Immediate action needed to remedy hoarding hazards
Q: I live in a townhouse beside a reclusive neighbour. I can see through the window that she is hoarding all sorts of paper in the unit. It seems to be covering the whole of the floor. I’m worried about a fire staring in the unit. What can I do?
A: It is important that the situation be investigated and resolved as quickly as possible to address this potentially dangerous situation. Hoarding can cause risks to the tenant living in that unit, as well as the other tenants in the rental complex. If there is a fire, issues caused by hoarding are hazardous to first responders who often find pathways and emergency exits cut off. You should inform your landlord of what you discovered so that they can take action. If the landlord refuses to take action, you could contact Ottawa Fire Services to ask them to investigate.
The Ontario Fire Code requires that there be free routes into and out of the unit and between rooms. It also prohibits combustible waste materials – such as old newspapers – from accumulating in quantities or locations that will constitute a fire hazard, including being left around heat and ignition sources such as stoves and baseboard heaters.
If a fire inspector finds these violations, he or she can issue a ticket against the tenant who has caused the violation or against the landlord (for allowing the violation). If a landlord has done everything he or she reasonably can to enforce the Fire Code (and can prove that), then the landlord is not likely to be found liable. Absent that due diligence, the landlord could be liable for any damages that occur. (This also applies to other safety issues such as maintaining the required smoke detectors in working order.)
When learning of a hoarding situation, a landlord’s first step should be communicating the concerns about fire safety to the offending tenant. Landlords will typically try to obtain a commitment from the tenant to de-clutter the unit and eliminate the fire hazard. If the tenant is a smoker, the landlord should insist that she not smoke in her unit prior to removing the clutter.
If the hoarding tenant fails to remove the hazard, a landlord ought to serve the tenant a notice of termination for an illegal act or for interfering with safety. Hopefully, that notice and a discussion can make it clear to the tenant that the issue is taken very seriously, and she will comply with requests to clean up.
If, after receiving a notice of termination, the tenant still does not comply, the landlord can apply to the Landlord and Tenant Board (LTB) for an order terminating the tenancy and evicting the tenant. On such an application, the LTB has to consider whether it is reasonable to save the tenancy. In a hoarding situation, the LTB is likely to order the tenant to restore and maintain safety in a short time frame, and to allow the landlord to come back to the LTB if the tenant fails to make their unit safe, or again creates an unsafe situation by reverting to their hoarding.
If the accumulation of newspapers is due to a mental disorder, the landlord has an obligation under the Human Rights Code to work with the tenant to try to eliminate the hoarding. The landlord should seek to communicate with her family or support worker to get help to resolve the situation. Assistance in communicating with the tenant may also be achieved with the assistance of Ottawa Public Health.