I'm not a landlord, but I did hire a crime scene cleanup group to take care of my dad's hoarder house. They
rocked. Expensive for a full hoarding situation, (worth every penny tho) but I imagine it isn't too terrible for the "spot" cleaning in the event of a violent/messy/undiscovered death. They remove anything that was in contact with the deceased or contaminated with body fluids - furnishings, carpet/flooring, and deal with cleaning the area using proper equipment/biological cleaners and properly dispose of everything. They will not clean the whole house or remove non-compromised items, and in some cases, they might leave cut out holes in carpeting or drywall, but some can repair (depends on the crew's expertise and how much you want to pay them as opposed to just getting a regular contractor in to repair). Your insurance may cover the costs, and you can discuss with the cleaner and your agent to make sure before contracting them in.
I would imagine if it's a non-violent death that is discovered quickly (before the body starts to decompose) then you'd just need to call in to the local law enforcement (non-emergency number, but I can't imagine that you'd get in trouble for calling 911 for a dead body) to get the ball rolling on the body removal and get clearance to remove property. I'd clean out the fridge or any food issues and make sure there are no pets that need care, but otherwise leave it alone for at least a week after if it was a non-crime.
I'd also make sure that anyone you're renting to has an emergency contact. In the event your tenant dies, you can make sure to give to the authorities and then contact after to find out who can come get the property/furnishings (although I'd give it at least a week or two before bothering bereaved family). I would think you should contact a lawyer to see what your state laws are regarding disposition of the property and make sure there's no specific responsibilities and the minimum amount of time that you need to give them to remove the property. If they owe you money, you'd need to contact the estate/family member and submit a formal claim on the estate.
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20090303203426AAVwf4k^a little info there
and boy am I coming across as crazy morbid... :D
