Landlord Gave A Stranger My House Keys!

[SanFranciscan]

My building is being painted by a landlord I am sure is about to sell the building, even though he denied it after buying some expensive windows for every unit here. I am okay with his right to sell the building because he is getting old, and his wife knows nothing about building maintenance and does not want to learn. She just wants the money, and it shows in her attitude.

Here is my complaint. We thought that the work being done was completed on Tuesday while the landlord was here and we were at work. Imagine our surprise when a painter showed up in our hallway ringing our bell on Wednesday only because he heard a television on our side of the door. Our landlord, not with him, had given him keys to our apartment. We did not like it that someone we had never even seen before had keys to come in here and possibly make duplicates of those keys.

We called the landlord because we were on our way out to go to work. Another five minutes and we would have never known that the painter was here. The landlord was not at home. The painter left quickly promising to return today because he was as uncomfortable with the situation as we were since he did not expect to find us here. He rushed off with the keys he admitted to having.

When my husband called the landlady back to tell her what had happened, she was mad at my husband and told him in a very snippy manner that he knew the building was being painted. Twice my husband told her that we were going to work because she asked twice whether we were going on vacation after my husband told her that we were leaving and that the landlord wasn't here. We have never told her anything about going on vacation because we are not doing that now, so why would she make that assumption?

What would you do in our situation? We are not sure what is going to go on here today. The painter is supposed to return. We resent the landlord's and landlady's assumption that only their property counts because this work being done around here is not for the benefit of us or our neighbors. Mrs. actually called us about a year ago saying that she wanted to "negotiate" with us, meaning that she wanted to increase the value of her property at our expense.

 

[SanFranciscan]

I have something else I would like to say about this. Tenants give references and make security deposits and all sorts of stuff for the protection of the landlord. Why is it that people who aren't qualified to manage a hot dog stand are allowed to get into the rental property business?

Renting property is a job. Good landlords know this. Unfortunately the inflated real estate prices over the years have attracted people who are not interested in a job but are seeking a lazy way to riches. They are thinking that they will buy a building they perhaps can't even afford, get the tenants to pay the mortgage, and then resell the building at a huge profit. The landlady is complaining that she has to pay property taxes as if this is some grave injustice to her. If she owned a store or a restaurant, she would pay taxes; and she is not guaranteed any profit at those.

Bad tenants are professionals. They can pass background checks because they make their living cheating people, not just landlords but everybody, and know how the mean game is played. If you have been conned as a landlord, you were taken for a ride by a professional cheater. The fastest way to get ripped off is to try to get something for nothing. If the tenant flashes a lot of money to appeal to your greed when he is trying to get you to rent to him, you are being conned. My landlandy would be very vulnerable to such a prospective tenant.

 

[Lmichele]

A typical agreement between a landlord and a tenant is that the landlord can enter the apartment with prior notice. You mentioned you were told the building was being painted...were you specifically told your apartment was being painted. If so, then I don't see the landlord doing anything wrong. I would read your lease to verify who and why they can enter your apartment to be sure... but I have rented many places and all my lease agreements stated that with prior notice they can enter your place. For one example, a building I once rented in was having plumbing problems....we were given a letter stating the problem and a date and time frame it would be looked at and or fixed. Well, when I came home from work there was a plumber in my place ...not the landlord....the plumber he hired and give permission to work on his property. I was fine with this...as it is in our lease that he has the right to enter the apartment.

JMHO – I guess I can see why you’re a bit mad, but as a former renter I don’t see anything wrong with this.

 

[DisneyMomOK]

Your landlord provides you with "quiet enjoyment' with certain exceptions, noted in the lease. I would review that document to see what rights you gave your landlord to enter your apartment during your lease.

 

[momrek06]

OP, Go to your lease, is there a section called Right of Entry. Read through that and see if indeed the landlord was not abiding by the lease.

 

[ClarabelleCowFan]

OP, Go to your lease, is there a section called Right of Entry. Read through that and see if indeed the landlord was not abiding by the lease.

Check for wording about any notice the landlord must give you before entering the apartment or any wording about the landlord "or his representative" being able to enter the apartment for repairs at any time.

I can see why you are miffed. I would be too but I think that you will probably find the legal wording in your lease allowing your landlord (or their representative) the ability to enter your apartment at any time.

I've had landlord issues when I rented and learned to always read EVERY word in a lease and make sure I understood and agreed with ALL the terms before signing the lease.

