Apartment fire underscores the importance of addressing hoarding conditions in a rental unit

Now is a good time to admonish landlords to be proactive when it is discovered that rental units are in an unsafe condition. If there are hoarding conditions in an apartment and the owner or their property manager knows about it, action must be taken to remedy the problem before a safety hazard results in calamity.

A two-alarm fire a 3-story apartment in San Francisco’s Cow Hollow neighborhood is a case in point. Initial reports from the San Francisco Fire Department indicated a hoarding condition that made it challenging for firefighters to battle the blaze. Tragically, someone perished.

If rental property owners or their agents have identified a foreseeable threat and turned the other way by doing nothing, they face colossal liability. This is true in every season, but we are especially concerned with the holiday season upon us as people use Christmas tree lights and candles. From our sad, hard-won experience, a rental unit can become ablaze in mere seconds or short minutes once materials are ignited.

Fire risks from hoarding are severfold and include:

  • Blocked exits and pathways: Stacks of belongings can make it hard to escape or for firefighters to enter during an emergency. This seems to be the case here.

  • Fuel for fire: Paper, fabric, cardboard, and other clutter act as fuel that helps fires spread quickly.

  • Electrical hazards: Overloaded outlets, buried cords, or blocked heaters can easily ignite nearby clutter.

  • Cooking dangers: Items stored too close to stoves, ovens, or other heat sources can catch fire.Delayed detection:

  • Smoke alarms may be obstructed or removed, and thick clutter can delay smoke detection and response time.

Maintaining the rental unit in a safe, sanitary, and secure condition is a dual responsibility of both landlords and tenants. Bornstein Law can help you evaluate whether a tenant simply has “too much stuff,” or whether the clutter is more serious and poses a safety hazard.

Whatever the determination on how serious the condition of the premises is, housing providers need to take action and not turn a blind eye to hoarding. This may include serving a 3-Day notice to cure, and/or a compassionate outreach campaign to family members or mental health professionals who can assist the tenant in parting ways with items. Bornstein Law can help housing providers evaluate the unit’s condition on a case-by-case basis and advise clients accordingly.

Above all else, we want landlords to respond immediately to signs of hoarding and not let it fester to the point where it becomes injurious or deadly to the tenant or neighboring residents.