Landlord Came Into My Apartment w/o Notice (apartments, security deposit, house)

[fancofu]

Originally Posted by aaauger

If she gave you notice and you didn't move your vehicle as requested, she should have called you. If you didn't answer, it's not clear that she had a right to enter your premises to locate you. The only reason it could be considered an emergency is if it would have cost her money to not pave at that time. If she gave you no notice, then she's definitely in the wrong.

If you want to move, you need to 1) check with your local tenant or housing authority, 2) send her a certified letter letting her know that SHE broke the lease by her action, 3) move.

Thank you. That's what I needed to know.

I want to thank all of you for your input. It's greatly appreciated.

[j760]

Originally Posted by fancofu

I don't really want to go that far. I just want to know what constitutes an emergency.

Why not?

The landlord had no right to enter your apartment, and chances are they already knew this. If you want to prevent it from happening again to either yourself or other tenants then take some action here. They knew it was wrong, and you now know for sure it was wrong, you telling them it was wrong isn't enough, they need to learn it's not acceptable.

[fancofu]

Originally Posted by j760

Why not?

The landlord had no right to enter your apartment, and chances are they already knew this. If you want to prevent it from happening again to either yourself or other tenants then take some action here. They knew it was wrong, and you now know for sure it was wrong, you telling them it was wrong isn't enough, they need to learn it's not acceptable.

I don't want to go to court over it because it will just add more stress. I just want to be able to get out of the lease with my deposit in hand and no penalties incurred.

[averagejoe76]

I have lived in Apartment's when they were paving the parking lot..
And they had to put notices on everyones door way in advance.
I had a friend who pulled a gun on a Maintenance guy who just barged into his..
Apartment.(In the Dark)Im sure he knocked after that.

[Versatile]

Start here. Your Legal Rights ... legal, rights, justice, landlord, eviction, tenant, rent, repairs

[pitt_transplant]

Well would you of rather paid the tow and impound fee?

If your apt was dirty it was dirty. That causes problems for other tenants.
(vermin)

Im sure if you spoke to her about getting out of a lease she wouldnt mind letting go of a dirty tenant.
Next time pick a place with a chain lock or put one on yourself. Those are more for privacy than security.

[Donn2390]

Originally Posted by fancofu

The one I called was supposed to know that stuff. I guess I just called a really bad lawyer.

He may have known his stuff, but didn't want to bother with a small case. he is looking for the big buck.
I would tell LL hat if she/he ever enters you homne again, without a minimum of 24 hour notice, you will have her arrested.
If she can't wake you by knocking on the front door, then should have had the car towed, at your expense if notice was given, at hers if no notice was given.
Poster above was correct, planning a new drive way took weeks, it didn't come up over night.

[fierce_flawless]

Originally Posted by pitt_transplant

Well would you of rather paid the tow and impound fee?

If your apt was dirty it was dirty. That causes problems for other tenants.
(vermin)

Im sure if you spoke to her about getting out of a lease she wouldnt mind letting go of a dirty tenant.
Next time pick a place with a chain lock or put one on yourself. Those are more for privacy than security.

I can promise you, if I were this tenant and I'd received no notice and my car was towed, *I* sure as heck wouldn't be the one paying the impound fee!

"Dirty" is totally subjective. My dad thought something was dirty if it failed his white-glove test. Yes, he actually pulled out a white glove every time. My GF's mom thinks something is clean if there's no trash spilling over the edge of the can and no flies hanging about. So none of us know if it was 'dirty' and even so, if the LL wants to inspect the property they generally must give NOTICE for that. She wasn't there to check the cleanliness.

Why blame the tenant here? The LL was clearly IN THE WRONG, assuming she'd given no prior notice. Just because you rent someone else's property, doesn't mean you're relegated to teenager status where anyone can barge in whenever the heck they want.

I lived with much, much worse in a psycho landlady before, one who would bang on my children's bedroom windows at 11pm if she wanted to "talk to me" for whatever her latest made-up issue was..... and all sorts of insanity. I called the cops on her and they made her leave me alone.

It's been my experience, with some landlords, if you give them an inch... they'll make a doormat of you quicker than you ever expected.

Barge into someone's home in Texas while they're sleeping,without cause or justification or a badge, and you might be met with a shotgun!

