What do you do when your landlord goes into your home while you are out of town without notifying you?

Question

he went into my apartment without telling me. My neighbor watch him enter. He has also been releasing personal information.

Answer 1

In the state of Oregon if a lanlord has entered without permission, the landlord owes the tennat 2 months free rent. You must submit this in writting to the landlord and i would send a copy to who they answer to. but make sure your not past any limitations from the event. there is a time frame you have to report it.

Answer 2

You need to check your lease agreement. Some leases state the landlord can enter without permission if they have reasonable cause or if they are delivering a notice, and no notice is required in some leases. It may not be a breach of the lease! It is very important you read the lease before you sue or call the cops!!! Otherwise if the lease allows him to enter you will be responible for his court costs and attorney fees!! The personal information issue depends on what he released and why. If you applied to rent somewhere else and he was releasing information to the prospective landlord there is a limit to what he can say You need to ask a Real Estate agent or attorney in your state about the laws in that state. I am a RE agent in Tx if you happen to live in TX.

Answer 3

The first thing I would do is talk to the landlord and ask him why he was in your apartment. He may forgotten to ask you and decided not to wait until you returned. In my opinion it's an invasion of privacy and should something of yours come up missing the landlord could be held liable.
With that said I would give the landlord the opportunity to explain why he was in your apartment. Hopefully he realizes that what he did was wrong, regardless of his intentions, and offers an apology and the mattered is resolved to your satisfaction. If, on the other hand, you're not satisfied with his explanation (and no apology is offered) then I would contact the company or person (s) who owns the complex and explain to them the situation. They would hopefully take the appropriate action such as talking to the landlord and possibly admonishing him for what he did.
Also I suggest you make a note of this incident and put it in your file should it happen again. Some landlords get real careless in their positions especially when it comes to the safety and security of the property and their tenants.

Answer 4

1) Call the police and have the neighbor with you to fill out a breaking an entering police report.
2) Call your local housing authority and notify them of the problem
3) Look for a new place to live, and possibly a lawyer to sue for anything he's stolen or financial damage he may have caused
4) Watch your credit report carefully.

By the way, by entering when you weren't home, he violated the law and therefore nullifies your lease agreement. If you move out you pay no reletting fee or penalty, but you MUST contact the housing authority about it and have a police report in hand so that he cannot try to sue you for reletting fees. You will also probably have to at least take him to small claims for your deposit.

Answer 5

That would depend upon why he entered your home.

Landlords do have a right to enter their property at reasonable hours for inspection and to perform routine repairs. They normally must provide advance notice. 24 hrs is typically considered adequate though laws vary on this. Landlords may also enter at any hour for emergencies. A ruptured water line would be a good example; non-payment of rent would NOT be.

If you were out of town when the landlord attempted to notify you of his or her intent to enter the property, the law may provide for a constructive approval on your part since you did not object. Unless you have evidence of illegal activty on his part (something missing from your apartment or surveillance equipment that he installed, for example) then you have no legal objection to his entering in most jurisdictions.

As to releasing personal information, that also depends. Certain information is "public information" such as your name and address. Other information isn't public, but is typically released in the due course of business, such as reporting tenants' payment histories to credit reporting agencies, or in response to legal process.

You should consult with an attorney or a tenants' rights group for guidance on what's permitted in your jurisdiction and what's not on both issues.

Please ignore the advice from the d00b that says to change your locks. That is in violation of most leases and can get you evicted if you don't provide copies of the keys to the landlord. Even then, the landlord has the right to reinstall the old locks, especially if the complex is on a master key system. I evicted a tenant in TX for changing the locks on one of my properties, in violation of the lease, when he refused to give me copies of the keys. I had to force entry for emergency repairs and billed the tenant for the damage done getting in as well as the additional damage caused by the delay. I had to sue in small claims court, but he eventually paid up.

Answer 6

Read you lease closely. A landlord is allowed to enter a premises with proper notifications or if it would be an emergency. At times a landlord is notified for a reference. I would ask him about this and if there was no good reason, you might want to speak with a DA or your attorney.

Answer 7

Check with your cith hall and what the laws are for renter's rights. In general, notice needs to be given prior to the landlord entering the property.

I once had a landlord that was under the impression that since he owned it he could come any time. The lease usually means they cannot since it is a contract to entitle you to the property.

Answer 8

If he wasn't entering for a reason like a broken water pipe in your home that had to be repaired to protect the property (and he couldn't find you after making reasonable attempts to do so), it is not legal.

About releasing personal information, it depends on what the information is and to whom he is releasing it and for what reason. For example, if he gave information about you to Child Protective Services if he suspected child abuse (not out of the blue, but he saw bruises on your child, for example), he'd be in the right. If he's selling your personal information to scammers, he's definitely wrong and open to criminal and civil action.

Consult an attorney. If you can't afford one, look for a free legal service in your community. If you don't know how to find one, call the police and ask them to refer you to the appropriate organization. You may also wish to talk with the police about pressing charges for illegal entry and anything else that may be applicable to your situation.

Best wishes!

Answer 9

He is supposed to notify you 24 hours in advance if he needs to enter your home for any business connected to the renovation/repair of his property. If he does not notify you, you need to notify him IN WRITING that he is violating the privacy laws and that you can and will take him to court to prevent his "snooping" in your personal/private affairs. I would be certain, however, that he is indeed the one who is responsible for releasing personal information without your consent.

Answer 10

Whether or not he broke the law depends on what state you're in. Here in TX, they can do it at any time without notice.

In CA, they must give notice unless it is an emergency.

If it were me, I'd break the rules and put my own locks on the door. That way he can only get in by breaking and entering and that IS illegal.

I've done that one before myself.