I moved into a house about a year ago. Earlier this year, the landlord put the house back on the market. At the time, we had agreed to a 24-hour notice before anyone came by to see or show the house.

We have had about 20 people come to the house so far... and about two 24-hour notices. First it was a few hours, then it was 1 hour, then it was 30 minutes...

Usually, I was at work when I got the call and didn't really care but last weekend, me and my girlfriend were enjoying our ONE day off a week. We were in our skimpies, loungin on the couch watcin TV. Suddenly, our doorbell rang over and over and there was a LOUD knocking on the door. I got dressed and answered the door. It was my landlord.

She said there were investors coming up from L.A. (which is about 8 hours from us) and they would be here in about 30 minutes. She barely spits it all out of her mouth as she's leaving and says "ok thanks!"

I sat there stunned for a minute... it all happened so fast. I immediately got my cell and called her. She didn't answer. I left a message... I was a little pissed. I told her it was Saturday and we were supposed to have 24 hours. I said they can come if they want but my girlfriend and I would be sitting on the couch naked when they do.

She called back and we got into it a bit. She said that if I didn't cooperate she could have an eviction notice on my door by 4:30pm Monday. I told her it was all very %#@#ed up.. but we complied. We quickly tried to straighten up the house and left.


What are our rights here? Is this legal? Is she allowed to do this??

First off do you have a lease or are you paying month to month?

In general no it's not OK, they need to give 24 hours.

Its month to month.

She had said (which I wouldn't doubt if she was lying) that she could implement a 1 hour notice, which was all she "had" to do.

Well, if you have no written lease, consult your state's landlord/tenant laws. There's a link to each state's laws in the first post in this forum. Those are the rules your landlord must abide by if she was too stupid to make you sign a written lease.

I don't know of any "1 hour notice" she can implement, unless it's something you're willing to agree to. And she's not even giving you THAT much notice...

Is the property listed with a realtor, or is it FSBO? If it's with a realtor I'd dontact the listing agent and tell them exactly what you expect, regardless of what the landlord may have told her and quote the appropriate law that dictates amount of notice. I would also send a WRITTEN letter to the landlord with a copy of the law highlighted and tell her exactly what you expect, in what situations you're willing to be flexible(like you said, if you're at work), and in what situations you expect her to adhere to the proper notice.

From now on I would deal with her IN WRITING. Keep copies of everything. If she notifies you of anything tell her you need it in writing or you won't acknowledge it.

She cannot just simply evict you for fighting with her about this issue. Eviction is a 3 week process at the MINIMUM, and eviction for any reason other that non-payment of rent is really difficult to prove - especially for something not very concrete like this.

I would be prepared for this though... unless you're willing to change the locks (which is probably illegal) she'll probably let people in whenever she wants when you're not home, as it sounds like she doesn't have a lot of respect for your privacy or the rules.

I can't tell you how many rental properties I've looked at over the years and more often than not when someone is home it's a surprised-looking tenant coming to the door saying they had no idea that we were coming, no one called, etc. I think real estate agencies are really bad about scheduling showings properly, and it is really common for people to want/expect to go out and tour a property the same day.

Good luck.
Karla in TX

Great response, Karla. That was very helpful! I really appreciate that... just very good ideas.

Yeah, realtors do bother me... They are NEVER on time with these showings. Typically, we try to leave the house when they are "supposed" to come. Only to return to see that they haven't come yet and our plans are delayed even longer as we wait for them to show up... sometimes 3-4 hours late.

Yeah, my landlord has complete lack of respect. I cringe every time I have to deal with her.

Thanks again for your help. I will have to look at a few things and start writing some letters. :)

Keep in mind that you are a month-to-month tenant. If the market is hot enough (which it sounds like from your description) and you make too many waves, the landlord can give you a 30-day notice to leave. Which the new owner can also give you when they buy the place. If I were you, I'd be hedging my bets by looking for a new place to move to, if you aren't interested in buying the spot yourself. Just in case.

Also good advice. Thanks froggy. The market is fairly hot right now but she is still asking way too much for the house. We are keeping our eyes open.