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We have a neighbour who hasn’t occupied the lot for several years. We got a police welfare check done and they found a scene from one of those hoarder/hermit shows on TV the entirety of the unit is piled to a height of about 600mm with rubbish, clothes, dirty plates, rotten food etc. The large rear garden has not been touched in the 10 years of ownership.
I can’t find any by law breach, or any legal compulsion to do anything to the inside of one’s lot. Is there any order that we can seek at a tribunal? we would go for S121 LGA as a health hazard, but there have been no vermin reported.
Thanks heaps,
- This topic was modified 5 months, 2 weeks ago by .
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Would this be a concern for your strata insurance? If the place is full of waste, some of it might easily catch fire. If there was a fire, would your insurance company pay your claim? Perhaps you can tell the owner that they would be responsible for the clean up and repairs.
If the rear garden is a mess, ask your municipal council to visit the site. They can tell the owner to clean up the outside of the house.
There are two model by-laws that might be used to seek orders to force a clean-up. The latter would apply to the garden. Issue NTCs then seek fines, then seek orders.10 Preservation of fire safetyThe owner or occupier of a lot must not do anything … on the lot or common property that is likely to affect the operation of fire safety devices in the parcel or to reduce the level of fire safety in the lots or common property.
12 Appearance of lot
(1) The owner or occupier of a lot must not, without the prior written approval of the owners corporation, maintain within the lot anything visible from outside the lot that, viewed from outside the lot, is not in keeping with the rest of the building.
The opinions offered in these Forum posts and replies are not intended to be taken as legal advice. Readers with serious issues should consult experienced strata lawyers.
We had a hoarder who literally had every room in his unit piled high with garbage 4-5 feet high. To enter his unit, he had to climb through a window to get in as his rubbish wouldn’t allow him to be able to open his door. He was on the ground floor
The only thing I can think of is the place is a fire hazard and you perhaps can report it to the local fire department to investigate and maybe they can enforce something.
For us, our hoarder got stuck between his front door and garbage on the inside and he was found dead a month later.
A neighbour detected a smell emanating from the unit and his body was discovered by the police. They had to break in through the window to discover the body. Sad story.
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