A man died in the house, now house has infestation, who can help?

RachelGeralty

His body was discovered after 3 weeks....
They cleaned the place over the weekend and it was good for couple of days. Now we have swarm of flies in the house...
Landlord fails to provide daily cleaning, where he can be sued? He keeps silent to our requests. What are my rights as a tenant?
Our quality of life has deteriorated...
Thanks

Victor

Is this the house you are living in?

Talk to the council Environmental Health Officer.

RachelGeralty

Thanks Victor. Yes, we live in that house. There were our requests to provide us alternative accommodation for the time while it all gets cleaned up, but we were ignored.

I personally moved into the house about 2 years ago, the story with body discovery happened on 20th of July this month. Other tenants have been living there for a longer time.

Ultimate Seduction

I'm being nosey I'm sorry, but how was a body undiscovered in a house where multiple other Tennant's live??

RachelGeralty

No issue with explaining. He was living alone on the top floor, there are no other flats at that floor. Nobody really kept in close touch with that guy, we all do work on a daily basis. It was not until lady from the lower floor smelled something bad, then garda was called.

Uriel.

Are the flies swarming in every floor and is your apartment directly under the one where the body was discovered?

A swarm of flies 3 weeks after thorough cleaning may not be directly related to the body.

RachelGeralty

Uriel. wrote: »

Are the flies swarming in every floor and is your apartment directly under the one where the body was discovered?

A swarm of flies 3 weeks after thorough cleaning may not be directly related to the body.

Today they are on every floor, mainly on the corridor, the below is a photo of the window from the 1st floor stairwell. But in my flat I killed 15 of them despite the fact doors are closed and sealed :mad: it is f**king madness. My flat is on the ground floor, dead guy was living on 2nd floor.

One correction - it was three weeks after the body was discovered (this is what coroner assumed), the thorough cleaning took place on 22th this month, just once.

PucaMama

Just stick up some of those fly catcher strips

RachelGeralty

That's really not our but landlord responsibility as we already addressed it. Stairwells and common spaces are not managed by us.
We put some paper tapes in flats but those flies are different and no effect.

James 007

RachelGeralty wrote: »

Today they are on every floor, mainly on the corridor, the below is a photo of the window from the 1st floor stairwell. But in my flat I killed 15 of them despite the fact doors are closed and sealed :mad: it is f**king madness. My flat is on the ground floor, dead guy was living on 2nd floor.

One correction - it was three weeks after the body was discovered (this is what coroner assumed), the thorough cleaning took place on 22th this month, just once.

Your next

Fol20

As others try and put up fly traps etc. their cheap so shouldn’t be too much hassle to put up. Does your ll own the flat above? It might be worth getting onto the management company to see what they say about the common areas. As a ll, normally once you do a “deep clean” I would be expecting to go back multiple times to keep cleaning.

levi

Fol20 wrote: »

As others try and put up fly traps etc. their cheap so shouldn’t be too much hassle to put up. Does your ll own the flat above? It might be worth getting onto the management company to see what they say about the common areas. As a ll, normally once you do a “deep clean” I would be expecting to go back multiple times to keep cleaning.

.

By the looks of that photo, it’s a pre 63 property so the landlord probably owns the whole building.

OP have you spoken to Threshold about your rights, they can be very helpful.

keffiyeh

That picture is very strange, looks like you have more of a haunting issue, call a priest/Hollywood executive to sell the rights. Seriously though, first post is your best bet.

mad m

That’s rank. Found after 3 weeks with the weather we are having. I’d say a good bit of body fluids leaked out and depending if he was on floor it might of got through floorboards and flies lays eggs. Fcuk me......

OP sorry it’s not nice to be in that situation especially with this weather. Keep putting fly traps up and hopefully they will die off. And as advised get onto environmental officer.

Charlie19

I couldn't live with that, flies freak me out and I'm only talking about one or two.

That has to be a health and safety issue and I'd be onto threshold.

smelly sock

Clean and scrub every surface and anywhere you can access with bleach and hot water. Get some decent fly traps. Get a large container. Fill with water, fairy up liquid and a cut lemon. Flys should get caught in that.

Or you can wait for the LL to do something but you cant be living in that. They look like fruit flies. Have you ensured you have no rotten food around?

CeilingFly

Call rentokill.

Getting rid of a fly infestation is not that expensive.

Might simply be easier for all tenants to contribute €30-€50 each and get it done properly and also get rid of anything else.

Maybe get a quote and ask landlord if it can be deducted from rent?

smelly sock

CeilingFly wrote: »

Call rentokill.

Getting rid of a fly infestation is not that expensive.

Might simply be easier for all tenants to contribute €30-€50 each and get it done properly and also get rid of anything else.

Maybe get a quote and ask landlord if it can be deducted from rent?

