Skip to content
Columbia SCBiohazard

Guide

For landlords and property managers

A death, a crime or a hoarded unit puts a rental out of use. Here is what usually needs doing, and in what order.

Call (803) 637-8296

Phone answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

A two-story garden apartment building with exterior stairways and pine trees

Your duty to the next tenant

South Carolina's landlord and tenant law requires a landlord to keep the premises fit and habitable and to comply with building and housing codes that materially affect health and safety (S.C. Code 27-40-440). A unit with blood or decomposition in the flooring does not meet that.

Do not send maintenance staff in

Employers whose workers may be exposed to blood must have a written exposure control plan, protective equipment and training (OSHA). Most maintenance teams are not set up for that. A biohazard cleanup company is.

A sensible order

  1. Wait for the release

    Do not enter or clean until the police and the coroner have released the unit.

  2. Secure the unit

    Change access if needed, keep the door closed and keep other tenants away from the area.

  3. Tell your insurer

    Ask what the building's policy covers and what it needs from you before work starts.

  4. Talk to the family

    If a tenant died, their belongings are not yours to dispose of. Speak with the next of kin or whoever is handling the estate before anything is removed, and ask an attorney if you are unsure.

  5. Get a written scope

    Ask the cleanup company for a written description of the work and the price, and for photos and paperwork when it is done.

  6. Check neighboring units

    Fluids and odor can reach a unit below or next door. Ask the company to check shared walls and floors.

When you are ready, one call is enough

Tell the company what happened, which room or vehicle it is in, and whether the police and coroner have finished. They will explain the work, when they can come and how they arrive at a price.

Talk to a cleanup company

The call puts you in touch with an independent biohazard cleanup company that works in the Columbia area. Say what happened and ask what you need to know. Whether you hire them is up to you.

Call (803) 637-8296

Phone answered 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Calls may be recorded. Read the referral disclosure and the privacy policy.

Call (803) 637-8296