From crisis to care: Rethinking how Scotland supports people who hoard

For many housing professionals, hoarding only comes to their attention when a tenant or resident has reached crisis point. It happens behind closed doors, and the stigma associated with hoarding means that people can be reluctant to ask for help, or, if they’ve had a bad experience in the past, they are unlikely to ask again.  

This reluctance to seek help, as well as inconsistencies in approach and data recording across different local authority areas, means that we don’t have a true picture of the extent of hoarding, but it’s estimated to affect between 2.5 per cent to five per cent of Scotland’s population. That’s around 125,000 people – and likely to be underestimated. And behind each of those cases is not just an individual struggling alone – family members, children, neighbours and loved ones are often affected too. 

Why the current response is failing people 

Hoarding is not a lifestyle choice. It’s a recognised mental health condition. There are lots of examples of good practice, but too often the symptom of hoarding, the clutter, is dealt with through clearing the person’s home without a proper understanding of what has caused the behaviour or the aftercare needed to prevent it happening again.  

Clearing out the home of someone with problematic hoarding behaviour without tackling the root causes of the condition is not a long-term solution and is likely to lead to the behaviour recurring. At best it’s a waste of money, at worst it causes further trauma.   

A new Taskforce striving for change 

In 2024, the Institute for Research and Innovation in Social Services (IRISS) established a new Hoarding Taskforce in Scotland, bringing together people with lived experience and practitioners from across housing, health and social care, the fire and rescue service, police service, environmental health and the third sector to talk about what is working and what more needs to be done to shift the response from crisis intervention to transdisciplinary, person centred care.  

Over the last two years the Taskforce has hosted three stakeholder events with over 200 participants, carried out an audit of existing materials on hoarding to identify gaps in skills and training needs, and has now developed a manifesto setting out a clear way forward for the new Scottish government and delivery partners.  

What the manifesto calls for  

The core message of the manifesto is that there is a better approach, but we need strong leadership and partnership working to secure better outcomes consistently across Scotland. 

The manifesto sets out an ambition to: 

• Reduce suffering and improve outcomes and life trajectories for people who hoard, and others affected by hoarding
•  Shift expenditure from crisis to earlier intervention and prevention to make more effective use of funds across the whole system
• Support workers to respond confidently and competently.  

Key asks include:  

• The development of a national framework to improve consistency and accountability 
• Investment in training for staff to improve awareness of hoarding and better interventions 
• The collection of better data to improve understanding of hoarding and inform future planning and spend 
• Supporting vital third sector organisations, particularly those providing peer support.   

What can housing professionals do? 

Our key ask for CIH members is that you think about your own organisation’s approach to hoarding. Do staff have the right level of awareness and training? Are there clear policies in place and links with the right partners? Are your tenants getting the best outcomes?

None of us can solve the issue alone – but housing, health, social care and the third sector working together, with the right tools and the right leadership will lead to better outcomes and lasting change. 

You can read the full Hoarding Taskforce manifesto on the IRISS website.