Apt username!!

Graces7

smelly sock wrote: »

Clean and scrub every surface and anywhere you can access with bleach and hot water. Get some decent fly traps. Get a large container. Fill with water, fairy up liquid and a cut lemon. Flys should get caught in that.

Or you can wait for the LL to do something but you cant be living in that. They look like fruit flies. Have you ensured you have no rotten food around?

The eggs will still hatch.

I have had similar happen when moving to a long empty rental. Sudden infestation when eggs hatch. Bought a fly spray, sprayed liberally, exit fast closing the door and stay away an hour.

smelly sock

Graces7 wrote: »

The eggs will still hatch.

Possibly a specialist cleaning solution for this type of work then.

lukesmom

I HATE flies, and with the hot weather we've had more than a few. But what you have is a health hazard. You need to do as another poster above said and bunch together your money to hire a specialist exterminator. Then bill the landlord. You simply cannot let this continue any longer.

Alun

They're not fruit flies, fruit flies are tiny things, those are normal house flies

I'd be questioning how 'deep' this deep clean was to be honest and whether it was done by a company specialising in such matters. Not to be too graphic, but have you ever seen a human body that's been decomposing for several weeks? Let's just say that a large portion of him/her would have 'oozed' away and soaked through floorboards etc. A real breeding ground for flies. A proper professional clean up in those circumstances will be very expensive but needs to be done.

AuldDaysul

Ugh, I'd be packing up and leaving.

Graces7

smelly sock wrote: »

Possibly a specialist cleaning solution for this type of work then.

It honestly needs reporting straight to Environmental Health. This is from a decomposed human corpse and the flies could be carrying ???
OP, report it? They can deal with it and with the landlord.

Google the local council where you live and the number will be there.

Read the post by Alun... He is 100 % right

Teyla Emmagan

That is terrible, you have all my sympathy.

Open the windows to let the flies out!?

chicorytip

Why have none of you expressed shock regarding the circumstances of this mans passing? His body lay undiscovered for three weeks so clearly he had no family or friend concerned for his wellbeing. I hope he will rest in peace.

Graces7

chicorytip wrote: »

Why have none of you expressed shock regarding the circumstances of this mans passing? His body lay undiscovered for three weeks so clearly he had no family or friend concerned for his wellbeing. I hope he will rest in peace.

Something like this happened in the small block of council flats I lived in in the UK. The man in the flat below died and it was a while before they found him.

A council official who saw me leaving my flat one day had a real go at me, much as you are doing.

This man never spoke to anyone, and I almost never even saw him. He was old but out at work every day. Came home, closed his door...

He chose anonymity and peace where he lived. I had no idea he had died. How could I? Or anyone living there?

And yes, re queiscat in pace . That is all we can do

And take care of the living.

s7ryf3925pivug

Get out of that place asap. Get onto threshold and talk to a solicitor, they have free clinics if you can't afford one. Immediate focus needs to be on moving - without penalty and getting deposit, especially if needed to pay deposit for new place. Absolutely not suitable for living in.

snor

Are there new tenants in the flat whe the man died? Sad case. RIP.

Pug160

Ultimate Seduction wrote: »

I'm being nosey I'm sorry, but how was a body undiscovered in a house where multiple other Tennant's live??

I don't wish to hijack the thread, but the title and your response reminded me of the strange and sad case of Joyce Vincent, the woman who lay dead in her London flat for over two years before she was discovered.

There was a very powerful documentary made about it called Dreams of a Life. She had actually mixed with lots of celebrities and powerful people, but her life then took a turn for the worse. Neighbours did notice the smell but thought it was rotten garbage apparently. I have to say this was one of those stories where you realise that truth can be stranger than fiction.

GreeBo

Flies are just some of the maggots that escaped now hatching, they will all be gone soon, assuming there isn't a rotting food source somewhere.

chicorytip

Graces7 wrote:

A council official who saw me leaving my flat one day had a real go at me, much as you are doing.

No, I'm not having a go at all. I think the thread here ought to focus on the sad death of the individual concerned rather than the unpleasant aftermath. I have not seen any media reportage of this particular incident. It brings to mind that tragic event in Leixlip some years ago where four elderly sisters were found dead having apparently decided to end their own lives. This was a busy housing estate but, again, the bodies lay undiscovered for a long period and nothing unusual was noticed until, by chance, one day their landlord called and made the grim discovery.

acai berry

If the unfortunate man's body had lain there for up to three weeks in this weather, it was bound to have decomposed at a faster rate than normal. A lot of fluids, incuding fats, would have seeped down through the floorboards and onto the ceilings of the flat underneath. There possibly is discoloration of the ceiling underneath, if one looks up. I imagine professional cleaners, who specialize in this type of cleaning, would have lifted the floor boards as part of the job. If they weren't specialists in this type of cleaning, i.e. after removal of a body, the floor boards probably were not lifted. Obviously, flies in these numbers would have to have a reason to be there. There has to have been something there for them to lay their eggs on. More than likely, it's still there.


