Article Courtesy of The Sun Sentinel

By Daniel Vasquez

Published June 3, 2009

Piles of garbage, dirty pet cages and other debris litter the condominium floor. But it's the putrid smells of unattended excrement, scurrying cockroaches and buzzing flies in the unit that make the situation potentially unbearable and unsafe for neighbors and possibly illegal.

Residents of the Palm-Aire Country Club Apartment Condominiums in Pompano Beach have complained to the condo association and even called in the fire department over the unit. Firefighters broke into the condo because no one was home at the time and they feared a dead body was inside, say association attorneys.

Now the whole thing is a matter for a Broward County court to decide. The legal action brought by the association spotlights a situation many condo owners deal with on a daily basis: residents who hoard items including garbage, in extreme cases and turn their units into domestic landfills.

The question for condo owners and associations: What can be done about it?

"Hoarders are not always the elderly. They can be the football coach or the secretary sitting at the next work station," said Gary A. Poliakoff, of the law firm Becker & Poliakoff, one of the largest in Florida representing community associations.

He is also the author of a new book due out in weeks on community associations called "New Neighborhoods," which offers insight on handling hoarders from a shared community perspective. "Associations can, as we have frequently had to do, get court orders allowing access to a unit to ensure that trash is removed, the unit treated for pests and that it is kept clean."

Because underlying medical conditions or mental illness can be the culprit in some cases, fixing things sometimes involves professional treatment. Nonetheless, Poliakoff points out, an association must always meet its legal responsibility to protect people and community property.

Florida condominium law (Section 718.113(3)) generally forbids unit owners from creating conditions that affect the safety of the community.

Offenders are sometimes sick or older people who have trouble taking care of themselves. That's why experts say handling them may take a combination of tact and persistence.

"In so far as the rights of a hoarder, we treat them as others with a handicap. Reasonable accommodations are given, but that does not mean they can create a nuisance or impair the safety, health and welfare of other unit owners," Poliakoff said.

Here is what a community should consider when dealing with a problematic owner:

Watch out for warning signs. Evidence of hoarding often starts with pest infestation or smells. Whenever possible, the association should try to work with the owner to clean up the property. When owners refuse to respond, an association could seek a judge's order granting access to a professional, such as an exterminator.

Document problems. Take photographs and write down a description of the conditions. You may need this evidence should an additional court order be needed to further address problems.

Work with others. It may help to call in friends or relatives of the unit owner. "In some cases family members persuade the unit owner to take charge, which alleviates the need for court intervention," Poliakoff said.

Daniel Vasquez can be reached at:

[email protected] or at 954-356-4558 (Broward) or 561-243-6686 (Palm Beach County). His condo column runs every Wednesday in the Local section and at www.sunsentinel.com/condos. You also can read his consumer column every Monday in Your Money and at www.sunsentinel.com/vasquez