How decluttering can make your home safer

Keeping large collections of items in your home – or hoarding – can impact on the safety of your home and the safety of your neighbours and visitors.

With National Hoarding Awareness Week around the corner (13-17 May), we’d like to take a minute to help you understand why people might hoard and where they can get support with hoarding behaviours.

National charity Mind defines hoarding as “having so many things that you cannot manage the clutter where you live, and find it difficult or impossible to throw things away.”

“We understand that tenants like to collect and keep items that they value, but we ask that all tenants keep these to a reasonable amount to ensure they don’t turn into a health and safety issue for you or your neighbours,” said our Head of Housing Donna Holmes.

Health and safety at home

You should try to reduce any clutter in your home, particularly if they’re items that can burn easily, such as newspapers and loose papers like household bills. Large amounts of such items can increase the risk of fire as well as the spread of it.

Ensure you don’t have objects blocking internal and external doors. They reduce the chances of you leaving your home quickly in the event of a fire. They may also make it harder for the emergency services to get into your property.

Hoarding can prevent you from moving from room to room easily, which can lead to an increase in the risk of injuries caused by trips and falls.

Having excess clutter can also make it more difficult to clean and tidy your home properly. This could lead to an increased risk of rodent infestations, as well as a build-up of dust and mould, which can create health issues.

Maintaining good quality homes

As your landlord, we need to access your property for routine repairs, maintenance, and electrical and gas safety checks to ensure your home is safe to live in.

Having excessive amounts of clutter can make it hard for our contractors to reach or look at certain parts of your home properly, which could stop them completing their safety checks.

Get support

If you feel like you need practical or emotional support for hoarding – or you have a neighbour that needs help – please talk to your Neighbourhood Team.

“Our Neighbourhood Teams work closely with other agencies to provide support to tenants, and help them prevent hoarding in their home,” Donna said.

You can also get information and help from: