Rental homes and apartments
For landlords and property managers
When a tenant dies or someone is hurt in a unit you own or manage, you have a family, neighbors and the next lease to think about. This is the order that tends to work.
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Let police finish
Do not enter or let maintenance staff in until police release the unit. Ask for the case number.
Talk to the family
If the tenant died, their family or the estate will want access to belongings. Agree on how and when before cleanup starts, and in writing if you can.
Call your insurer
Ask whether your landlord policy covers the cleanup and what records it wants.
Bring in a cleanup company
Ask for a written scope that lists what will be removed, and photos before and after.
Check neighboring units
Fluids and odor can move through shared walls, floors and ductwork. Ask the company to check next door and below.
Your own staff
If you send employees to clean blood or body fluids, OSHA expects an exposure control plan, protective equipment and training (OSHA). Most small landlords do not have that in place, which is a good reason to hire it out.
Selling or re-renting later
Under Florida law, the fact that a property was the site of a homicide, suicide or death is not a material fact that must be disclosed in a real estate transaction (s. 689.25). That does not cover physical damage. Repairs to flooring or drywall still need doing properly, and a cleanup company's records show what was done.
Questions
The tenant's family wants to do it themselves. Can they?
It is your property, so you set the terms. Many landlords prefer a company for the affected room, then let the family remove belongings.
Can a company work while other tenants are home?
Usually yes. Ask how they will seal the unit and when they will carry waste out.
Call when you are ready
You will speak with an independent cleanup company that works around Sanford. Say what happened and where, ask what they would do and what affects the price, and take your time deciding.
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