In a densely-populated high-rise or condo association where people share walls, halls, and amenities, residents' behavior can impose itself on neighbors every bit as much as noise and odors. 

When disruptive or unsafe behavior is caused by ignorance, or by someone simply being a jerk, that’s one thing; when it’s the result of mental illness, the situation is more delicate, even if the results are the same. Hoarding behavior may result in pest problems that can quickly spread to adjoining units. A neighbor suffering from dementia may leave a pot on the stove, causing a fire. Someone experiencing a psychotic episode may become threatening or even violent, endangering neighbors as well as himself. The question is, how should neighbors, management, and even the board handle these situations, and when?

Reactive, or Proactive?

For the purpose of this article, we’ll focus on the three main categories of mental health issues that most commonly impact dense, tightly-spaced residential communities: hoarding situations, elderly residents with cognitive decline and dementia, and others suffering from acute and/or chronic mental health issues that can cause them to exhibit inappropriate or violent behavior towards other residents, staff, or visitors to the building. 

While there is no single (or simple) answer for how a community should get involved with or help residents struggling with mental health issues, what the board-management team can’t do is ignore the situation—and the appropriate response depends to a great extent on the specifics of individual cases. 

“Conflicts are inherent in shared community living,” says attorney James Erwin of Erwin Law LLC in Chicago. “Whether the conduct is a result of an owner’s natural personality or a result of medical conditions affecting the owner, the association and its board cannot simply turn a blind eye. There may be a number of corollary issues to carefully consider, such as rights of free speech, the possibility of mental illness which might implicate human rights statutes, and criminal implications of the subject owner’s alleged actions. Your board, at a minimum, should be conducting an investigation and getting an experienced attorney involved.”

If, for example, a resident is walking the shared hallways late at night, shouting threats and obscenities, “The board should start by sending the owner in question a Notice of Alleged Violation,” Erwin continues, “giving the owner an opportunity to defend against the complaints at a hearing before the board (or a committee).” 

Another early line of defense is to contact a person close to the resident experiencing the problem, inform them of what’s going on, and ask for their help. That may be a family member, a friend, a clergyperson, or some other person closely aligned with the sufferer.

“The first thing we do is to try to find someone in the family who can help,” says Dan Wollman, CEO of Gumley Haft, a New York-based management firm.  “Someone to visit with them and see what’s really going on. They are the closest person to them and may have knowledge of the situation. Hopefully, they can take control.” 

Compassion + Communication 

In any situation involving a resident’s mental health, community leadership and management must tread a very fine line. Not only is it vital to keep the humanity and wellbeing of the unwell neighbor in front of mind, it’s also important not to inadvertently expose your board or management to potential liability by overstepping its role. 

Because of the potential legal ramifications in these situations, it’s crucial to reach out to your community’s lawyer immediately upon becoming aware of a mental health-related issue in the building and get their advice on how to proceed with respect to each specific case. “Do your best to listen and navigate,” advises one legal pro, “but do not try to be their therapist or counselor. Everything must be documented in case of future legal issues, so make sure you always respond with a proper written response. Most importantly, be respectful.” 

A Practical Approach

Unlike problems with a building’s physical plant, or even most legal issues, there’s no one-size-fits-all approach to dealing with mental health issues. It can be very seat-of-the-pants.  

When the vulnerable resident is elderly or disabled but otherwise capable of living independently with a little support, says Wollman, “We start with the practical option; we have the concierge, doorman, or other staff call up to the apartment twice a day. We go up once a day to make sure the person is okay. As staff and manager we are not a care facility, so there’s not much more we can do beyond that.” 

Wollman also notes that management, building staff, and even neighbors should be observant of what’s going on with their residents and neighbors—not to be nosy, but just as engaged members of the community. If a resident is hoarding, you might see vermin or detect odors. You might notice that a neighbor appears unbathed, disoriented or unkempt, which could indicate dementia, serious depression, or other issues. By the time such symptoms are obvious, things have likely already progressed to a serious place—so waiting to speak up and raise concerns will only make things worse. 

A Word on Violence

It’s crucial to know and remember that people struggling with mental illness are far more likely to experience violence than to enact it. That being said, residents’ concerns about sharing close quarters with an erratic or threatening person are valid. The professionals consulted for this story all recounted incidents in their client buildings and associations that called for more than just a wellness check or a little support from management. 

In any situation where a resident may become dangerous to themselves or the community, it’s always best to contact local law enforcement right away. Building staff, management, board members and neighbors should never attempt to intervene or confront a resident who is behaving violently or threatening violence.

