This guide is general information for NSW, not legal advice. Tenancy law changes, and every tenancy is different. For your specific situation, speak to NSW Fair Trading or a solicitor.
Agents ring us about hoarded rentals more often than anyone would guess. The property was fine at the last inspection, or the tenant has been there for fifteen years and nobody has looked properly in a while. Now there are piles to the windows, a smell in the hallway and an owner asking what happens next. The short answer is that it goes better when you treat it as a welfare problem with a property attached, rather than the other way around.
First, the person. Then the property.
Hoarding is a recognised mental health condition. The tenant is not doing this at you, and they are often more distressed about it than you are. Starting with a breach notice tends to produce denial and a locked door. Starting with a conversation, ideally in person and without an audience, tends to produce a plan. Ask whether they are safe, whether they have family involved, and whether they would accept help. Many long term tenants have nobody checking on them at all.
Inspections and notice, in general terms
In NSW a landlord or agent can carry out a limited number of routine inspections each year, with written notice of at least seven days, and can enter for other specific reasons with the notice the legislation sets for each. You cannot turn up unannounced because you are worried, except in a genuine emergency. If the tenant refuses access after proper notice, that itself is a tenancy matter, and NSW Fair Trading can explain the steps. Keep every notice in writing and keep copies.
Document what you see, calmly
Take dated photos of the specific problems, not the person or their belongings in general. The things that matter later are safety issues:
- Blocked exits, hallways or windows
- Material stacked against heaters, stoves or power points
- Damage to floors, walls or plumbing
- Pests, mould or sanitation problems
- Smoke alarms covered, removed or inaccessible
Write a short factual note after each visit. If the matter ever reaches a tribunal, a plain record of what was seen and what was offered carries far more weight than a long complaint.
Offer support before anything formal
Give the tenant a route that does not end in eviction. That can mean a reasonable timeframe to clear the safety issues, a referral to their GP or to community services, and the offer of a staged clean up that they stay in control of. Councils often have a community or aged services team that deals with hoarding and squalor, and WayAhead in NSW has resources for families. A tenant who is offered help and a fair deadline usually takes it. A tenant who is only threatened usually does not.
When Fair Trading and NCAT come into it
If the property is unsafe and the tenant will not or cannot act, the formal path in NSW runs through notices under the tenancy agreement, NSW Fair Trading's advice and dispute services, and, if it comes to it, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal (NCAT), which decides disputes about breaches and terminations. The tribunal looks at what was reasonable on both sides, which is why the record of offers and timeframes matters. Get advice before issuing anything. A notice served wrongly costs more time than it saves.
The clean out, and the staged option
Whatever the outcome, the property has to be cleared at some point, and the two paths look different.
If the tenant stays, a staged hoarding and squalor clean up with the tenant present and making the decisions is the version that lasts. Exits, the kitchen and anything near heat come first. We work room by room over one to three days, or over several visits if that is what the tenant can manage, and the property ends up safe without the tenant feeling stripped.
If the tenancy ends, the job becomes an end of lease clean out or, for owners putting the property straight on the market, a property clean out on a settlement timeline. We clear the whole property, set aside anything that is clearly personal or valuable for return to the tenant, separate what can be donated and recycled, and hand it back ready for the next stage. One fixed quote, agreed before we start, and the person who quotes is the person who runs the job.
Common questions
Can I just clear the property myself once the tenant leaves?
Goods left behind at the end of a tenancy in NSW have their own rules about notice and storage before they can be disposed of. Check with NSW Fair Trading before anything is thrown out, and keep a record of what was there. We photograph and list anything clearly personal before it leaves.
Will the tenant have to be present for the clean up?
If they are staying, yes, or someone acting for them should be. If the tenancy has ended and the property has been lawfully returned, no. Either way we work discreetly and in unmarked vehicles on request.
How quickly can a hoarded rental be cleared?
Most are one to three days once we start. Settlement and lease deadlines are normal for us; tell us the date and we will quote around it.