Neighbour died....not sure what to do next?

doodle-bug_2

Last week my neighbour died. It was not expected, and unfortunately I heard from another neighbour that the body was not discovered for several days.

I am feeling terrible that I never noticed anything out of the ordinary for the past week or so. We were not close (she really wasn't a very pleasant person) but we were on nodding/basic conversation terms.

Her body was found downstairs in her bathroom, water still running, I think. Now, I understand why there was quite a lot of condensation on my windows - I stupidly thought it was because I had been burning a lot of candles whilst hibernating during the awful weather.

Now, the odour is seeping through to my bathroom/kitchen area. I really don't know what to do about it. Keeping the window open in this weather all the time is really not ideal.

I think that although the body was taken away, no cleaning was done - unfortunately by looking on the internet it seems that this is normal - the family would be expected to deal with it. I do know that she has a daughter but they were not close at all. She has been informed, but I haven't seen anything going on over the past few days (the house door is now boarded up after the police left).

I really don't know what to do next. I suggested to my husband that I pop into the police station in a day or two and ask if the property has been 'cleaned up' properly - I don't know if they will tell me this. Otherwise, my next thought was to contact Environmental Health to see if they could help under the circumstances.

Although the family were not close, this must obviously have been a shock so I don't want to complain too loudly, but I really can't stand the odour for much longer - can anyone offer any further suggestions?

whitewing

I would speak to Environmental Health in the first instance.

getmore4less

Do you rent or own.

Was the problem property rented or owned.

Where are you positioned relative to the problem property?

This will problay result in an insurance claim if your property has had water damage.

doodle-bug_2

Whitewing - thanks, I think that is the best idea.

Getmore4less - Sorry, should have explained. Both houses owned privately. I live directly next door. Although water was obviously running for a few days (and I assume it overflowed), the ground under the house is a bit damp, but I don't think any actual damage has occurred. We will be taking some boards up to find out but we renewed joists a few years ago so know just how deep the void is under the floor. Also, there is a wall between the properties at actual ground level so although the ground may be damp because of excessive water, I don't think any 'dirty' water would have got through.

Errata

I'm not sure how the smell from a body that's started to decompose over a few days can travel outside when all doors and windows in the house are closed, and your doors and windows are also closed.
Can anyone else smell anything, either outside your property or inside it? What can the neighbours on the other side smell?

doodle-bug_2

Errata - it's not travelling outside, it's travelling through the actual walls. The houses are terraced, so due to gaps in joists at ground and first floor levels, the houses are not 100% airtight.

Also, the downstairs bathroom is directly next to mine, so any gaps in the building works will transmit odour.

I must admit, I've never smelt anything like this before (nor wish to again).

Own_My_Own

Did you not smell anything before being told ?
It seems strange that you can only smell it now you know the smell should be there. I would have thought it would have smelt worse with the body there and hot water running. (I am assuming it was hot water as you mentioned condensation).

doodle-bug_2

Yes, did smell something nasty. But, we have several piles of stuff in our kitchen (plus a bed stood upright) because we are doing some DIY upstairs. I thought at first that the cat may have brought in an injured mouse or bird and it had died, but it didn't smell exactly like that (he has brought critters in before now!). It is more like rotten sweet veggies that are going off. I've spent a few days moving piles of heavy stuff around trying to find the source.

I spoke to my next door but one neighbour the other day who informed us of the news - in hindsight I can't believe I didn't think anything odd was going on. He also commented on the smell. I'll try to track him down this evening (he works long hours) to see if he has said anything to the authorities.

Errata

The landlord or executors can call in a trauma cleaning service, but they don't have to and I'm not sure how anyone could force them to except environmental health. Perhaps a phone call to EH might give you a steer on what should be happenning?
What I would say, from experience, is that even a bleeding body left for several days in a central heated house (but with no water involved) actually leaves very little smell, surprisingly.

bryanb

Have you got an extractor fan?

SailorSam

I'm no expert bot i wouldn't have thought in this cold weather a body would start to decompose in just a few days, but agree the local Council should be the first stop.