Tackling Hoarding Cases in HDB flats

Recently, the issue of hoarding was discussed in the press. A number of my parliamentary colleagues and I filed Parliamentary Questions on the matter. In my PQ, I focussed on how the inter-Ministry Hoarding Task Force monitors and coordinates the “live” cases with the multiple agencies. My PQs and the responses of SMS MND, Ms Sim Ann may be accessed below.

— — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — — —

Mr Murali Pillai: To ask the Minister for National Development (a) what steps have been taken to date by the inter-Ministry Hoarding Task Force (HTF) to (i) identify HDB flats which are the subject of hoarding and (ii) tackle and alleviate problems posed by hoarding; and (b) whether a hotline can be set up for residents to report instances of hoarding at HDB flats to the HTF for investigation.
(Q.*3272)

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Ms Sim Ann) (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Speaker, a few preliminary matters, please.

First, I seek your permission to answer Question Nos 19 to 22 together?

Second, Members Mr Don Wee, Mr Murali Pillai, Mr Melvin Yong, Mr Desmond Choo, Mr Gerald Giam and Ms Joan Pereira have also filed questions on the same topic which are scheduled for today and tomorrow. My reply will effectively address their questions as well, and as such they may wish to withdraw their questions if their queries are answered today…

…[S]ir, compulsive hoarding is characterised by the excessive acquisition of items that are of little or no value and an inability or unwillingness to discard them. While hoarders’ homes may be filled from floor to ceiling with what most may deem as “rubbish”, they view these items as important and cannot bear to part with them. In the most severe cases, the hoarder may even rough sleep outside their homes as there is hardly any space left inside. Internationally, the Clutter Image Rating Scale (CIRS) is used to measure the extent and severity of hoarding.

The root cause of a hoarder’s behaviour is complex. For example, one’s hoarding could be a symptom of underlying mental health conditions like Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or developed after trauma or deep grief. Hoarding behaviours could also be exacerbated by social factors, such as disputes with one’s family or the stockpiling of collected items at home for one’s “karang guni” business. Hoarding strikes people of all ages. While hoarding is more often observed in the elderly, it is a behavioural trait that could have slowly deteriorated throughout adulthood and worsened as one ages.

Hoarding can happen within the confines of one’s flat, but can also spill out into common areas such as shared corridors. A hoarded home may be infested with pests from rotting food or pose a fire risk as occupants may be unable to escape in an emergency due to blockages to exit routes from the extreme accumulation of clutter. Hoarding that clutters corridors also obstructs evacuation routes for neighbours in times of fire. The emanating stench may also inconvenience neighbours and be a nuisance by preventing them from enjoying living in their own homes. These public health and safety risks and dis-amenities warrant state intervention for the well-being of both the hoarder and the community.

The Government has taken an inter-agency approach to address hoarding because of its complexity and potentially fatal public hazards. The Hoarding Management Core Group (HMCG), led by the Municipal Services Office (MSO), was set up in 2014 to coordinate efforts across agencies and resolve protracted and severe hoarding cases. The HMCG comprises HDB, NEA, the Animal and Veterinary Service (AVS) of NParks, SCDF, MSF, People’s Association and the Agency for Integrated Care (AIC).

In the Hoarding Management Framework (HMF), hoarding cases are assessed and prioritised based on whether there is threat to public health and safety. Where risks are identified to the extent that established rules and laws are violated, regulatory agencies will issue orders or take enforcement action on the hoarder or homeowner. For example, NEA may order the owner to remove items contributing to pest infestations in their home, while SCDF may order the owner to cease hoarding flammable items, such as fuel. AVS will also act against hoarding of animals within a HDB flat where animal welfare is harmed, or Town Councils may require owners to remove hoarding in the common areas.

HMCG considers community and social interventions in tandem with enforcement efforts. If the hoarder is suspected to have mental health issues, the hoarder will be referred to AIC and the Institute of Mental Health (IMH) for professional assessment and treatment. Agencies work closely with healthcare workers, community partners such as social workers from Family Service Centres, grassroots leaders, volunteers and the hoarders’ family members in a concerted effort to resolve hoarding cases. However, even with the involvement of mental health agencies and professionals, deep-seated issues may still result in recurrence as behavioural change is unlikely to happen overnight.

