My apartment manager inspects us way too much and it is harassing. What should I do?

Question

I know about the right to quiet enjoyment, but in my lease it says that they can come in and inspect our apartment. She expects us to clean the windows inside and out. I live on the third floor! She also looks in the refridgerator, cabinets and the closets. She gave us a letter that said what she expects to be clean. My apartment is not unihabitable by any means. Can she do this legally and what can I do to prevent this invasion of privacy?

Answer 1

Move out. Move as fast as you can. If she asks why, tell her what you told us here.

Answer 2

Access to an apartment is supposed to be for maintenance issues, like leaky pipes, or roaches. In most states the landlord has to give you notice of when and what they would like to inspect. If you live in a city, call the housing department and ask what your rights are. They also maybe able to help you with free legal council.
If she is unpleasant about it and is excessive, possibly it could be harassment and you could get a restraining order, but that will get pretty unpleasant if you do.
If she would like to have the outside 3rd story windows washed ask her to demonstrate how you should do them properly and see what she does.
Also ask that she put the inspections on a schedule. Say once a month or every 3 months. Then tell her it embarrasses you to have her looking in you closets and frig. And that you would feel much more comfortable with her just looking in maintenance prone areas like under the sink.
She can not require anything that is not in the lease that you signed, that is her contract with you and can't be changed without your written agreement in a renegotiated contract. So read it very carefully!
She sounds like a real pain. I hope the apartment is worth it!

Answer 3

Find out what the laws are in your state regarding what is reasonable. As a landlord, I must state that occasionally inspecting the apartment, like once every month or two, is reasonable. It sounds like she is going a bit overboard, though. Consider that she may have had bad experiences with tenants, and she might be overly reacting to those experiences. I have had multiple problems with tenants, due to their not respecting my property, and you can be sure that they were mad at me about it. One left our house so flea infested that you could feel them jumping on you when you walked in the door. The same tenant also didn't run the sprinkler system on a regular basis, as was in the lease agreement, in order to save money, damaging landscaping that cost us several thousand dollars. He also left the yard covered in dog poop, and left the gate to the back yard broken. The tile grout throughout the house was filthy because of his dogs. I could go on and on. Fortunately, all of the repairs were covered by his deposit (just barely), but this guy was expecting his deposit back. This was a nice guy renting a very nice house. But people who don't own a property often don't realize the expenses incurred when they leave the property.

We had other tenants who were angry that we were showing a house for sale during their last month there because it was inconvenient. I should add that we had given them a sizeable discount on their last month's rent (which was the last month of their lease) to make up for the inconvenience. We didn't have to do that, and I wish we didn't, because they just kept complaining as the month went on, and were rude to real estate agents and clients when they came through the house.

Another family, who was alllllllways late on their rent (like a month or more), didn't bother to tell us that the plumbing went on the house. My husband happened to drive down the cul-de-sac to do a drive-by inspection and saw water streaming down the driveway from the floor of the garage. For the life of me I couldnt' figure out why they didn't tell us. They said they thought they did it, so they didn't want to tell us(???) Of course water sitting there for days damaged cabinets, carpets, and whatnot. We repaired it immediately, to the tune of $6000. It was a perfect repair job, and none of their things were damaged. Then they informed us that they wanted to move out, effective immediately. (They were halfway through the lease) They had been so much trouble that we let them, although we did not refund their last month's rent because they did not give us sufficient notice to find another tenant. (By the way, they didn't bother to pay that last month's water bill either.)

Anyway, I guess my point is that there are always two sides to every story, and being a landlord I get suspicious when I hear innocent tenant stories. It's very possible that you are very clean. It is unreasonable for her to expect you to clean your outside windows every week or month, although it is reasonable to expect that you will wash them once or twice while you live there. She is looking in fridge, cabinets, and closets: Has she had to call in an exterminator since you've lived there? If no, then she is being unreasonable. If yes, then she is being completely reasonable. Exterminators are expensive, and that money comes off the landlord's bottom line.

Here is a suggestion for the windows: They sell this stuff at Home Depot and Lowes that we use on our home. I can't remember then name of it, but look for one that attaches to the end of a garden hose and mixes with water from the hose. Get, or borrow, a garden hose and go outside and spray the windows with this stuff. It really works, without any scrubbing, and takes just a few minutes. I know this is a pain, but consider that there may be a very strict homeowner's association in your complex that she is trying to comply with.