Good luck!

 

[SanFranciscan]

I will check my lease, but I will be calling the Tenants' Union for a change in the law if landlords can just hand over keys to their tenants' homes because that is criminal whether or not it is a prosecutable offense. The landlords who do that are the ones who will deny any liability for the actions of their so-called representatives. This painting is not being done for the tenants' benefit!

 

[bicker]

That probably won't go very far. The right of entry is a critical aspect of the ability to run an apartment building profitably. It would be like passing a law saying that television stations cannot run commercials.

 

[SanFranciscan]

My landlord was not here when the guy showed up with keys to my home. Those are duplicable keys that the painter was given. To say that that is the landlord's right is a very feudal view. I wil not accept it. Tenants outnumber landlords in San Francisco so I will see if we can't stop this "I am lord and you are bugs for me to squash" view of tenants. I am very persistent. I took on the City of San Francisco and won. I took on the University of California and won. It is just a matter of not giving in the first time you are told no by some lazy politician who will want credit for anything I accomplish later.

 

[bicker]

It's not a feudal view if it is current law, and it is. We don't have to like the way things are, but not liking how things are doesn't change anything. And about half the people in this country like this kind of thing the way it is, while half don't, so I don't see it changing anytime soon.

The landlord does not need to be present in most jurisdictions, but rather can simply assign workers to perform the work.

Good luck with your campaign.

 

[AmyinKY]

Before you go off on your quest, stop and reread your lease. Then, ask your landlord for a copy of the painters / plumbers / etc. bonding insurance. This is coverage that the repair person should have to cover himself or his crew if something goes missing / breaks / etc. on a job he / they perform. If there is not coverage, you may have a legal leg to stand on.

 

[wonderlanne]

i presume you live in san francisco. what happened is illegal if he did not provide proper notice, and you should ensure the landlord understands that (he already does, but it isn't convenient for him.) if your landlord didn't follow the proper procedure, regardless of what your lease or rental agreement may say, he has violated your tenant rights.

"California Civil Code 1954 states that a landlord or anyone acting for the landlord can only enter your home by giving a WRITTEN 24-hour notice (if it is mailed, it must be mailed 6 days prior to entry), and only in the following situations:

- To make necessary or agreed-upon repairs.
- To show the apartment to prospective tenants, buyers, mortgage holders, repair persons and contractors.
- When the tenant has moved prior to the expiration of the rental term.
- When the landlord has a court order authorizing entry.
- In case of an emergency that threatens injury or property damage if not corrected immediately. "

 

[SanFranciscan]

i presume you live in san francisco. what happened is illegal if he did not provide proper notice, and you should ensure the landlord understands that (he already does, but it isn't convenient for him.) if your landlord didn't follow the proper procedure, regardless of what your lease or rental agreement may say, he has violated your tenant rights.

"California Civil Code 1954 states that a landlord or anyone acting for the landlord can only enter your home by giving a WRITTEN 24-hour notice (if it is mailed, it must be mailed 6 days prior to entry), and only in the following situations:

- To make necessary or agreed-upon repairs.
- To show the apartment to prospective tenants, buyers, mortgage holders, repair persons and contractors.
- When the tenant has moved prior to the expiration of the rental term.
- When the landlord has a court order authorizing entry.
- In case of an emergency that threatens injury or property damage if not corrected immediately. "

Then they are in violation of the law.

If I wanted to be a troublesome tenant there are a good many things that I could have given him grief about over the years. Some things I just let go, even when friends said that I should complain. I didn't want to complain about every little thing that I could get a manuel and fix myself, especially as he has gotten to be an old man in declining health. Now it is only because he has really crossed the line, and I believe at the insistence of a gold-digging wife, that I am angry enough to file complaints.

Of course I trusted the landlord to come in here and do what needed to be done. A man of his wealth does not need to steal the cheap stuff here in my household. Sending someone else when he will not be here and without our having a chance to arrange to be here is bad enough, but to give this person a key, which could be already duplicated by now, is too much. It is also an issue of physical safety for female tenants or anyone living alone.

I was in the bathroom when the painter arrived and let himself into the building and knocked only after hearing my husband's television set playing through the door. If I had been alone here and walked out to find a strange man in my home, my reaction would have been to run off and return with the police.