Nevertheless, HMCG has achieved some success, and as of the first half of 2022, we have managed to reduce the severity of 210 cases of hoarding and are actively monitoring these cases to prevent recurrence. If your family member is a hoarder, we seek your strong support on agencies’ efforts to declutter as family intervention has proven to be a major success factor in hoarding intervention.

Agencies are currently working on another 260 active hoarding cases. These complex cases remain protracted and unresolved because it is difficult to gain hoarders’ cooperation to declutter. Frontline officers face real tensions on the ground in balancing between the person’s individual right to choose how they want to upkeep their own home and their neighbours’ enjoyment of their own residences, especially in cases where the clutter falls short of outright legal violations, or do not meet the threshold for public health and safety risks as determined by SCDF and NEA.

In such cases, officers need to obtain the cooperation of the hoarder to help them declutter. This involves repeated engagements, persuasion and at times, referrals to social workers and/or mental health professionals. We have encountered cases where hoarders refuse to open their door for inspections or cooperate in decluttering — some may even threaten self-harm at the thought of losing their belongings. Even if their homes were successfully decluttered once, the clutter may recur as habits do not change so quickly.

However, as recent cases have shown, decluttering is needed not just for the communities’ safety, but to protect the individual’s safety. HMCG will continue to work hard at this problem. We empathise with neighbours’ frustration with the recurrence of inconveniences and disamenities, but also seek your understanding that the challenges and complexities in hoarding intervention require persistent efforts sustained over a long period, both on agencies’ and the hoarder’s part. To this end, agencies are committed to reviewing enforcement levers and acting more decisively on decluttering efforts.

We plan to intensify actions to keep corridors clear for passage. In the coming months, agencies intend to work with Town Councils to step up enforcement on cluttered corridors. In tandem, MSO will work with the media as well as social and grassroots workers to further spread and reinforce key messages through more Public Education on the dangers of hoarding and cluttered corridors.

We will also continue to tackle known cases of egregious hoarding within flats. We will work with agencies to assess risks posed by the worst hoarding cases. Where orders are issued for public health and safety reasons and hoarders are cooperative, we will proceed to declutter via the community-based approach with the assistance of volunteer groups. However, even in cases where hoarders are unwilling to part with their items, we will act firmly in the interest of public health and safety to intervene. We seek the understanding of the public that we cannot allow decluttering efforts to be blocked by the remonstrations of individuals who may be endangering public health and safety with their actions.

Lastly, HMCG alone cannot identify all hoarding cases. Residents who come across hoarding behaviour with public health and safety concerns may report such cases through the OneService App, which will then be referred to agencies for further assessment.

Mr Murali Pillai (Bukit Batok): Mr Speaker, Sir, may I ask the hon Senior Minister of State in relation to the approach of involving a number of agencies to tackle hoarding, how would it be expressed in practice? Would the resident know which is the lead agency that would be coordinating the efforts? And how would the resident know, in relation to steps that have been taken and also, in relation to the historical matters? Because some of these cases stretch back not just months, sometimes even years. How would the residents be assured that the historical facts are all recorded and being followed through?

The Senior Minister of State for National Development (Ms Sim Ann): In response to Mr Murali’s question, HMCG is a multi-agency effort. In practice, however, it would usually be the HDB officers that are interfacing with the case on the ground and it would also be the HDB officers who are interacting more frequently, for instance, with the neighbours or perhaps the grassroots’ advisor, or with the Town Council or whoever has been been raising the alert in the first place.

As for documentation, within HMCG, the various agencies consulted, depending on the specific details of the case, would contribute their inputs and at the HMCG level, we will be keeping a record of all the various cases. Also, I also want to take this opportunity to thank advisors, like Mr Murali, who has been following up closely with HMCG on various specific interventions.