“owning a condo in DC with a hoarder neighbor?”

Photo by PoPville flickr user Rich Renomeron

“Dear PoPville,

I am looking for info on an individual condo unit owner’s rights against a neighbor, fellow condo owner, who is knowingly renting to a hoarder and refusing to call or allow the HOA to call an exterminator or clean up. The smell emanating from the rented out unit is infiltrating the hallways and there are apparently several dead rats in the unit at least.

The condo owner lives in a building with no fire escapes (grandfathered in), so they feel their neighbor is being willfully negligent and posing a fire and health and safety threat to the other owners. Unlike surrounding counties, however, it appears DC doesn’t seem to have a hoarding task force in place with clear laws regarding condo owners rights with regards to these types of health and safety threats.

Any information would be immensely helpful.”