Addressing insanitary living conditions including hoarding and squalor

The National Public Health Service – Te Waipounamu has a responsibility to address health risks caused by insanitary living conditions at a property – to occupants, visitors, and those living close by. This includes risks of injury, infection, fire, toxin spread, and respiratory issues. Staff work alongside Environmental Health Officers from local city and district councils who share the responsibility to make sure environments are safe and healthy.

Insanitary living conditions can be caused by:

• Hoarding;
• Rotting food;
• Animal or human waste;
• Insect or vermin infestation such as fleas, cockroaches, flies, ants, rats and mice;
• Offensive odours;
• Poor house maintenance including plumbing, wiring, or structural issues; and
• Issues with animals such as feeding of stray animals, or large numbers of animals.

Hoarding is a behaviour often linked to mental distress, but the experiences and circumstances are different for everyone. Hoarding can include accumulating objects while having difficulty discarding stuff, excessive clutter in living spaces which restricts use of the home, and significant distress or impairment of other social and physical functions. Sometimes it is a case of pathological hoarding or a matter of circumstance.

Efforts to address hoarding in Aotearoa and internationally has shown a coordinated interagency approach to addressing hoarding is the best practice.

A number of Canterbury services are available to support anyone who has hoarding behaviours – whether that is you, your whānau, a neighbour or a patient or client.

Documents

• Enabling Spaces: Supporting older people who hoard in Canterbury (Canterbury DHB 2020 – 6MB).
• Hoarding and Squalor Assessment Tools (Catholic Community Services NSW/ACT Australia).

Downloads

Download or order resources from the Community Health Information Centre.

• Spiders in New Zealand.
• Safer and Healthier Gardening.