Hud Apartment Forced Us To Clear My Deceased Father’s Apartment Ourselves While It Was Still A Biohazard (bay County, Fl)

Location: Bay County , Florida My father’s body was discovered on May 12, 2024, in his HUD-subsidized apartment in Bay County, Florida. The coroner said it had been undiscovered for about four days, and because of the Florida heat (thermostat was set at 85°), his body was already in active decomposition when he was found.

I am his only next of kin and surviving relative. When I called the apartment manager to ask what to do, she told me I could come to Florida to clear out his belongings since his rent had been paid for the month of May.

My husband and I scrambled to arrange travel plans, hotel accommodations( peak season , very popular beach tourist spot) work arrangements, let the children finish out the last week of school , come up with the finances to get there, etc. We arrived on May 29 and the apt manager had us wait while she typed up a paper for us to sign before entering his unit. I don’t remember getting a copy, and despite asking her at least six times, she has never sent it.

After signing, she handed us the keys and said, “Maybe one of you should take the kids somewhere because of the smell,” which was our first sign something was wrong.

We could smell the decomposition from outside the apartment and I took the kids away while my husband went in. He found an outline of my dad’s body in blood and decomposition fluids on the kitchen floor. The stench was overwhelming, and he ran outside to vomit. He later went back in wearing a mask with Vicks under his nose and put a mattress over the outline to help with the smell and cover the trauma.

We spent several days going in and out, trying to find anything important or sentimental, but everything was contaminated and destroyed by the smell. The manager repeatedly called and texted us, harassing us about when we’d be done amd if we didn’t finish in time what was our arrangements for anything left to be picked up taken to the dumpster or donated (nothing could be donated due to being a biohazard). She even threatened to call the police if we didn’t turn in the keys on time. We weren’t able to finish on time and the neighbor downstairs asked if she could have his washer and dryer. I told her that was fine with us, and the apartment manager had her sign something so that she could have the keys to remove them. I’m not sure what happened after that. I have tried to reach out to the neighbor, but have since learned that she was a convicted felon on drug charges and is back in prison.

This entire experience has been deeply traumatic. I feel like my dad wasn’t treated like a real person and had no dignity in how all of this was handled. My husband couldn’t eat normally for months—he’d gag and dry heave from the trauma. We had to explain to our children why there was a smell, which was a horrible way for them to learn about death. I still have panic attacks and can’t get the image of my dad’s body outline out of my mind.

We’ve filed a formal complaint with HUD for the lack of biohazard cleanup, unsafe conditions, harassment, and the emotional harm this caused our family.

Has anyone experienced something like this, or know what usually happens next in HUD’s investigation process?