When a Tenant passes away inside a unit or while residing in a unit it is normal for a landlord to grieve the loss; this may be more intense if the resident has been a tenant for quite some time. There are steps that must be taken, however, to ensure things are handled legally. First, if the tenant passes away in the unit, follow any and all instructions from paramedics and/or department of health officials regarding clean up in the unit. This may require calling a vendor specifically trained to handle bodily fluids. Second, you need to handle the “stuff” left in the unit.
Personal property should be turned over to an emergency contact authorized under the lease to collect personal property or to an individual who provides documentation showing that he/she is the personal representative under a will or a trustee under a trust. If there is a spouse or roommate they may also be authorized to handle the personal property of the deceased tenant.
It is not uncommon for a family member to ask for access to the unit after a tenant has died. However, every family member does not have the right to access the unit and dispose of the personal property under Arizona law. Because it is not uncommon for a tenant’s estate to not be large, and for a will or trust to not be applicable, it is a very good practice to have an emergency contact listed in the lease who is authorized to collect the tenant’s personal property and return possession of the unit to the landlord on behalf of the tenant whether the tenant is alive or deceased.
As a landlord you should take an inventory of the personal property and hold the tenant’s personal property for 14 days after you retake possession of the property (which my require an eviction action for legal possession to be acquired,) and our office recommends holding family photos, jewelry or other sentimental items a bit longer if the personal property is not claimed within the 14 days. It is also a good practice to hold the personal property longer than 14 days if there is a family member working to start a probate or gather appropriate documentation to allow him/her to collect the personal property of the deceased tenant.
When in doubt, please reach out to your attorney to confirm whether or not you should release personal property of a deceased tenant to family member or friend. Review your lease and make sure you have an emergency contact authorized to collect a deceased tenant’s personal property to help simplify things when a tenant does pass away.