As far as the legal stuff, consider getting Prepaid Legal services. For about $30 per month you can have access to a lawyer, letters written from a lawyer, etc. That's a lot cheaper than fighting it yourself, and you'll have the service available for every legal need, including traffic tickets, law suits, complaints against businesses, etc. They can help you know what your rights are as a tenant.

Good luck.

Answer 4

That sounds extreme.

How often does your agreement state that they can do those inspections? If it does not give a specific time frame, I would write a letter to her that you are willing to provide her access for inspections on a biannual basis.

Her inspection should only be to diagnose plumbing issues and such. Looking under the sink would be acceptable but looking in your closets is intrusive. I'd be tempted to hang a fake body or something in a closet.

Her giving you a list of how to clean and maintain your unit is just wrong. You are not obligated to clean house to her standards.....who does she think she is ......your mom.

Document everything. If you should be written up for not cleaning the windows enough or she gives you notice based on not inspecting enough I would make her take me to court.
That's harrasment.
She can't expect anything to be clean until or provide a letter to you unless it is a move out letter with what condition she expect the apartment to be left in upon vacating.

Google your states tenant landlord rights handbook.

Good Luck

Answer 5

in common terms in case of an emergency can a landlord enter unannounced. In maximum states a 24-hour published word is needed. In some states the regulation is greater strict; in New Jersey, the owner is had to furnish seventy two-hour written word. The NJ regulations have been at the instant changed that a landlord isn't required to have a key to the condo (yet pointless to characteristic, keys could desire to be exceeded over upon termination of the residency). If a landlord persists in unwarranted entries, which may be considered harassment. on the different hand, as long simply by fact the owner has valid reason to go into the valuables you're able to desire to furnish get right of entry to.

Answer 6

States typically require landlords to provide advance notice (usually 24 hours) before entering a rental unit.
In most states, without advance notice, a landlord or manager may enter rented premises while a tenant is living there only in an emergency, such as a fire or serious water leak, or when the tenant gives permission. This is from the site: http://realestate.findlaw.com/tenant/tenant-more-topics/tenant-privacy(1).html

Click here: http://www.rentlaw.com/ and select your state to view the guide for Landlord/Tenant Laws. You should then be able to find out if your landlord is entering your property illegally. Without knowing which state you live in...I can't give you more specific info.

I hope I've helped. And I hope you get this resolved.

Answer 7

You need to talk to Legal Aid in your community and perhaps have them draft a letter to your landlord.

She should only be entering your apartment if something needs fixing, and even then, she needs to give you 1 day's advance notice. She does NOT have the right to look in your closets, cabinets, or refrigerator.

Stand up for yourself. If you have a lease and you're paying rent, it is YOUR home; you're not her "guest," which is how it sounds like she's perceiving this. Take a copy of your lease with you to the Legal Aid office.

Answer 8

If it's in your lease she can do it as much as she wants. She might be harassing you but there's nothing you can do about it but move, that might be why she is doing it. Next time look over your lease carefully and and don't sign anything that permits the landlord to basically come and go as they please. They should only be aloud to enter your apt. for a repair, and have your permission to do so. They should also have to give you some type of notice too in most states.

Answer 9

I don't know what state you are in but most of them have landlord/tenant laws, look them up online. It will tell you what she can and cannot do. In a lot of states they have to give 24 hours notice before they can enter. I would start keeping track everytime she enters and what she does, also if she does not own the building you might let whoever does know what's going on.

Answer 10

If she is not the owner as well as the manager I suggest you take it up with the owner. Also I do believe that she has to give 24 hours notice for an inspection unless there is an emergency.

Answer 11

Speak to a lawyer who specializes in landlord/tenants rights. In the mean time go to; http://www.nolo.com/index.cfm and find advice about your concern in the index.

No one has the right to enter your apartment unless it’s an emergency, or they must give you 48hrs notice in writing!

Looking in your refrigerator and cupboards? That’s outrageous! You need to tell this person to stop pushing you around. It is your property as long as you pay your rent on time and you are entitled to privacy under the law!