Responsibility for carcass cleanup depends upon where it was found

Q: I recently went outside my rented duplex to find a partially decomposed squirrel carcass on the lawn under the melting snow. My landlord asked me to dispose of it myself. Shouldn’t he be responsible? Also if an animal knocks over my garbage can and spreads the contents around, shouldn’t the landlord clean up the mess? Finally, if a tenant leaves recycling bins outside too long after pickup and they go missing, who needs to pay to replace them? A: The legal obligation to remove a dead squirrel (or any debris left by nature) generally depends on where the squirrel or debris is found. If it is within a private use area, such as a private patio area behind a garden home, then it would be the responsibility of the tenant who has the exclusive use of the area.

However if the squirrel or debris is in a common area, then the legal responsibility is the landlord’s. Landlords would clear such debris when they maintain the common area, such as when they cut the grass. Even in a common area, if the squirrel was killed by a cat or dog owned by a tenant, it would be tenant’s duty to clean up after their pet.

A practical issue arises if the common area is the backyard of a duplex or triplex and the landlord does not live there. Then, most reasonable tenants would pick up the dead squirrel or other debris so that they can have a clean, sanitary back yard immediately.

As to garbage strewn around, if the reason for the mess is your failure to properly close the garbage bin lid, then the responsibility is yours. Even if the mess isn’t your fault, you should probably just clean it up.

If the mess is in a common area, then as between the landlord and tenants of other units in the complex, the responsibility to ensure the area is cleaned is the landlord’s, but the landlord can charge back a reasonable cost for the cleanup to the tenant who is responsible. The landlord could also warn the tenant to take better care, or there will be more serious consequences.

Landlords can give warnings or notices of termination to tenants who fail to clean up common areas after making them dirty or cluttered. Examples include not cleaning up dog dirt, or spilling garbage, dragging discarded belongings onto the property, leaving soft drink bottles or food waste on common areas lawns or patios, or leaving lawn furniture or children’s toys out on lawns or walkways in a way that presents a tripping hazard, or makes the property look a mess.

The recycling bin issue is a little trickier, because there is a general principle of law that a person is not responsible for the wrongful act of a third party; the tenant is not typically responsible if the bin is stolen. That would leave the landlord to replace the bin, since it is up to the landlord to provide a recycling bin and a garbage bin that seals.

However, people can be held responsible for the wrongful act of a third party if their negligence contributed to the wrong doing. The tenant would be negligent if they had known or ought to have known that there was a recycling bin thief in the neighbourhood. The landlord will probably have to pay for the first replacement, but the tenant should be on the hook for any subsequent losses due to leaving the bin out too long.