comes to the door, opens it and greets me with a gentle smile and handshake. I glance over Stephen’s shoulder and see his apartment is filled with cardboard boxes, books, papers, electronics and a piano. He invites me – along with my colleague Katie, in.
I tour the small apartment and note that Stephen’s bedroom, living room, bathroom and kitchen are filled to the brim. There’s no furniture beyond a computer desk and a small bed. All the rest of the space is filled with boxes, bookcases, bags, electronics and clothing. We sit on chairs wedged into the narrow pathway Stephen has cleared through the piles of clutter.
Stephen has been called a hoarder – but he rejects this label. Rather, he calls himself a “collector”. He says that what he’s really doing, is collecting information that could one day come in handy. He says if he had just been given more space to store his stuff in his old apartment, the fire could have been prevented.
“I asked for a storage locker…I had things on the balcony and also some boxes in the living room, and perhaps a few from the bedroom that I wanted to see stored,” he says.
From what Stephen told me, it doesn’t sound like he plans on paring down his belongings any time soon but he says he is aware of fire safety regulations and plans to comply with them in order to pass inspection.

Read more – Are you a hoarder or just messy?
Despite the piles and piles of clutter, it is somewhat organized. It is also clean. His balcony is also cluttered, but there’s not a shred of paper in sight there. Rather, his two balconies are covered with metal objects, like electronics and a bicycle wrapped in tin foil to protect it from pigeons.
Stephen thanks me for visiting and for listening to his story. He is still hoping to get a bigger apartment to live more comfortably with his belongings but my guess is that even if he gets it, he will find ways to fill that space too.
WATCH: 16X9 Producer Hannah James explains why people who suffer from a hoarding disorder may have more rights now that hoarding has been recognized as a legitimate mental disorder.
Vancouver Island health authorities attempt to tackle the problem of hoarding

Filed Under: Compulsive Hoarding Tagged With: $4.85 million class action suit, Steven Vassilev, vancouver island

Our House Clearance Services

We provide a full house clearance and property management solution:

  • We clear hoarded houses, regardless how big or how cluttered
  • We clear all types and sizes of property, irrespective of location, or access is restricted or where parking is difficult or not available.
  • We can help avoid water damage by draining the central heating system.
  • We can secure the property and change the locks.
  • We can reinstate the gardens and maintain them whilst the property is empty.
  • We can provide 24 hour security to eliminate the risk of squatting or unlawful occupation.

As well normal house clearances we specialise in clutter clearance and we can clear a hoarded house which may contain years of accumulated possessions, or which have abnormal amounts of general household items, sometimes as a result of compulsive hoarding syndrome.

Equally we can help to clear a property where the occupants were previously unwell and unable to care for themselves or their property which sometimes results in insanitary, dangerous or just plain unpleasant conditions.

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Client Reviews

Feb 1, 2021
by Sally Thompson on Avery Associates
Sensitive House Clearance

You have done an excellent job, given that you had very little time. Brenda and I do appreciate how much you have done and feel it is really kind of you... Read More

Feb 1, 2021
by Sacha Hawes on Avery Associates
Hoarded House Clearance

I would firstly like to thank everyone at Avery associates for their hard work . We called Jeff after the sudden death of my father. He was a "hoarder... Read More

Feb 1, 2021
by Jennie Adams on Avery Associates
House Clearance And Search For Valuable Items

We are very grateful to Jeff and his team for carrying out a clearance on a very cluttered relative’s house. He fitted in with our timeframe organising... Read More

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Avery Associates
291 Mitcham Rd
Tooting SW179JQ

Tel: 0800 567 7769 or 0208 640 0044

Services provided throughout London and the Home Counties. View our clearance case studies.


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