Rentals, apartments and shared buildings
For landlords and property managers
A death or a serious injury in a unit leaves you with a tenant's family, neighbors, and a unit to get back into shape. Here is the order that works.
What to do
Let the police finish
Don't enter or clean until the police, and the medical examiner if involved, release the unit.
Talk to the family
The tenant's belongings belong to the family or the estate. Agree with them what happens to items before anything is removed.
Call your insurer
Ask whether the cleanup is covered on the building policy.
Protect the neighbors
In a multi-unit building, fluids and odor can reach the unit below or next door. Ask the company to check them.
Get it cleaned
Call (603) 555-0105 for an independent cleanup company.
Older buildings
Many Manchester homes were built before 1950, and the city's Health Department notes that homes built before 1978 are much more likely to have lead paint. If plaster, trim or flooring has to come out, ask whether the company is EPA lead-safe certified for that part of the work.
Manchester's Planning and Community Development Department oversees rental housing through its Certificate of Compliance program. If rebuilding after the cleanup is large, check what it requires.
If it happened today
- Call 911 first. If someone is hurt, or you have found someone who has died, call 911 before anything else.
- Leave the room as it is. Police and the medical examiner's investigator may need to see it. Close the door and keep people and pets out.
- Wait for the release. Cleanup starts only after the police, and the medical examiner if involved, say the home or car is released.
- Then call. Call (603) 555-0105 when you are ready. Nobody will rush you.
When you are ready, call
An independent cleanup company that works in the Manchester area. You decide whether to hire them.