Scaling up S’pore’s neighbour dispute unit to tackle hoarding

SINGAPORE – The biggest hurdle in tackling cases of severe hoarding is convincing a home owner to accept help, which can take months.

But if the government unit that deals with severe hoarding and neighbour dispute cases can be expanded to more towns, such cases could be handled more effectively, some MPs told The Straits Times.

The Community Relations Unit (CRU), which allows the authorities to forcibly declutter such units as a last resort, started its one-year pilot in Tampines in April 2025.

It was formed at a time when hoarding cases were on the rise. As at June 2025, the inter-agency Hoarding Management Core Group and New Environment Action Team (NEAT) was working on 450 active hoarding cases, up from 253 in December 2021.

NEAT comprises 32 members from government agencies, community groups and private organisations. It helps to identify cases early, so that issues can be tackled faster.

The Hoarding Management Core Group and NEAT decluttered 308 severe hoarding cases as at June 2025.

MPs said the main challenge is persuading home owners to accept help, with many months sometimes spent building trust and engaging residents before they agree to have their flats cleared.

Jalan Besar GRC MP Shawn Loh recalled a hoarding case in Whampoa Drive, where water had leaked into the ceiling of the neighbour’s flat below.

Other neighbours also complained of a foul smell emitting from the unit.

“It took many volunteers and even bringing in a monk to assure the resident and to let us help her,” he said. The unit was cleared in May 2025 and the resident has stopped hoarding.

Loh is now monitoring around five severe hoarding cases.

“Some hoarders may not see what they’re doing as an issue. We have to sit down with them and empathise with them, and help them understand that their belongings may pose a safety threat to themselves and others,” he added.

Jurong East-Bukit Batok GRC MP David Hoe said it takes a whole-of-community effort – from neighbours to grassroots volunteers to family service centres – to engage and counsel hoarders.

He noted a recent case in which a resident had been sleeping outside her flat for four years because her home was filled with clutter stacked to the ceiling.

“The voluntary welfare organisation stepped in and took many months to convince the resident to accept help and allow the agencies to assist with the removal of items,” he said.

Hoe, who is vice-chairperson of Jurong-Clementi-Bukit Batok Town Council, had previously asked in Parliament whether the CRU could be deployed in more towns for severe hoarding cases that pose a public health or fire risk.

The CRU comprises officers with investigatory and enforcement powers to intervene in cases involving severe neighbour noise or hoarding.

In hoarding cases, neighbours can file a case at the Community Disputes Resolution Tribunals, which can order the hoarder to declutter his unit if the hoarding inconveniences them.

If the hoarder ignores the order, the CRU can obtain an order to forcibly declutter the residential unit, after all efforts from front-line agencies have been exhausted.

Hoe said the unit, if expanded to other towns, could help to intervene in more urgent hoarding cases where there is a safety or fire risk.

Loh added that while the town council can forcibly clear belongings obstructing a common corridor, it tries not to do so in most cases, as it prefers to get the resident’s consent.

It can also issue a fine to residents flouting the rule of having a minimum clear pathway of 1.2m along the common corridor, but oftentimes residents contest the fine, he said.

Tanjong Pagar GRC MP Foo Cexiang said that in his ward, neighbour disputes are more prevalent than hoarding cases, and the CRU would be useful in investigating and carrying out enforcement where needed.

Minister of State for National Development Alvin Tan told Parliament in October 2025 that the CRU had taken on five noise dispute cases.

Three involved people with mental health issues, and the CRU facilitated inpatient admission and treatment in one case.

Another case, which involved the deliberate use of noise to disturb neighbours, had abated after intervention by officers from different agencies. In the last case, both neighbours were directed to attend mediation.

Several MPs had raised questions in Parliament about the CRU, including Workers’ Party MP Abdul Muhaimin Abdul Malik, who asked about the effectiveness of the unit in addressing severe neighbour disputes involving noise and hoarding.

Chua Chu Kang GRC MP Zhulkarnain Abdul Rahim also asked whether keeping the CRU pilot in only Tampines will result in unequal enforcement in neighbour disputes compared with other towns.

One of NEAT’s members, Michael Sim, director of Ang Mo Kio Secondary School Social Move, said that when it comes to decluttering, hoarders are mainly concerned that cleaners do not sieve through their belongings and inadvertently throw away money and sentimental items.

The organisation assists in about 100 severe hoarding cases each year.

Most are in Housing Board flats, although some also involve landed homes. It also helped to declutter the Whampoa Drive and Clementi hoarding cases cited by Loh and Hoe.

“We will befriend them and assure them that we will keep an eye out for any valuables like money, gold, letters and photos,” he said.

“Our fear is intervening too late. In some cases, the resident dies inside the home – they fall or get crushed by their belongings – before we get to help them.”

Annabelle Chow, clinical psychologist at Annabelle Psychology, said hoarders tend to feel intense anxiety about discarding a potentially valuable item, and holding on to possessions becomes a way of reducing that anxiety.

“Hoarding behaviours can develop or worsen after significant losses, trauma or major life changes,” she added.

Hoarders may become defensive when they feel criticised, judged or pressured to change, she noted. Family members or volunteers should build trust with the hoarders by listening without judgment and involving them throughout the decluttering process.

“It is equally important to prepare the individuals for the clearance and involve them in decision-making,” she said.

“Without giving the individuals time to process the loss or participate in decisions about their belongings, a forced clean-up can be deeply distressing and may make them less willing to engage with future support.”

A spokeswoman for East Coast Town Council said it will engage the resident to understand his or her circumstances before issuing him or her a notice.

The town council had posted on Facebook in December about partnering various agencies and the family service centre to help a resident who had accumulated severe clutter and posed a fire risk.

She said the challenges they face include maintaining the resident’s trust in the decluttering process and the possibility of clutter recurring even after a clean-up.

“Hoarding behaviour can stem from underlying mental well-being concerns, so progress tends to be gradual, requiring patience and compassion from all parties involved. Engagement is usually an ongoing process rather than a single intervention.”

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