Merseyside landlords call for national pledge to support residents with hoarding

To help tackle this issue, Liverpool-based social landlord Prima Group established the Housing and Hoarding Innovation Group in 2025.

The group was founded in an attempt to standardise the approach to support given by housing associations and local authorities to people struggling with hoarding. Its goal is to improve safety in tenant’s homes and support them to have their voice heard, through a collaborative approach to service delivery. 

In addition to sharing best practice and raising awareness, the group has been working on developing a national charter that will set out what people living with hoarding can expect from their landlord.

The call comes after Inside Housing’s sister publication, Inside Housing Management, took a longer look into London landlord Clarion’s hoarding pilot scheme.

One of the landlord’s tenants, Ruth Cookson, was a hoarder herself, and after the Covid-19 pandemic, action had to be taken due to the severity of her hoarding.

She said: “In 2017, I came out of a bad relationship and then it got worse with everything building up.”

Ms Cookson is using her experience to support tenants by co-founding the Prima peer support group, Bringing Hoarders Together, which meets fortnightly in Birkenhead and allows those suffering to navigate challenges together.

“Speak to your housing officer,” she said. “Pluck up the courage and say: ‘I’m a hoarder and I need help.’”

Bringing Hoarders Together is a part of a wider network, Hoarders Helping Hoarders, which currently has 19 peer groups across the Merseyside area all with a similar aim.

Jenny Devon, sustainment and cohesion manager at Prima Group, said: “Tenants and residents attending Bringing Hoarders Together meetings say there is currently a very inconsistent approach from housing associations and local authorities when speaking to hoarders and managing cases.

“As hoarding takes place in the home, the sector is at the heart of the issue and perfectly placed to create a co-ordinated, compassionate approach, which is what the pledge will provide.”

The Housing and Hoarding Innovation Group has grown to 13 members: Alpha Living, Cobalt Housing, Family Housing Association, Livv Housing, Magenta Living, Onward Homes, Prima Group, Regenda Homes, Riverside, South Liverpool Homes, Torus, Westfield Housing Association and Wirral Methodist Housing Association.