Tenant Died in My Rental Unit

[Andrew Loaicono]

My Section 8 tenant, who lived alone, recently died in one of my rental units. She apparently had been dead for some time, but her daughter called to notify me just today.

She went on to tell me that I have to contact a biohazard company to clean up the fluids and smell because she wants to access the apartment to retrieve some of her possessions that she left there. I told her that I first have to find out if the legal and financial responsibility to clean up falls on me. So, now, she's threatening to call the Massachusetts Health Department.

I called my lawyer, but was only able to speak to his secretary. He may not get in touch with me for days, so I'm posting here.

Questions:

1) Am I legally responsible for resolving this issue in the state of Massachusetts? I tried to Googling it, but getting no definitive answers. 

2) Should I notify Section 8 about the death of this tenant, or would they automatically be notified by authorities?

3) Should I take a trip out to Massachusetts and place a lock on the deceased tenant's door to prevent theft? The tenant who lives downstairs from this unit told me that the door was kicked down and left open by police. 

I'm a new landlord (who lives in Brooklyn), so all the guidance I can get is greatly appreciated.

[Greg Scott]

In my experience, if the death was messy, you do need to get a biohazard company out to clean.  Sooner the better too because costs will go up the longer you wait.  Unfortunately, biohazard removals are not cheap.

I would touch base with Section 8.  It is feasible that you could charge those cleaning fees to the estate of the deceased.

Unless the lease states otherwise or you are notified by the court, the daughter has no right to enter the apartment and remove things.  If there is anything of value in the apartment, it is part of the tenant's estate.  They should be sold off to pay the estate's debts, including any monies you are owed.  If there are other heirs, you don't want them to come sue you for damages because the daughter stole the $1M baseball card.

I'd lock the property up tight and talk with a lawyer about the process for unwiding this in your jurisdiction.