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so my landlord has a huge tendancy of.. no matter what the excuse for the visit... of knocking on the front or back door and wether we respond or not just uses his key and enter our apartment, whether it is just to talk to us, check on a radiator that HE BROKE btw, or to ask about rent.. we are college kids and don't exactly know if he is allowed to do this or not but have asked him to stop coming in without permission many times and he hasn't stopped... is this legal?!
What does your lease say? Landlords are required to give 24 hours notice before entering the premises unless it it an emergency. This should be stated in your lease.
What does your lease say? Landlords are required to give 24 hours notice before entering the premises unless it it an emergency. This should be stated in your lease.
It's rarely stated in a lease but is part of state landlord tenant laws. OP, if you go to the first "sticky" on this forum you'll find a link to your state laws (or you can google, "(your state) landlord right of entry" or similar). Most states strictly prohibit a LL and/or his agents from entering the unit without giving 24 hours notice unless in case of emergency - broken pipes, fire, etc.
Best thing to do is politely notify your LL in writing that you don't feel comfortable with him coming into your rental unit without permission, cite the applicable state law and ask him to please give you the required notice in future.
Some state laws also require that the landlord install an unkeyed deadbolt or similar lock that cannot be opened from outside. Texas is one of those. Check your state laws. If your state law or lease do not prohibit this, you may be able to install one of your own.
You might also consider writing your landlord a letter objecting to his practice, as it could be an invasion of your privacy at an inconvenient moment, if you have not approved his visit 24 hours in advance.
I would do as CptnRn suggested and write the landlord a letter. You might also want to go to the housing advisor at J&W either at the Cranston Campus or in Providence and ask them to help you with this situation.
Rhode Island has one of the best written Landlord-Tenant Statutes that, at the time they were enacted, were called the Tenant's Bill of Rights. Because of the excesses of many landlords, those statutes were extremely harsh for the landlords to follow. IIRC, the landlord must give a 24 hr notice except in emergency (pretty standard for most states) to enter the apartment.
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