After a death, crime or biohazard event in Houston, the cleanup is the property owner's responsibility — not the city's or the county's. We look for a company that covers Houston and Harris County, and tell you plainly when we do not have one yet.
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 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
Phone calls are answered between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, except Harris County holidays.
Also published by that office
—“We do not arrange viewings at the Institute.”
—“The Institute does not issue death certificates.”
—“The Institute collects only the personal property found on the individual’s person at the time of their death.”
None of these offices clean the property. That is arranged by whoever owns it, or by the next of kin.
The non-emergency number in Houston
(713) 884-3131
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.
What Houston housing means for the work
Rented homes
57.9%
Median year, rentals
1987
Median year built
1982
Over-65s living alone
85,366
ACS 2020–2024 5-year, US Census Bureau.
180,410 renter households here are in buildings of 50 units or more. B25034 · B25035 · B25032 · B11007
180,410 renter households in Houston live in buildings of 50 units or more — the largest such count in Texas. 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 subfloors, cast iron and plaster are routine here — and fluid that reaches the subfloor of a 1970s slab-on-grade house behaves nothing like it does in newer construction.
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 damage caused by a member of the household. With 538,885 renter households in the city, that catches a great many Houston families.
Houston by super neighborhoods
The city publishes 88 super neighborhoods.
Houston is the only large Texas city that divides itself into numbered Super Neighborhoods.
These offices help victims and families directly, and none of them will try to sell you anything.
Houston Police Department — Victim Services Unit(713) 308-0080
Harris County District Attorney — Victims’ Services Division(713) 274-0250
Harris County Sheriff’s Office — Victims Assistance Unit(713) 274-9369
Harris County Housing and Community Development — Bereavement Program713-696-1952
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
The questions below are the ones worth asking any company before it starts work in Houston.
The local detail — which office releases the scene, which number to call, what the housing here
means for the job — is set out above, with its sources.
How to choose a provider in Houston
Confirm the company serves Houston, and ask for an arrival window in writing rather than a promise on the phone.
Ask whether technicians are trained under the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogens standard, and whether there is a written exposure control plan.
Ask how regulated medical waste is transported and disposed of, and whether their transporter is registered with the TCEQ — you can look the registration up by name.
Ask whether they bill homeowners or renters insurance directly, and get the scope and price in writing before work starts.
Ask whether they use unmarked vehicles and how they protect your privacy.
Ask how they verify the job is finished — ATP testing, odor checks, or a post-clean walkthrough.
Ask who they will deal with at the Harris County Institute of Forensic Sciences, and whether they will wait for the property to be released before anyone enters.
How it works
Getting help in Houston
01
Call or request a callback
Tell us what happened and where in Houston. The call is confidential and there is no obligation.
02
Get connected in Houston
We look for a company that serves Harris County, and tell you plainly if we do not have one.
03
Assessment and written estimate
Get the scope and the price in writing after someone has seen the property. Ask whether they will bill your insurer directly.
County
Harris County
Greater Houston
Residents
about 2.3 million
Houston, TX
Services covered
6
Biohazard, crime scene, death, hoarding, odor
Cost to you
Free
We are paid by providers, not by families
Providers serving Houston
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 and we will tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for your address today.
The checks a company has to pass are published in full.
Elsewhere in Texas
Other Texas cities we cover
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.
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.
How long does the Harris County office take?
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.
What do I call in Houston if it is not an emergency?
(713) 884-3131. Dial (713) 884-3131 to request non-emergency police service for locations within the city limits of Houston. Anything in progress is still 911.
It happened in a rented home in Houston. Who pays?
Start with the lease and the insurer, not with an assumption. Under Texas Property Code § 92.052, the Texas Attorney General puts it this way — Unless the need for repair was created by “normal wear and tear,” the landlord does not have a duty to repair problems caused by you, another lawful occupant, a member of your household, or your guests. — which means the landlord's usual duty to repair does not automatically cover damage caused by a member of the household. It matters here: 57.9% of occupied homes in Houston are rented.
Does a cleanup company in Texas need a license?
Not for this work. The Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation publishes the state’s licensed trades. Mold assessors and remediators are licensed, and so are sanitarians and code enforcement officers — but there is no license for crime-scene, biohazard, trauma-scene or unattended-death cleanup itself. So a company advertising a Texas cleanup license is describing something that does not exist. If mold is part of your job a mold remediation license is real and worth asking for; otherwise ask about insurance, bloodborne-pathogens training and where the waste goes.
How much does biohazard cleanup cost in Houston?
Companies commonly advertise $1,000 – $10,000+ for this work, and we publish that band because it is what the trade publishes — not because we have verified it. Nobody can price a job before they have lifted a floor covering and seen how far the fluid travelled. Get a written estimate after an on-site assessment, and ask whether the company will bill your insurer directly.
Is there help with the cost after a crime?
The Texas Crime Victims’ Compensation Program pays up to $2,250 toward crime-scene cleanup for crimes after July 14, 2016. It applies to violent crime — not to an unattended natural death — it does not cover structural repairs, and by law it pays last: “By law, the program is a last-resort option. If you qualify for compensation from other sources, like homeowners’ or renters’ insurance, that must be used before the CVC Program.” Claims run within 3 years of the crime, unless good cause can be shown for the delay. The Attorney General's crime victim line is (800) 983-9933.
You don't have to handle this alone.
Call or leave your number about a property in Houston and we'll tell you plainly what we can and cannot do for your address today.
