My friend recently moved into a new apartment by herself. The building is owned by a father-son partnership. They are immediately responsible for repairs and upgrades in and around the building. They own three buildings on the same street.

Upon moving in, my friend was given the option to request an upgrade to the apartment; she mentioned more shelving in the closet. The landlord agreed. Since then, very little has actually been done in the closet. A couple small shelves and a hang rod, which has somehow culminated into 3-4 separate unannounced visits by the landlord's son. As well as unannounced visits, he has been crossing the line with calling her repeatedly during the day, both on her cell and at work, to ask menial questions (like if he should take her trash out). He finally attempted to bridge the gap with internet friend-invites, etc. She is starting to get worried since she's been there less than a month and already is feeling unsafe.

Is there any legal recourse that can or should be taken against the landlord to require notice before entry? Or should she say forget it and just find a new place? She is worried either way, since the landlord has all of her personal info, and a key to her apartment. Can you actually get a restraining order against your own landlord if necessary?

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Originally Posted by nak5ive

My friend recently moved into a new apartment by herself. The building is owned by a father-son partnership. They are immediately responsible for repairs and upgrades in and around the building. They own three buildings on the same street.

Upon moving in, my friend was given the option to request an upgrade to the apartment; she mentioned more shelving in the closet. The landlord agreed. Since then, very little has actually been done in the closet. a couple small shelves and a hang rod, which has somehow culminated into 3-4 separate unannounced visits by the landlord's son. As well as unannounced visits, he has been crossing the line with calling her repeatedly during the day, both on her cell and at work, to ask menial questions (like if he should take her trash out). He finally attempted to bridge the gap with internet friend-invites, etc. She is starting to get worried since she's been there less than a month and already is feeling unsafe.

Is there any legal recourse that can or should be taken against the landlord to require notice before entry? Or should she say forget it and just find a new place? She is worried either way, since the landlord has all of her personal info, and a key to her apartment. Can you actually get a restraining order against your own landlord if necessary?

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To the answer the last question first, yes, you can get a restraining order against the landlord if you have sufficient evidence, a big enough problem to require an Order.

Would this make me feel uncomfortable and unsafe? You bet.

On the other hand I always think people (OK, men to be specific) don't know you aren't interested or they're freaking you out unless you tell them. I don't think you have to be mean about it, I just think you have to be firm. She's not interested but thank you anyway and don't call me again kind of stuff. I would document all of this just because you never, ever know.

I also would advise the landlord that - depending on your State and I think all States are pretty much the same - by law he can only enter without notice and in her absence in case of an emergency and, so far, there have not been any emergencies. I would follow up with a registered letter so there are no problems.

If the landlord doesn't take any of this well, he could try to evict her on some sort of made-up basis; on the other hand, I think I would want out! I'd be afraid to be there by myself. Have the other tenants have problems or has she been there for such a short period that she doesn't know them?

There are laws to prevent this type of behavior but that is the easy part.

Suppose she does get the police involved? What kind of relationship is this going to create for her and the landlord for the next 11 months?

Also, if she signed a lease, that could come back to bite her in the rear if she should do an early termination, and without any type of evidence as to why, she could end up owing the balance of this lease.

It's a sticky situation. I'm a firm believer in taking things into my own hands, and if this was my sister or girlfriend, the landlord would have me to worry about. Not that this would be the proper way to handle it, just my way, and it wouldn't involve the police. At least not right away. Does she have any strong male friends that could perhaps "negotiate" a way for this behavior to stop?

Good luck to her!

Addressing the issue of sufficient evidence: I've asked her to write down the occasions when things have happened, as well as date them. I, personally, am rather technically savvy. I am planning on setting up a motion detecting camera in her apartment for when she's gone. I've got images in my head of this guy being a panty-sniffer. I hope it's not the case, but I plan on finding out.

As far as confrontation, she has not yet had a stern conversation with the guy or his father. I don't want to wait for something to happen before anyone acts, but I also would not like a restraining order placed on myself, you know?

She does not know her neighbors, but then again, she might be the only cute girl in the buildings, living by herself. So the others might not have had this issue.

We will see. Right now, I'm going to set up the camera, and hide it. And if she doesn't contact them about requiring 24 hour notice before entry, then I will.

Thanks for your help. Any other suggestions are welcomed.

Your friend requested work (i.e. the closet). Once she did that her landlord had the right to enter the property, without notice. I called my landlord to fix my sink and he entered my apartment without knocking. I could not do anything about that since I called him. He did not tell me when he was coming over he just showed up. Was it right for my landlord to enter without knocking, NO. Was it legal, YES!

On a side note: I had a similar issue with my landlord. I contacted a lawyer through a referral agency paid 35 bucks and got a half hour with a lawyer. The lawyer advised me to send a certified letter to my landlord stating that he must give me 24 hr notice before entering my apartment. Failure to do that he was in violation of the lease and law and that I could and would terminate the lease.

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Originally Posted by luvmylab

I called my landlord to fix my sink and he entered my apartment without knocking. I could not do anything about that since I called him. He did not tell me when he was coming over he just showed up. Was it right for my landlord to enter without knocking, NO. Was it legal, YES!

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Different situation. A leaking sink can be considered an emergency to prevent water damage. If the landlord said he was coming right up its somewhat understandable, though rude, for him to have just walked in since he felt you were expecting him.

Adding closet shelves is not an emergency so notice would be required or permission granted to enter while away.

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Originally Posted by luvmylab

Your friend requested work (i.e. the closet). Once she did that her landlord had the right to enter the property, without notice. I called my landlord to fix my sink and he entered my apartment without knocking. I could not do anything about that since I called him. He did not tell me when he was coming over he just showed up. Was it right for my landlord to enter without knocking, NO. Was it legal, YES!

On a side note: I had a similar issue with my landlord. I contacted a lawyer through a referral agency paid 35 bucks and got a half hour with a lawyer. The lawyer advised me to send a certified letter to my landlord stating that he must give me 24 hr notice before entering my apartment. Failure to do that he was in violation of the lease and law and that I could and would terminate the lease.

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This is not true in NYS to the best of my knowledge - I cannot enter a tenant's apartment without their express permission, at a certain date and time unless it's an emergency. I still would advise the OP to send a letter (as you also suggested).

I would also question a landlord who would enter without an appointment for something not of an emergency nature... but that's another issue.

This is what crazychristi is going through every day of the week. Sorry Christi...