Rentals and condominiums
For landlords, property managers and condo associations
When something happens inside a unit, the manager is often the first person the police, the family and the neighbors all turn to. This guide covers the parts that are yours to handle, with the Florida statutes behind them.
The first day, from the manager's side
- 1
Let the police finish
Give officers access and keep staff out. Note the case number and the name of the agency: Boca Raton Police in the city, the Sheriff's Office in unincorporated communities.
- 2
Secure the unit
Once it is released, lock it. Leave the air conditioning running and do not prop doors or windows open, which pushes odor into corridors.
- 3
Find out who can make decisions
For a tenant who has died that is the next of kin or the estate's personal representative. For a condo unit its owner lived in, it is the family, not the association.
- 4
Protect the building
Check the unit below and the shared walls. If fluid or odor has crossed out of the unit, that part is your concern today, whatever else is unsettled.
Florida law
Four rules worth knowing before you act
A deceased tenant's belongings
You cannot simply clear the unit. A landlord may recover possession once the last remaining tenant has died, personal property is still there, rent is unpaid, at least 60 days have passed since the death, and no written notice of a probate estate or personal representative has arrived (section 83.59(3)(d)). The rule does not apply to certain federally assisted housing. Talk to your attorney about the weeks in between.
An association's right to enter
A condominium association has an irrevocable right of access to each unit during reasonable hours when that is needed to maintain common elements, or to prevent damage to the common elements or to another unit (section 718.111(5)).
Whose insurance covers what
The association's property policy answers for the building as originally installed. Floor, wall and ceiling coverings, appliances, cabinets and personal property inside a unit are the unit owner's to insure (section 718.111(11)(f)). Your own agent can tell you how that applies to a given loss.
Telling the next occupant
In a sale, Florida does not treat a homicide, suicide or death on the property as a material fact that must be disclosed (section 689.25). Leasing practice and your own policies may differ, so ask counsel.
Keep your own staff out of it
It is tempting to send the maintenance team in with gloves and bleach. Do not. Under OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard, an employer whose workers may meet blood or body fluids needs a written exposure control plan, protective equipment and training for them. Most property staff have none of the three.
Hiring an outside biohazard company keeps your people clear of the exposure and gives you a paper record. Ask for an itemized invoice and a description of what was removed, and keep both with the unit file.
Choosing a company for a managed property
- Ask for proof of insurance naming the association or owner, if your vendor rules require it.
- Look the company up on the Department of Health's trauma scene cleanup list for Palm Beach County. A listing without a four-digit number means it is not registered to transport biomedical waste.
- Agree working hours, elevator use and where the vehicle will stand, so neighbors see as little as possible.
- Decide who signs: the owner, the family or the association. The company will want one name.
- Ask what is not included, such as replacing flooring or repainting, so you can line up a contractor.
The Department of Health says plainly that its list is a convenience and not an endorsement, and that it does not regulate how these companies clean. It is a check on waste handling only.
Managers' questions
Can the association bill the owner for cleaning inside the unit?
That depends on your declaration and on what the statute allows for work the association had to do. It is a question for association counsel before the invoice goes out.
The family has not called back. May we start anyway?
For damage that is spreading to other units or common areas, the access right exists for that purpose. For the inside of a private unit, wait for someone with authority, and document your attempts to reach them.
How do we handle neighbors' complaints about odor?
Tell them, without detail, that the unit is being dealt with and when. Odor in a corridor normally fades once the source materials are out of the unit.
Boca Raton and nearby
Nobody in the family has to clean this room
Wait until the officers and the medical examiner's investigator have finished. Shut the door on the room, let the air conditioning run, and pick up the phone once you feel able to talk it through.
A company for the unit, by phone
One number reaches an independent biohazard cleanup company working in south Palm Beach County. Describe the room in your own words. Hiring them is up to you.
Call (728) 500-1824Answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
Your call may be recorded. The referral disclosure and privacy policy explain why.