Hoarders costing councils thousands and creating deadly dangers
Councils are spending tens of thousands of dollars clearing squalid vermin-infested properties packed with junk and rotting food, while the MFB wastes resources battling fires at the hazardous properties. Now Melbourne’s worst hoarding locations can be revealed.
South East
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Hoarder homes across Melbourne are putting lives and property at risk, with fire crews called to emergencies at personal junkyards every four to six days.
The council clean-up bill for each squalid property averages $13,000, with one council splashing about $80,000 to clear six residential eyesores in the past two years.
A Leader survey of metropolitan councils has found scores of hoarder homes dotted across our suburbs, with broken-down cars, mountains of newspapers, old fridges, bits of machinery and overgrown shrubs and trees among the most common items littering yards.
Inside, homes are often piled high with more junk plus piles of household clutter and rotting food and goods, with vermin infestations common.
It comes after a massive blaze destroyed a home in Chelsea on February 4, with fire crews reporting “extreme” fuel loads at the hoarder house.
Metropolitan Fire Brigade’s head of community resilience Adam Dalrymple said hoarding and squalor posed a “significant risk” to firefighters and the community.
“High fuel loads can increase the size, spread, and severity of a fire and it can also make it difficult for occupants to escape, and can delay firefighters from accessing a property during an emergency,” he said.
Mr Dalrymple said the MFB worked with councils and other agencies to identify at-risk properties and increase safety.
MFB data shows hoarders aged 50 plus account for about a quarter of all preventable fire fatalities.
Of the 16metropolitan councils that responded to the Leader’s questions, Greater Dandenong reported one of the highest rates of hoarder properties, with 26 listed.
Maroondah Council has 20-25, Moonee Valley has 13 and Kingston said it had received about 1030 ‘unsightly’ properties complaints in the past two years, including some about hoarding.
Greater Dandenong’s planning spokesman Brett Jackson said they received 14 complaints in the past two years.
But getting these junk-laden properties cleaned up can be problematic, with hoarding often linked to mental health and welfare concerns. Most councils say they favour “education” over fines.
Maroondah Mayor Mike Symon said the council had spent $70,000-$80,000 clearing hoarder homes in the past two years, while the clean-up bill for four homes in Glen Eira hit nearly $54,000.
Planning spokesman Ron Torres said Glen Eira property owners were billed for the clean-up costs and said the council offered support and education to hoarders.
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Whittlesea council has spent about $25,000 cleaning up hoarder properties in the past two years, but planning spokesman Julian Edwards said occupants often begin hoarding again.
“We understand it’s a complex mental health condition … (and) where we can, we refer people to support services,” he said.
The council is part of the North West Hoarding Network of local governments and community health providers trying to find long-term solutions to hoarding.
It is modelled on Maroondah Council’s successful Maroondah Hoarding & Squalor Network.
Banyule, Manningham, Bayside, Wyndham and Yarra Ranges wouldn’t reveal how many hoarder properties they had, citing privacy concerns.
Some councils did not respond by deadline.