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Pimit · Sep 7, 2007, 12:49 PM

Location: Pennsylvania

At my school we do not have dorms. They offer Condos off campus, but in walking distance. Part of the lease with this place includes a clause about random house checks. They make sure its clean, that there are no drugs/weapons.

They enter the condos while the students are not there, fine and "council" students about messy rooms, kitchens ext... Its hard for students to keep tidy, 6-10 hours of class a day for most and projects on top of it.

I believe there is a clause stating they may NOT enter a students personal room unless there is a suspicion of drugs/weapons.

Is this legal, even though the students signed a lease? What action can be taken, if any?

Gregisteredtrademark · Sep 7, 2007, 12:52 PM

Originally Posted by Pimit

Location: Pennsylvania

At my school we do not have dorms. They offer Condos off campus, but in walking distance. Part of the lease with this place includes a clause about random house checks. They make sure its clean, that there are no drugs/weapons.

They enter the condos while the students are not there, fine and "council" students about messy rooms, kitchens ext... Its hard for students to keep tidy, 6-10 hours of class a day for most and projects on top of it.

I believe there is a clause stating they may NOT enter a students personal room unless there is a suspicion of drugs/weapons.

Is this legal, even though the students signed a lease? What action can be taken, if any?

Is the lease with the school or a private owner?

GlindaofOz · Sep 7, 2007, 12:53 PM

They may fall under the heading of "campus housing". I know at my college they held room sweeps every few months. They would check rooms on a designated day to look for anything that was inappropriate or illegal.

Typically the school will not just enter as they please but it will be with fair warning. They are also only allowed to look at what is in plain sight at my college they were not allowed to open your closets, pull back your shower curtains, look under beds, etc.

Do you have a student handbook or some sort of housing officer at school who can straighten this out for you?

Pimit · Sep 7, 2007, 12:53 PM

I am not 100% certain who owns them. The school owns the condos, so I would assume its through them. I will have to check.

They do go through dressers and closets. Most of the time they show up while students are in class.

ballengerb1 · Sep 7, 2007, 12:54 PM

"I believe there is a clause stating they may NOT enter a students personal room unless there is a suspicion of drugs/weapons" You need to know for sure about this clause. If it is there they are breaking the law but I suspect it may not be there. If you suspect they are entering your room without you present you should confront them about it. Ask who/why they entered your condo and where is it in the lease that gives them this leeway.

GlindaofOz · Sep 7, 2007, 12:54 PM

Yeah then that is considered campus housing.

I would check then. They typically are not allowed to enter as they please it is usually as I described above.

Pimit · Sep 7, 2007, 12:56 PM

Thanks, I will get a copy of the lease and edit my post then ^_^

GlindaofOz · Sep 7, 2007, 01:00 PM

Also there should be student handbook type of info on housing or a housing office to contact.

My absolute best guess is that they will enter at specified times with plenty of notice since that's how it works in "real world" housing.

Gregisteredtrademark · Sep 7, 2007, 01:06 PM

Being campus housing I believe they have the right to enter under a "safety" clause. When I went to school we conducted "fire inspections". This was with a fire department representative, school security, and residential life. We would not single out a room, but check every room in a building on any given day. As mentioned above violations would have to be in plain sight and we could not move or open anything. I (firefighter) looked for things like candles or sheets hanging from the ceiling as they posed a serious safety risk, the other folks looked for drug residue in the ash trays, pipes, scales, etc. Sorry to say, but yes they can do it for certain reasons.

froggy7 · Sep 7, 2007, 09:00 PM

Well, the two things I can see are: It's in the lease. If you didn't want to be subject to random room checks, I'm sure that there were other apartments in town that you could have rented. Second, schools often act "in loco parentis". Which allows them to do things that would otherwise be considered civil rights violations, like censor student newspapers and open school lockers looking for drugs. And if the school is a private school, as opposed to a public one, they are allowed more leeway in what they can impose on the students.

Fr_Chuck · Sep 7, 2007, 11:16 PM

Having worked on a major US campus, there is no notice needed to enter the rooms, a "general notice that they will or may enter anytime is given"
Maintenance enters on regular time frames to check air, to check alarms, fire systems and so on. Normally there is a "dorm" manager who checks out for housekeeping from time to time.

excon · Sep 8, 2007, 09:45 AM

Hello P:

The key is, who's property is it. IF it's the college and you're NOT paying for it, then they may enter into their property any time they want to, just like you can do with your property what you choose.

However, if you're paying rent for these off campus rooms, then I suggest they cannot be searched by anyone without a warrant.

excon

froggy7 · Sep 8, 2007, 01:55 PM

Originally Posted by excon

Hello P:

The key is, who's property is it. IF it's the college and you're NOT paying for it, then they may enter into their property any time they want to, just like you can do with your property what you choose.

However, if you're paying rent for these off campus rooms, then I suggest they cannot be searched by anyone without a warrant.

excon

And when things like Virginia Tech happen, then the pendulum swings the other way and the public demands that the school has the authority, and the obligation, to do random checks in order to prevent things like that happening again.

Also, it is in the lease that the renter signs. Surely, the law would be willing to support that given that the renter is not being forced to live there? (Unless, of course, this is a school that requires their students to live there, in which case I'd say that it is campus housing, and more of a dorm than an apartment with all the legal implications.)

PROSHIP92 · Jan 10, 2009, 11:13 AM

Is landlord likely guilty of misdemeanor B&E under NCGS 14-54(B) undercircumstances to be described?

PROSHIP92 · Jan 10, 2009, 11:14 AM

How do I give you the details underlying the question?

excon · Jan 10, 2009, 11:21 AM

Originally Posted by PROSHIP92

how do I give you the details underlying the question?

Hello Pro,

Start your own thread. Click on real estate, then click on new thread. It's easy.

excon