Hoarding a big issue for Kiwis

Severe hoarding is affecting tens of thousands of New Zealanders and posing a fire risk to communities.

The first New Zealand study of pathological hoarding has found about 35,000 Kiwis are clinically severe hoarders.

More than 400 Canterbury residents over the age of 50 took part in the University of Otago study which found 2.5 per cent of them met the clinical criteria for pathological hoarding.

A further 56,000 people were likely to have sub-clinical hoarding behaviours.

University of Otago researcher Janet Spittlehouse said hoarding was a debilitating illness and caused significant distress.

Severe hoarders tended to have a persistent and significant difficulty in throwing possessions away regardless of their value, and experience distress in doing so, she said.

Participants were asked whether they had difficulty throwing things away and if it was stressful to get rid of things, Spittlehouse said.

‘‘There’s a certain percentage of people who hoard who don’t think they have a problem,’’ Spittlehouse said.

The study found that 70 per cent of hoarders were female, 40 per cent were unemployed and 70 per cent were on income support.

The study also found that 70 per cent of those with clinically severe hoarding were more likely to be single.

This was because it could be an isolating disorder, Spittlehouse said.

She said the numbers were comparable to hoarding statistics in the United Kingdom, United States and Germany.

Auckland City fire area assistant area commander Glenn Menzies said hoarders were a fire safety concern.

High levels of clutter made it easier for a fire to start and created a greater risk of fire spreading which increased the risk of injury or death, he said.

It could also lead to difficulties for firefighters tackling a blaze, Menzies said. ‘‘Our concerns with hoarders is the increased fire load in a house and when we get called out to a basic residential area the tactics are already in place.

‘‘When it’s a hoarding house those tactics can change,’’ he said.

Menzies said the priority was the occupants of the property but also to avoid damage of neighbouring properties.

While Fire and Emergency New Zealand did not keep a list of the hoarders in the area, firefighters knew where problem houses were, he said.

‘‘As a rule from a proactive safety side of things we offer free home safety checks and will install smoke alarms in the property,’’ Menzies said.

The Auckland Council compliance response central team leader Adrian Wilson said the council did not have a register or list of hoarders in the region.

Any incidents would be assessed on a case-by-case basis under the Property Maintenance and Nuisance bylaw, compliance with the Building Act or the Health Act depending on the incident, Wilson said.

‘‘No two hoarding cases are the same, and any action taken would be a result of breaches of the relevant legislation, rather than for being a hoarder.’’