Limited Options

As touched on earlier, the options available to boards and managers to intervene or take action when a resident is struggling with their mental health are extremely limited, primarily to contacting family or friends of the resident in question and doing what they can to coordinate with that contact person to effect a positive outcome for all involved. Even this can yield a mixed bag, however. 

“We have contacted family members in the past,” says one pro, “and tried reaching out, but it can turn into a tempest, because the person affected by mental illness may react badly and challenge you. And if they are still ‘functioning,’ it can become a difficult legal issue. There may be privacy issues as well, in terms of what you can say to family members because of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA).”

Hoarding & Dementia

In situations where hoarding is involved, the community is faced with a problem that could explode—both figuratively and quite literally, depending on what the resident in question is hoarding. Piles of papers, trash, and other debris can cause fires, as well as impeding first responders trying to access and move around the unit; animals and accumulated garbage generate foul odors, attract vermin, and promote disease; sometimes the sheer weight of a hoard can strain the infrastructure of the building itself.

According to attorney David Savitt of law firm Kovitz Shifrin Nesbit, which has offices in Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin: “As a general principle, owners are required under the governing documents of their association to keep their units in good, habitable condition. Because hoarding can put others’ health and safety at risk, boards have a myriad of options to address the problem. Specifically, the board may, with the consent of the hoarding owner, access the unit to conduct an inspection and determine the extent of damage and work that may be required (i.e., electrical, plumbing, cleaning, extermination, etc.) to return the unit to a habitable condition. Depending on the severity of the hoarding, the board may elect to levy reasonable fines against the owner to encourage prompt cleaning of the unit. 

“Additionally, the board should consult the governing documents of the association to determine whether costs incurred by the association to clean/repair the unit can be charged back to the hoarding owner. If the hoarding owner is cooperative, the board can handle this situation internally; however, circumstances may warrant obtaining a court order to compel access to the unit and compliance with the board’s demands.”

A situation that often goes hand in hand with hoarding is perhaps the most difficult for everyone in a building community, from neighbors to administrators: a long-treasured resident becomes incapacitated by dementia or other cognitive issues. 

Having engaged family members near at hand to help oversee day-to-day care and monitor an aging resident’s safety is hugely helpful, but that’s often not the situation. In the absence of relatives, empowered friends or legal guardians, boards and managers can find themselves with few options open to either help their struggling neighbor or protect other residents from the fallout of that neighbor’s deteriorating condition. 

According to legal pros, most boards won’t undertake an action to impose a legal guardianship, even when the resident could be a danger to the community (by leaving a stove unattended, for example). In order to seek an involuntary guardianship, someone has to file a petition in court. There are costs and expenses associated with preparation and filing that petition, and the person filing it has to explain their basis for believing the person to be incapacitated. As one attorney puts it, “This is a very high bar.” 

 As a result of that expense and burden of proof, the board and management are typically limited to addressing the actions or behaviors of the resident purely in terms of whether they violate rules or nuisance provisions in the community’s governing documents. For example, if the community’s documents require residents to ‘properly maintain’ their unit and a hoarding problem has led to a rodent infestation, it may be possible to take legal action based on that. Or perhaps a resident with diminished capacity can no longer reliably comply with security protocols and lets anyone into the building, makes loud noises at all hours, or damages common property; those violations may open up possible routes to intervention, but again, it’s vital to consult with legal counsel prior to taking any sort of action. 

“Although there is due process which must be followed,” Erwin notes, “it is important to remember that the ultimate remedy available in Illinois to associations in extreme cases of repeat violations of the rules is the ability to judicially force an owner to sell his/her unit. But it is equally important to understand that this should be treated as, and will be viewed by the courts as, a remedy of last resort and only in the most egregious of circumstances. The board is subject to a fiduciary duty to reasonably investigate any complaints alleging violations of the association’s governing rules. 

“If the behavior is severe enough,” Erwin continues, “the board may assess fines to the owner’s unit account. If the fines go unpaid, or if the conduct continues unabated, the board should then consult with their attorney to discuss and approve the filing of a complaint for possession of the unit. If this action does not serve to remedy the problem or results in danger to the community, the board may, as noted earlier, seek to force the owner to sell the unit and leave the community.”      

Mental health issues are perhaps the most difficult personal issues a shared-interest community must deal with. As with every consideration a board and management confronts, the community must be put first. But kindness should always be part of that consideration.

A.J. Sidransky is a staff writer/reporter for CooperatorNews and a published novelist. He may be reached at alan@yrinc.com.