Dead animal smell - is tenant or landlord responsible?

Question

Tenant notified of a bad smell, like dead animal. Who is responsible for discovering what’s causing it & fixing the situation? If it’s the landlord’s responsibility, who do I call? Thanks in advance for responses!

Mark Fries · Answer

@Sam Leon

I dont know.... I get a dead animal removal request every month it seems but after 5 days the smell just goes away...mother nature takes its course...

Mark Fries · Answer

@Marlen Rum

Just wait 5 days...smell goes away.

Mark Fries · Answer

@Marlen Rum

Never....they understand that things happen.

Robert Schulmeisters · Answer

FYI

There is a great product called

back a zap

Created by an exterminator

Enzyme bases, not a perfume

Formulated for dead mice or rats

When something dies in crawl space , walls ect.

Works well other odors like garbage sites ect

Available on amazon

Works better than other odor eaters

Dennis M. · Answer

Most of my tenants smell like a dead animal so I don’t give it much thought . When they call about stuff like this I advise them to go take a shower ..then report back .

I did have a skunk die under my one triplex entrance . I dumped some gravel over the hole as a make shift grave in an effort to mask the smell . Time heals all wounds.

Bill Plymouth · Answer

@Marlen Rum Your tenant probably sees this and a “serious” issue, or at least an inconvenience to constantly smell death whenever they go into a certain room. It doesn’t smell good and can make rooms unbearable to be in. If they feel like they can’t rely on you to solve problems regarding the property, they might vacate at the end of their lease. Which isn’t the end of the world, but that could cause you a month or 2 of lost rent while you find a new tenant, if it even takes that long.

As previously suggested, walk the property with the tenant (if you’re able) and see where the smell is the strongest. If it’s a mouse under the stove type of situation that’s an easy fix. Just remove the mouse. If there’s reason to believe it’s on the walls or in the vent, I would get it taken care of. The odors that are being released are obviously the body decomposing. When the body decomposes, it releases molecules/gasses that can be harmful. If it’s a mouse, it might take a few days to go away and not have any time to cause any harm. If it’s a bigger animal, like a possum or raccoon, it can take much longer for the smell to go away causing longer exposure and a higher chance of health risks.

Bill Plymouth · Answer

@Marlen Rum I’m sorry. Ignore my comment. The comments didn’t update as I was typing. I’m glad you solved your problem.

Roni E. · Answer

I would walk the property from the interior. See from where in the property is the smell coming. Is it a wall or vent and then call like critter control.

Nathan Gesner · Answer

@Marlen Rum it depends on the situation. My lease holds the Tenant responsible for ordinary pet control and that would include a dead mouse under the stove. If the tenant is unwilling/unable to find it, you can go over and try to help or just wait a few days and the smell will go away.

Patricia Steiner · Answer

It's the landlord's responsibility, unfortunately. And, it's quite common in structures that are elevated (not continuous foundation/slab) where animals die underneath the property. There are "critter control" companies who do this as well as national pest/rodent control companies. I wish I could tell you that I have no knowledge/experience with this issue but actually I have encountered it numerous, numerous times. Ugh!

Dead animal smell - is tenant or landlord responsible?

Dead animal smell - is tenant or landlord responsible?

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