[BigJon3475]

Originally Posted by fancofu

My landlord woke me up this morning knocking on my bedroom door. They are paving the parking lot out side and said I need to move my car. According to the lease a landlord can only enter the residence for an emergency, to make repairs, to show to prospective buyers, when abandoned, and for court orders. The landlord said that paving the parking lot was an emergency so she had a right to enter. While she was in the apartment she apparently did an inspection because she told me that I would be written up (don't know what that means) because the apartment was dirty. The apartment is not dirty. It's about as clean as you can get an apartment having 2 toddlers.

She did not make any repairs in the apartment. She didn't show it to prospective buyers, she knows I haven't abandoned it, and there was no court order. It boils down to whether or not the paving of the parking lot is an emergency.

I'm having trouble believing that paving the parking lot constitutes as an emergency. Furthermore, she said she knocked for about 10 minutes. If no one answers the door after 10 minutes that's a good reason to think no one is home. Given that, what did she expect upon entering an apartment to which all signs point to no one being there? Also, it is my understanding that the emergency has to be related to the apartment. Would you consider paving a parking lot to be an emergency?

I'm upset about this because a) I feel it's an invasion of privacy, b) I don't trust the landlord in the apartment while I'm sleeping, c) I will be written up because she thinks that apartment is dirty.

Does anyone have any information concerning Jefferson County, Missouri tenant-landlord laws or some advice, opinions, etc.?

http://ago.mo.gov/publications/landlordtenant.pdf

Are you sure you read the entire contract? Every contract I have seen gives full rights to the land lord in cases of inspections. I'm of course in a different state though. We always notify unless of an emergency but they do not require such notifications.

[fancofu]

I ended up sending a message to the Community Action Housing Specialist people and they replied:

Dear Tenant,
Our agency would like to assist you in looking into this matter, but in order to do that we would need your contact information. If you would like us to review this further please email back your name, address, phone number, and landlord information.
Sincerely,
Melissa Grimes
Housing Specialist

I think I'm going to talk to the LL about it first. See if she would be willing to come to an agreement so that I can get out without having to talk to the Housing Authority.

This is verbatim from the lease:

The Owner or his agent may enter the unit only for the following purposes: (a) in case of emergency, (b) to make repairs (c) to exhibit the unit to prospective purchasers, mortgagors, tenants and workmen, (d) when the Tenant has abandoned or surrendered the unit or (e) pursuant to court order. Tenant shall not unreasonably withhold consent to the Owner to enter for such purposes. However, the Owner shall, except in an emergency such as a fire, give the Tenant at least twenty-four hours notice of his intent to enter and may then enter only during reasonable hours. If an emergency occurs, the Owner shall, within two days thereafter, notify Tenant of the date, time, purpose and results of such entry.

It's been two days and she still hasn't given me any report about it. It's not that big of a deal but it is required by the lease. Do you think this could also give me leverage?

Well would you of rather paid the tow and impound fee?

If your apt was dirty it was dirty. That causes problems for other tenants.
(vermin)

Im sure if you spoke to her about getting out of a lease she wouldnt mind letting go of a dirty tenant.
Next time pick a place with a chain lock or put one on yourself. Those are more for privacy than security.

She didn't give any notice that my car had to be moved so I definitely wouldn't have been paying any fees. The apartment isn't dirty. There aren't any vermin. It's cluttered from kid's toys and we were in the process of doing laundry.

I took picture immediately after I moved my car.


Paperwork on table. Box by wall and box at end of counter hold diapers (unused, clean).


Paperwork on microwave. Seal from a bag on stove. Juice container and unused cupcake tray at end of counter.


Magazines, phone, toy backpack. 4 (I counted) dirty dishes. Floor mats (towels, waded up) under counter.


Paperwork, juice bottle on table. Baby wipes and diaper boxes (unused, clean). Dirty laundry in basket and mesh bag (in process of taking them to laundromat).


Bookshelf full of random stuff. Bag of clothes for babysitter. 2 socks, flip-flops, and the trashcan is a prop for my daughter. Cables on far right are for X-Box 360 that is unhooked.


Cover on couch. Jacket, book, and shorts on table. Another bag of clothes for the babysitter.


Vacuum at end of hallway.

I didn't take pictures of the bathroom or the kid's room because the doors were shut and she shouldn't have went in them if it was an emergency and she was looking for me. The structural integrity of the apartment is the same as when I moved in. No writing on the walls, no spots/stains on carpet, no pets, non smoker, etc.

These are low-resolution for the forums but I also have them in 1280x1040 and a video walk-through.