Rental property
For landlords and property managers
A tenant has died in a unit, or there has been a violent incident, and the unit is yours to put right. This is what tends to trip owners up in Clark County.
Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
Before you open the door
If officers are still working, the unit is theirs. Wait for the release and ask for the event number.
If the tenant lived alone, look for a coroner's seal or sign. NRS 259.150 makes it a misdemeanor for anyone other than the coroner, law enforcement or the estate's executor or administrator to remove it or enter. A landlord's key doesn't change that.
To get the seal lifted, phone the Clark County Office of the Coroner/Medical Examiner at (702) 455-3210. Where there is no family, the Clark County Public Administrator may already hold the keys; its number is (702) 455-4332.
Three things that are separate
The structure
Flooring, walls, fixtures, air ducts. Yours to clean and repair, and your insurer's to hear about.
The tenant's belongings
They belong to the tenant, or now to the estate. Don't discard, keep or sell anything until the next of kin, the executor or the Public Administrator has dealt with it. Get legal advice if nobody comes forward.
The neighbors
People in adjoining units notice odor and activity. A short, factual note that a unit is being professionally cleaned is usually enough. Don't share details about the tenant.
A workable order
Lock up, and don't air it out
Lock the unit. Leave the windows shut and the cooling on. Opening it up moves odor into the corridor and next door.
Tell your insurer
Ask whether they want to see the unit before anything is removed.
Get the cleanup company in
Walk the unit with them. Ask what comes out, what stays and what the unit will look like when they leave.
Check the neighbors' side
Fluids can pass through a floor to the ceiling below, and odor travels through shared ducts. Have the company look.
Repair, then re-let
Flooring and drywall go back in after the cleanup. For that part, check a contractor's license with the Nevada State Contractors Board.
When a crime was involved
The Nevada Victims of Crime Program is for victims and their families, not for property owners as such. If your tenant or their relatives are applying, an itemized invoice from the cleanup company helps them.
Keep your own records anyway: the release, photographs taken before work began, the invoice and the waste paperwork. They answer most questions an insurer or a future buyer will ask.
Questions from owners
Can maintenance staff do the cleanup?
Blood and body fluids put staff under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard, which calls for training, protective equipment, an exposure plan and vaccination on offer. Most owners find it simpler and safer to hire a specialist.
How soon can the unit be rented again?
After cleanup and repairs. A contained incident on a hard floor may be days. A long-undiscovered death with flooring and drywall removed takes longer, mostly waiting on the repair trades.
The unit is in a hotel, casino or other business. Is this the right number?
This service is set up for homes and residential rentals. A business should use its own commercial vendor.
Las Vegas valley, any hour
A phone call is enough to get started
You don't need to have every answer first. Questions are welcome before the home is released, before the insurer has replied and before you have decided anything.
Talk it through with a cleanup company
Tell them what happened, what kind of home it is and whether police or the coroner have finished. They will say how they would go about it and what they charge for. Whether to hire them is up to you.
Call (725) 223-9153Someone picks up 24 hours a day, every day
Your conversation may be recorded. Why, and what is kept, is set out in the privacy policy and the disclosure.