The landlord business is a great one for a handyman. Such a landlord will find renting property to be very lucrative and find himself popular with his tenants. Such good landlords suffer guilt by association with people who want to be in the rental propery business because they think that it should be a lazy way to riches. The real estate bubble definately brought a great many shady people into the landlord business who could never have gotten a loan to own a restaurant or a retail shop.

 

[Vexorg]

Here in Washington, the law requires at least 48 hours of advance notice in writing before anyone can enter your apartment. In the apartment complex where I live (which in general is quite well run) they even give multiple notices if there is a need for multiple entries.

 

[happygirl]

Not a big deal to me, but to each there own

 

[kaytieeldr]

Given the OP's unsupported analysis of the landlord and characterization of the landlord's wife, along with the unproven presumption of lumping this landlord in with all unknowledgeable, in-in-only-for-the-money rental property owners (evidence in this thread to the contrary), combined with her unfounded determination that a likely reputable painter would duplicate apartment keys provided by the property owner; and a lack of proof that advance notice of entry by the landlord's agent was NOT mailed at least six days in advance... the OP might want to consider finding a living situation where the property-owner IS fully aware of, and compliant with, all laws and regulations related to rental property.

 

[Planogirl]

The landlord himself typically won't make repairs but will send maintenance men or contractors. I would imagine that what he did was legal except for maybe the giving you notice portion.

 

[SanFranciscan]

Given the OP's unsupported analysis of the landlord and characterization of the landlord's wife, along with the unproven presumption of lumping this landlord in with all unknowledgeable, in-in-only-for-the-money rental property owners (evidence in this thread to the contrary), combined with her unfounded determination that a likely reputable painter would duplicate apartment keys provided by the property owner; and a lack of proof that advance notice of entry by the landlord's agent was NOT mailed at least six days in advance... the OP might want to consider finding a living situation where the property-owner IS fully aware of, and compliant with, all laws and regulations related to rental property.

First of all I never said that the landlord was unknowlegeable. In fact, I have stated the opposite so you are putting words in my mouth. However, my characterization of the landlady has plenty of support among other tenants who know her while you don't. It is pointless to argue with a landlord who wants to support another landlord and put the burden of proof entirely upon tenants, who are the ones being put at risk, so I am simply going to lobby for other tenants to get involved because that will do me some good. I have gotten the information that I need from this thread and private messages.

To tell a tenant to just move is like telling an employee alleging racial harassment to just quit the job, and you sure wouldn't do that. I have gotten the support that I need by posting this thread so your anger at me suggests that you fear a tenant revolt yourself.

 

[kaytieeldr]

It is pointless to argue with a landlord who wants to support another landlord and put the burden of proof entirely upon tenants, who are the ones being put at risk

There you go, making assumptions again. I rent, too. I do not now, and probably never will, own property (well, except that square inch of land in Florida I bought a few years ago ).

I am not angry. I do not know you, or your landlord, or his wife. I have never been in San Francisco, have no immediate plans to be, and to the best of my knowledge know nobody who lives there.

You did, by the way, also make assumptions about the painter and his potential possible motives; as well, to make sure everything is completely clear (given the title of this thread) the landlord loaned keys to a workman he hired, to a unit you rent in a house the landlord owns.

Loaned, not gave.
Hired workman, not stranger.
Your rental unit, not your house.
The landlord's house.

 

[wonderlanne]

Then they are in violation of the law.

If I wanted to be a troublesome tenant there are a good many things that I could have given him grief about over the years. Some things I just let go, even when friends said that I should complain. I didn't want to complain about every little thing that I could get a manuel and fix myself, especially as he has gotten to be an old man in declining health. Now it is only because he has really crossed the line, and I believe at the insistence of a gold-digging wife, that I am angry enough to file complaints.

I was in the bathroom when the painter arrived and let himself into the building and knocked only after hearing my husband's television set playing through the door. If I had been alone here and walked out to find a strange man in my home, my reaction would have been to run off and return with the police.

i would have made quite a scene myself; without notice, there isn't any way to know the guy who arrived was legit...he could have been any schmoe walking in off the street in painter's garb with the intention to steal or worse...we see this all the time and are warned about it constantly.

the law aside (which are stringent and extensive in california), what about common courtesy? your landlord wouldn't want somebody just traipsing into their home without notice or invitation either.

out of curiosity, have you asked the landlord why they did not notify you and allow time for you to arrange to be home that day?