Guide for rental property
For landlords and property managers
A tenant death, a crime in a unit or a move-out with needles left behind: the cleanup has to be right before the unit can be lived in again. Here is a plain order of steps.
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In order
What to do
Wait for police and the medical examiner
Do not enter or clean until they have finished and released the unit.
Contact the family or next of kin
They may want to be involved in decisions about the tenant's belongings and the cleanup. Agree early on who arranges and pays for what.
Talk to your insurer
Ask whether your landlord policy covers biohazard cleanup and what it needs from you: photos, an inspection, an itemized invoice.
Book a registered company
Use a company registered with the California Department of Public Health as a trauma scene waste management practitioner. If a crime was involved, CalVCB only reimburses registered companies.
Keep records
Keep the invoice, photos, and the company's description of what was removed and cleaned. They help with insurance, with any claim, and with future questions about the unit.
Belongings
The tenant's belongings
Before anything personal is thrown away, talk to the next of kin and, if needed, a lawyer about how the tenant's belongings should be handled. A cleanup company can set aside papers, photos and valuables it finds while it works, if you ask.
Items that soaked up fluids, such as a mattress or upholstered chair, usually cannot be saved and go out as trauma scene waste.
Questions
Landlords: questions
Can my maintenance staff do the cleanup?
For blood, body fluids or decomposition after a serious injury or death, California requires businesses that do this work to be registered with CDPH. Your staff are also covered by Cal/OSHA's Bloodborne Pathogens standard if they are exposed. Most landlords bring in a registered company.
A tenant moved out and left needles behind.
Keep people out of the unit and see needle and sharps cleanup. California does not allow sharps in trash or recycling bins.
Can I relet the unit right away?
After the cleanup is finished and any rebuild work is done. Ask the company for a written summary of the work for your records.
Situations
Cleanup by situation
- Crime Scene CleanupAfter a homicide, assault or other violent event, once police have released the scene.
- Unattended Death CleanupWhen someone died alone and was not found right away. Includes odor and decomposition cleanup.
- Suicide CleanupQuiet, discreet cleanup after a suicide, so family members do not have to do it.
- Blood and Bodily Fluid CleanupAfter an injury, a fall, an accident or a serious illness at home.
- Hoarding Cleanup with BiohazardsWhen a hoarded home has animal or human waste, needles or rotting food in it.
- Infectious Disease DisinfectionCleaning and disinfection after illness or contamination with infectious material.
- Vehicle Biohazard CleanupBlood or bodily fluids in a car, truck or van after an injury, death or crime.
- Needle and Sharps CleanupUsed needles found in a home, a rental unit, a yard or a business.
When you are ready
One call to a cleanup company that serves Stockton
Say what happened, where, and roughly when. The company will ask a few questions, explain what the work involves and arrange a visit if you want one.
Talk to a biohazard cleanup company
Your call is connected with an independent cleanup company that works in Stockton and San Joaquin County. You can ask questions first. There is no obligation to book.
Call (209) 555-0161Lines answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
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