Cohousing-L Mailing List: Re: Enforcing CC&Rs (Cohousing-L Digest, Vol 245, Issue 27)

[Sharon Villines (sharon]

> On Jun 23, 2024, at 10:22 AM, Kate C via Cohousing-L <cohousing-l [at] 
> cohousing.org> wrote:

> It might be helpful to remember that hoarding is a hard to treat mental 
> condition. It is possible that the hoarding or clutter is beyond the person’s 
> control, no matter how much they want to address it. It is possible that 
> there is great shame around it that may look like like defensiveness or 
> defiance. 
> You may want to check into 
> https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK519704/table/ch3.t29/
> Or an excellent general audience book called _Stuff_ by Randy O Frost, one of 
> the leaders in the field.
> That may be more than anybody wants to know, but if it helps even one person 
> or community, I’m glad to put it out there.

In support of Kate, this is not a CC&R issue. This is a mental health issue 
that must be dealt with for the safety and well-being of the community AND of 
the person with the problem. You are unlikely to be helping her by allowing the 
situation to continue and the problem will most likely worsen.

When community members have different standards and expectations — the lawn 
should be mowed every week or the lawn doesn’t need to be mowed unless it 
causes a problem with mice — then you can negotiate a lawn mowing schedule that 
is understood and acceptable to everyone (usually) — but this is very different 
than a hoarding situation. If nothing else you will have sanitation issues. 

A clause in the CC&Rs will only give you legal standing in a court of law. That 
might be inevitable in extreme instances, but it would take years to enforce. 
And everyone on all sides would be negatively affected. 

First, I would recommend using the resources Kate recommends to educate 
everyone on the nature of the situation. Then follow the advice given. The 
person’s family may be helpful or you may have to contact social services. 
Perhaps friends and family can do an intervention.

But this is not a CC&Rs problem.

Sharon
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Sharon Villines
Takoma Village Cohousing, Washington DC
http://www.takomavillage.org