Repeated Unlawful Entry of Landlord

[whitney916]

I had a pest problem in my apartment and complained numerous times. The landlady put me on a list of apartments to be sprayed when pest control came out for their monthly visit. Several weeks later, I got a call from the landlady around 10am. I was sleeping and ignored it. A few minutes later, a strange man let himself into my apartment while I was in my underwear in the bedroom. I was not given 24 hour written notice of their visit, nor did I give permission for him to enter the apartment beforehand. When I complained to the office, the landlady made no apologies but said it was 'unusual' for something like that to happen. That was her only explanation.

They have never asked for my permission to enter the apartment for prior repairs, nor do they leave notification that someone has been in the apartment after repairs are made, and they certainly don't provide a written notice 24 hours in advance. Instead, the maintenance staff seems to be given license to enter homes at their own discretion.

Since the landlady appears ignorant of California law, and unwilling to fix the situation, what options are open to me?

Thank you for any help you can provide.

 

[CdwJava]

Well, next time someone enters your apartment unannounced you can call the cops. You can also choose to move. Understand that if you complain about a maintenance issue like insects, don't expect an immediate response if you insist upon the 24 hour notice. I suspect the phone call you ignored was a the landlord or manager informing you that someone was coming to look at stuff. Some issues that involve contracted personnel may not provide that kind of notice to the management so you may have little to notice and have to take the assistance when it is available.

If you have the funds or can gain the interest of an attorney maybe you can sue them.

Ultimately, what do you want to happen? Are you looking for a lottery win or are you looking for privacy? If the latter you can always look to the terms of the lease. If they are not adhering to the terms of the lease and required legal notice you can either take legal action or consider the contract broken and move somewhere else.

 

[Gail_in_Georgia]

When you call and request a repair (or, in this case, addressing a pest issue), you are giving the landlord/management permission to address this issue.

In an apartment complex where a number of apartments are to be sprayed for pests during a monthly visit, it is highly unlikely that they can give you an exact time they will be there to do this. It does sound like the landlady attempted to contact you at 10 am; you ignored the call and it is quite likely that the pest control person assumed no one was home and they entered as a response to your repair request.

If you don't want someone walking in when you are there, invest in a chain lock for the door.

I'm not exactly sure what you want; it does sound as if you make a request for repairs you want them to still notify you within 24 hours of their coming and be more specific on when they show up. This may not be possible if they are servicing a large number of apartments.

Your best bet may be to ask to be let out of your lease so you might be able to find a smaller complex or single house.

Gail

 

[whitney916]

Well, next time someone enters your apartment unannounced you can call the cops. You can also choose to move. Understand that if you complain about a maintenance issue like insects, don't expect an immediate response if you insist upon the 24 hour notice. I suspect the phone call you ignored was a the landlord or manager informing you that someone was coming to look at stuff. Some issues that involve contracted personnel may not provide that kind of notice to the management so you may have little to notice and have to take the assistance when it is available.

If you have the funds or can gain the interest of an attorney maybe you can sue them.

Ultimately, what do you want to happen? Are you looking for a lottery win or are you looking for privacy? If the latter you can always look to the terms of the lease. If they are not adhering to the terms of the lease and required legal notice you can either take legal action or consider the contract broken and move somewhere else.

The pest control company comes out once a month on a specified day. The landlady had nearly a month between when I called and when he came out for said visit, which was more than a sufficient amount of time for her to inform me of the date he would be arriving.

As a single woman living alone, I do not want strange men in my apartment when I am not dressed. It is both a privacy and a safety concern. That is neither unreasonable nor do I feel it is too much to ask. Instead it is merely obeying the California laws which are presumably in place to protect both landlord and tenant. You must not live in California, but the landlord tenant laws are very strict here.

I am not looking for a 'lottery win', I am looking for my landlord to tell me they will respect my privacy and my rights and give me advance notice so I can make sure I am presentable before someone lets themselves into my home without my consent.

Thank you for your time and good day.

 

[whitney916]

When you call and request a repair (or, in this case, addressing a pest issue), you are giving the landlord/management permission to address this issue.

In an apartment complex where a number of apartments are to be sprayed for pests during a monthly visit, it is highly unlikely that they can give you an exact time they will be there to do this. It does sound like the landlady attempted to contact you at 10 am; you ignored the call and it is quite likely that the pest control person assumed no one was home and they entered as a response to your repair request.

If you don't want someone walking in when you are there, invest in a chain lock for the door.

I'm not exactly sure what you want; it does sound as if you make a request for repairs you want them to still notify you within 24 hours of their coming and be more specific on when they show up. This may not be possible if they are servicing a large number of apartments.

Your best bet may be to ask to be let out of your lease so you might be able to find a smaller complex or single house.

Gail

Gail, I appreciate your response but you evidently are not familiar with the landlord tenant laws in California. Whenever maintenance personnel come out they are required to give you advance notice in writing or to obtain verbal permission to enter your dwelling--even when you call for repairs. Further, even if they obtain verbal permission, it is good only for a period of a few days--they are not presumed to still have permission to enter after an elapsed time of nearly 30 days. The ONLY instance they can enter your residence is in case of an emergency (roof leaking, pipes burst, etc). As litigious as our society is, management companies are usually well versed on these practices and are very careful to obey the laws.

I am not permitted to change the locks or to add a chain to the door. It is against the terms of the lease.

Thank you for your response.

 

[CdwJava]

Okay, then what do you want to do? You can either push the management around and threaten legal action, or you can move. Alternatively, you can pay an attorney to try and sue them. But, if the goal is to maintain your privacy, then you may have to suffer some inconvenience with maintenance requests.

Also, read your lease, it may cover these sorts of things.

And all because it is a month between visits for the pest control people they may not give the management the exact day and hour they will be on site, or the exact day and time they will be visiting your apartment. Hence, the phone call.

Oh, and I DO live in CA and have a pretty strong familiarity with landlord tenant laws. But, if they are violating some element of the law, what do you want to do about it? The cops aren't going to help you out unless you make a trespassing call. An attorney costs money, and without damages it ain't gonna be worthwhile. That pretty much leaves an angry note or verbal complaint to the management.

So, if you are not seeking monetary compensation, is this simply a place to vent? All we can really suggest is that you ask the management to adhere to the laws and the lease, or ask that they let you out of your lease so you can find another place to live.

 

[mightymoose]

The solution you are seeking requires you to have a discussion with the landlord, nothing more.