Guide
For landlords and property managers
A death, a violent crime or a hoarded unit puts a manager in a hard spot: a grieving family, other tenants, and a unit that cannot be rented as it is.
Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
A practical order
Wait for release
Do not enter or clean until police and the coroner have released the unit.
Secure the unit
Lock it and keep other tenants and staff out.
Talk to the family
Agree on how belongings will be handled before anything is removed.
Call your insurer
Ask about biohazard cleanup and what they need to see.
Cleanup, then repairs
Biohazard work first; painting and flooring after.
Records worth keeping
- The police case number and the date the unit was released.
- Photos of the unit before cleanup, if you can take them safely.
- The cleanup company's written scope and invoice.
- Waste disposal paperwork from the cleanup company.
- Notes of every call with the insurer and the family.
Neighbors and shared systems
In apartments, odor and fluids can reach shared walls, the floor below or the ventilation. Ask the cleanup company to check adjoining spaces.
Tell neighbors only what they need to know, such as when work will happen. The family's privacy matters.
Whenever you are ready
You can call now, or after the hardest days are behind you
There is no deadline on a phone call. Until then, keep the door to the affected room shut, keep children and pets out, and leave the cleaning to people with protective gear.
Speak with a cleanup company
The call reaches an independent company that works in your ZIP code. Describe the room, ask how they would handle it and how they set the price. Nothing is decided until you agree to it.
Call (720) 712-9117Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Calls may be recorded by the call-routing service. See the referral disclosure and privacy policy.