Hoarding disorder and the legal system: A comparative analysis of South African and Dutch law.
Hoarding is an internationally recognised disability. Those who suffer from hoarding behaviour can be comfortably brought within the definition of disability found in the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and should be provided with "reasonable accommodation" where doing so does not place an unjustified burden on others. However, hoarding also poses a threat to public health, and hoarders' behaviour may infringe on the rights of their neighbours and landlords. Thus, through their behaviour, hoarders may ultimately come into conflict with various areas of law, including neighbour law, housing law as well as administrative law. This article examines how hoarding may be addressed by the law in both South Africa and the Netherlands. It seeks to answer to what extent hoarders are provided with "reasonable accommodation" when their behaviour brings them into conflict of the law in these two jurisdictions. It also takes cognisance of the need to balance the provision of "reasonable accommodation" with the rights of neighbours and landlords. Finally, it seeks to assess which of the two jurisdictions provides the most balanced approach to handling hoarding, in light of the need for therapeutic jurisprudence.
Mineral Law in Africa, Kramer Law Building, University of Cape Town, Middle Campus, Rondebosch, Cape Town 7700, South Africa.
Richard
R
Cramer
Department of Legal Methods, University of Groningen, PO Box 716, 9700 AS Groningen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: m.vols@rug.nl.
Michel
M
Vols
D003416:Criminal Law / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D000067836:Hoarding Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D006798:Housing / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D009111:Local Government; D009426:Netherlands; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D013019:South Africa
Disability; Eviction; Functional comparative analysis; Hoarding; Reasonable accommodation; Therapeutic jurisprudence