Harris County · sourced local information
After a death in Houston, the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences deals with the person and the police release the property. The cleanup itself falls to the owner or the next of kin — here is what applies in Harris County, with the sources.
In Houston
Who releases the property, who to call, and what the housing here means for the work. Every figure below is sourced, and anything we could not verify is left out rather than guessed at.
In Harris County the death is investigated by the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences.
The Institute describes itself as the medical examiner’s office for Harris County, combining that role with the county crime laboratory.
The Harris County morgue: address, hours and what it will not do →
“In most cases, a body may be examined and available for release to your selected funeral home within 24 hours of arrival to the Institute. However, some cases require more time.” — Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences
Check the status yourself: www.IFSCaseStatus.com
Phone calls are answered between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Harris County holidays.
None of these offices clean the property. That is arranged by whoever owns it, or by the next of kin.
Dial (713) 884-3131 to request non-emergency police service for locations within the city limits of Houston.
For anything in progress, call 911. Police do not clean a scene once they have finished with it.
180,410 renter households in Houston live in buildings of 50 units or more — the largest such count of the cities on this network. That is why so much of this work here is an apartment job: building access, a service elevator, a property manager and a lease all sit between the family and the work.
Houston’s housing is also old. The median home was built in 1982 and 47.0% of the stock predates 1980, so in an older house it is worth asking what is under the floor before anyone quotes.
If the death happened in a rented home, there is an asymmetry in Texas law worth knowing before anyone signs anything: the landlord’s duty to repair conditions affecting health and safety does not extend to problems caused by an occupant or a member of the household, and a death inside the unit plausibly falls there. Property Code § 92.014 separately sets what happens to a sole tenant’s belongings and deposit. With 538,885 renter households in the city, both are worth knowing before they are needed.
The city publishes 88 super neighborhoods. Houston is the only large Texas city that divides itself into numbered Super Neighborhoods.
Greater HeightsNeartown / MontroseGulftonMedical CenterGreater Fifth WardDowntownGreater Third WardSunnysideGreenway / Upper KirbyAcres HomeSharpstownKashmere Gardens
These offices help victims and families directly, and none of them will try to sell you anything.
The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program pays up to $2,250 toward crime-scene cleanup for crimes after July 14, 2016, and it pays last — after any homeowners’ or renters’ insurance. It applies to violent crime, not to an unattended natural death, and it does not cover structural repairs. Claims run within 3 years of the crime, unless good cause can be shown for the delay. Program rules What it excludes Eligibility and deadline
Ranges are what national vendors advertise, not quotes — where the numbers come from.
Houston, TX
The questions that apply to any company anywhere in Texas — insurance, bloodborne-pathogens training, the waste route, a written scope — are in one place: what to check before you hire.
Greater Houston
Houston, TX
Biohazard, crime scene, death, hoarding, odor
We are paid by providers, not by families
No company has finished our checks in Houston yet, so there is nothing here we would stand behind. We would rather show you that than a list we cannot vouch for.
Call (866) 697-0754 or leave your number. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for it. The checks a company has to pass are published in full.
Elsewhere in Texas
Houston is the only city we cover in this part of the state so far. These are the others, each with its own county offices, release process and sources.
Worth reading
Why it falls to the property owner or the next of kin.
Read itWhich office does what, county by county, and what none of them will do.
Read itWhat drives the price, and what insurance and compensation cover.
Read itHelp & advice
The Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, on (832) 927-5000. It examines and releases the person; it does not clean the property, and neither does the police department or the fire service. That falls to the property owner or the next of kin.
Its published wording is: “In most cases, a body may be examined and available for release to your selected funeral home within 24 hours of arrival to the Institute. However, some cases require more time.” Phone calls are answered between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Harris County holidays. You can check the current status yourself at https://www.IFSCaseStatus.com.
Dial (713) 884-3131 to request non-emergency police service for locations within the city limits of Houston. Anything in progress is still 911.
57.9% of occupied homes in Houston are rented, so this comes up often. Start with the lease and both insurers; the statewide rules on repairs, belongings and the deposit are in our guide to a death in a Texas rental.
After a violent crime, the state Crime Victims’ Compensation Program pays up to $2,250 toward cleanup — after your insurance, never for repairs, and not after a natural death. In Houston, Houston Police Department — Victim Services Unit on (713) 308-0080, and Harris County District Attorney — Victims’ Services Division on (713) 274-0250, and Harris County Sheriff’s Office — Victims Assistance Unit on (713) 274-9369 can help with the claim.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Call or leave your number about a property in Houston. We will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for it.
Last reviewed 2026-09-25
