Rentals and apartments
For landlords and property managers
A death or a violent event in a unit lands on the owner or manager. These are the points that save trouble later.
Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
What to know
Your maintenance crew is not the answer
Paying someone to remove blood and body fluids makes them a trauma scene waste practitioner under California law, so they would need state registration. Employees exposed to blood also fall under the OSHA bloodborne pathogens standard.
Wait for the release
Police and the Fresno County Sheriff-Coroner decide when the unit can be entered for cleanup. Ask the officer or deputy coroner, and note their names.
Belongings are not yours to toss
A tenant's things belong to the estate or next of kin. Ask the cleanup company to remove only contaminated items and to photograph what it removes.
Neighbors share walls
Fluids can reach a shared wall, the floor above a lower unit, or a ceiling below. Ask the company to check next to and under the room.
Documents to keep
- The police report or coroner case contact
- The company's state registration name and its written bill
- Photos before and after, and a list of what was removed
- Your insurer's answer on coverage
Questions
Can the tenant's family do the cleanup?
They can choose to, but they may not be able to remove what soaked into the unit. Most owners hire a registered company for the affected area.
If it was a crime, can anyone be repaid?
CalVCB repays the person who paid for cleanup after a crime in a residence, if a registered company did it. That can include whoever paid the bill. Ask CalVCB about your case.
When you are ready
One call, then a plan you can say yes or no to
You do not have to clean this yourself, and you do not have to decide anything tonight. If the home has been released, a company can talk you through the next steps.
Talk it through with a cleanup company
Say what happened and where. The company will tell you what it would do and what it needs from you. Nothing is agreed until you say so.
Call (559) 555-0101Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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