Community Issues Resource: Hoarding Edit page

When running a homeowners association (HOA), you’re bound to encounter people with different backgrounds, life stories, and conditions. It’s these things that add color and personality to your community. Other times, you might have to deal with issues like hoarding, which can be problematic for your community. Since hoarding is a delicate matter, it should be handled appropriately and discreetly.

Below are URLs to resources on hoarders and hoarding in an HOA community, and on how to address them, which may eventually require legal options. 

1. Hoarding - MC311 - Montgomery County Government (website)
2. Is Hoarding Against The Law? (article)
3. How to Deal With a Hoarder (article)
4. Hoarding In HOAs: Are There Regulations In Virginia? (article)
5. Issue Spotlight: Hoarding and Fair Housing (article)
6. The Legal Ramifications of Hoarding: What You Need to Know (article)
7. Legal and Ethical Considerations in Hoarding Interventions (article)
8. Hoarding In Your HOA: How To Fight It (article)
9. Hoarding is Now Considered a Disability (article)
10. The HOA and Hoarding: How to Handle Messy Situations (article)
11. How to Address Hoarding in Your HOA (article)
12. How to handle hoarders in a condo or homeowners association (Washington Post article)
    1. How to handle hoarders in a condo or homeowners association (CAI repost article)
13. What Should Your HOA Do to Prevent Hoarding? (article)
14. Handling Hoarders and Hoarding in the Community (article)
15. The Quiet Hazard: A Legal Look at Hoarding in Community Associations (article)
16. Tips for HOAs/Condos Dealing with Hoarders (article)
17. Hoarding vs Poor Housekeeping (article)
18. Hoarders in Your Community Associations: What Should You Do? (article)
19. How Hoarding Affects Property and Communities (articles)
20. 4 Questions Association Board Members Should Ask in a Hoarding Situation (article)
21. Hoarding – Understanding and Successfully Addressing the Problem (article)
22. HOA Hoarders — It’s Not Illegal to Live in Filth (article)
23. Hoarding and Hoarders Must Be Handled With Care (article)
24. Helping Someone with Hoarding Disorder (article)
25. Handling HOA Trespassing (article)
26. Montgomery County Task Force on Hoarding Behavior (2011 report)
27. City of Gaithersburg Hoarding Task Force
28. Hoarding 101 Training Presentation (presentation from the City of Gaithersburg Hoarding Task Force)
29. Hoarding disorders have increased during the pandemic. Here’s how to help a loved one who hoards. (Washington Post article, 2022)
30. Hoarding (National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) Emergency Response 
31. Correlates of Obsessive-Compulsive and Related Disorders Symptom Severity During the COVID-19 Pandemic (Journal of Psychiatric Research, 2021)
32. Maryland Hoarding (a locally-owned, woman-owned company specializing in hoarding clean-up)
33. Referral to Adult Protective Services if the adult who is hoarding is vulnerable, or if a vulnerable adult resides in the affected home.
34. Referral to the Montgomery County Behavioral Health Authority for limited funds to assist with heavy cleaning/organizing services for clients with hoarding concerns and who have a behavioral health case manager.  
    • Please email [email protected] for resources.

Updated: 04.15.2026
Posted: 06.12.2024