R.I.P the Man Who Died!

Graham

Mod Note

This is the Accommodation & property forum. It is the appropriate place for the OP to post about their Accommodation & Property issues.

zetalambda

Have you tried opening the window?

lawred2

It's been such a warm summer and now with the humidity there are an extraordinary amount of flies everywhere.

We keep a spotless house but keeping the house free from flies is a daily chore.

All it takes is one resident not keeping up high levels of hygiene and the fly infestation would be horrendous.

May not be related to the corpse at all.

BabysCoffee

OP - have you used fly spray?

august12

RachelGeralty wrote:

His body was discovered after 3 weeks.... They cleaned the place over the weekend and it was good for couple of days. Now we have swarm of flies in the house... Landlord fails to provide daily cleaning, where he can be sued? He keeps silent to our requests. What are my rights as a tenant? Our quality of life has deteriorated... Thanks

Ring the HSE and ask for environmental health officer, as others have said, bodily fluids have seeped under the floorboards, this place needs a deep cleaning, I am freaking out just thinking about it,

fishy_fishy

chicorytip wrote: »

No, I'm not having a go at all. I think the thread here ought to focus on the sad death of the individual concerned rather than the unpleasant aftermath.

Except that you are having a go.

You want a thread of "RIP"
"RIP"
"RIP"
"RIP"
"RIP"
"RIP"
???

Seriously? The OP and her building-mates are living in a building infested with flies, possibly/probably as a result of an incomplete cleanup of a decomposing body, and you want people to be focusing on saying "RIP" rather than giving solid advice about who to turn to and what their rights are?

I don't think anyone is saying that it isn't tragic that someone can die and lie there unnoticed for weeks, quite the opposite. But most people aren't too busy virtue signalling to give solid advice to the OP who is in a very distressing situation.

OP, you need the environmental health officer. Take photos, videos etc as evidence. They should be able to advise you on whether you need to be accommodated elsewhere and what needs to be done far better than anyone here can.

Graces7

Many who live alone die alone. The onus is on those who live alone. I have a system set up as I am alone and isolated whereby if I am not in contact for three days the alarm is raised and the keyholder alerted.

Most areas have schemes whereby loners can set this up. The onus is on me to sort that .

Society today is fragmented and folk living especially in estates and social housing tend to seek privacy. They do not know anyone. Community awareness takes decades to build.

Who please carries responsibiliy? The landlord?

Before we set up the contact system, I could have lain dead weeks in some rentals I lived in..

Does not bother me and I would not guilt trip anyone.

In multiple residency houses you cannot know or keep an eye on everyone .

There was a case in Ireland where a farmhouse caught fire in a very remote place. No one knew for weeks ; the couple had died in the fire and it was only when the postman went that it was realised .

By all means set up an alert for solitary folk .

Graces7

Many who live alone die alone. The onus is on those who live alone. I have a system set up as I am alone and isolated whereby if I am not in contact for three days the alarm is raised and the keyholder alerted.

Most areas have schemes whereby loners can set this up. The onus is on me to sort that .

Society today is fragmented and folk living especially in estates and social housing tend to seek privacy. They do not know anyone. Community awareness takes decades to build.

Before we set up the contact system, I could have lain dead weeks in some rentals I lived in..

Does not bother me and I would not guilt trip anyone.

In multiple residency houses you cannot know or keep an eye on everyone .

There was a case in Ireland where a farmhouse caught fire in a very remote place. No one knew for weeks ; the couple had died in the fire and it was only when the postman went that it was realised .

By all means set up an alert for solitary folk . In your own neighbouhood?

But in every case, it is now the living who matter and the subject of this thread was that. And yes it is a serious environmental health matter

pleas advice

If you had been more neighbourly he wouldn't have laid their for 3 weeks undiscovered. It's kinda of your own making, no sympathy

Ah, heor....

keffiyeh

GreeBo wrote: »

Flies are just some of the maggots that escaped now hatching, they will all be gone soon, assuming there isn't a rotting food source somewhere.

Maggots from a corpse though, that's pretty grim innit.

keffiyeh

crusier wrote: »

If you had been more neighbourly he wouldn't have laid their for 3 weeks undiscovered. It's kinda of your own making, no sympathy

Erm, no.

GreeBo

keffiyeh wrote: »

Maggots from a corpse though, that's pretty grim innit.

Maggots is maggots though...

Not sure why people keep trying to turn this into a neighbourhood watch thread... Do y'all know what forum you are in?