Legal Question in Real Estate Law in California
Landlord entering dwelling
Last Thursday I came home to find things moved and in disarray, so I called my husband to see if he had left the home like this. He rushed home from work because he had not left things in disarray and was worried that we had been robbed. After he came home we noticed that nothing was missing just out of place. We never called the police just started locking all three locks on our door (including the deadbolt.) This week while our landlord was asking about the rent we asked him if he was in our place on Thursday? He answered that he had because of needing to let an inspector look at the place for insurance needed updating. I am very upset and do not feel safe in my own home. I need to know what, if anything, can be done? He has done things in the past that I find iffy but this has to be illegal, right?
2 Answers from Attorneys
Re: Landlord entering dwelling
It is not necessarily illegal for a landlord to enter the property in an emergency or to repair something. It usually calls for some advanced notice if it is for something like a routine inspection of the kind you described. Read your lease and see what it says about the landlord's right to enter the premises. Let me know by email, or fax a copy of it to me at 925-397-3044, and I will let you know what your rights are.
Re: Landlord entering dwelling
Unless there is a bona fide emergency like a burst pipe, a burglary in progress, smell of smoke, etc., the landlord must give you 'reasonable notice' and enter only during normal business hours. The Civil Code (section 1954) says that 24 hours' prior notice is presumed reasonable, so most landlords give at least 24 hours' prior notice. Shorter notice may also be reasonable in some cases.
In this case, the rummaging and disarray suggests there may have been another motive and that your place was searched. Is there a drug problem in the building? You might want to register a written complaint with the landlord, and you might also want to consider moving soon since this landlord seems to be a creepy character.
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