When you’re a multifamily property owner, or the owner of any rental property, for that matter, you have to prepare yourself to be faced with and manage a great variety of people, personalities, and the challenges that can accompany them.

You can control and protect yourself and the property against the potential issues posed by people with bad credit, criminal records, and prior eviction lawsuits. What you can’t control are the unknowns that come with every other tenant.

Take Ms. Brown in 2A, for example. She moved in two years ago and seemed to be the model tenant. Always on time with her rent, quiet and respectful, and kept to herself. But, several months ago, she stopped coming out except on the rare occasion to take out the trash. Even then, other tenants noted odd behavior, and commented on the length of time it took her to discard the bag. Sometimes she even decided not to do so and returned with it to her unit instead.

It was when her neighbor in 1A started complaining of a smell wafting through the vents that it became necessary to take action. The owner, friends, and family are utterly shocked to discover the conditions in which Ms. Brown has been living, at least for several months, if not more. She has stacks of items grouped in every room in the unit. She is using every available surface to her to stack and store a wide variety of items—from old newspapers, bills, and magazines, to boxes and boxes of toiletries and paper goods. And, yes, the bags of trash are there as well.

Under the Fair Housing Act, a person cannot be discriminated against for his or her disability. This makes perfect sense, and most owners are adequately prepared to handle such situations. Did you know, however, that hoarding is considered a disability?

According to the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, “Hoarding is the persistent difficulty discarding or parting with possessions, regardless of their actual value. Commonly hoarded items may be newspapers, magazines, paper and plastic bags, cardboard boxes, photographs, household supplies, food, and clothing.” While it may seem like a harmless condition, the potential threats to a rental, and especially to multifamily properties, include:

• Damage to floors where items are stacked
• Interior decay from collection of trash and other items
• Fire hazards from collection of paper goods and flammables
• Obstruction hazards from the inability to get people in or get people in case of emergency

And these really just scrape the surface.

The good people over at AppFolio want to make it easier for property owners and managers to identify hoarding problems, and know how to handle the situation appropriately. So, they put together the following colorful infographic just for the occasion.

Source: AppFolio.com