Landlord entered apartment without me there

roosterman71

Hi

On Sunday the sockets all stopped working in my apartment. I rang the landlord who called about 3 hours after I flagged the problem. He wasn't around so I'm not too worried about the wait. When he arrived, he said there was nothing he could do and that he'd ring an electrician Monday morning.
At half 11 or so on the Monday, I rang him to find out what was happening. I was getting inpatient due to my freezer been off for so long (20 hours or so now) and it full to the gills with food. I didn't want to throw it out as ya can imagine
Anyway, he said he was trying to get an electrician and he'd let me know when he did. Then, I got a text saying the electrician would be there in the afternoon.

I was expecting a call when he was there, and sure enough, I got a call from a girl in the landlords office saying it had been fixed. When I got home, sure enough it had been fixed, but my tv, UPC box, playstation, etc had all been moved out from the wall and just abandoned. My computer had been moved too. And my bedroom was entered and the tv plugged in.

My question is, is it OK for the landlord, and an electrician to enter my apartment, move stuff around to try plugs and then leave the place messed up? He claims he let me know they were coming (the text he sent I assume), and that he entered because he had let me known, and I wasn't there. Where do I stand? And what do I do next if this is a no no?

silja

Landlord cannot enter your home without your permission, unless it is an emergency, which this wasn't really (in current weather, no electricity isn't going to harm the house).

However, it seems there was a missunderstanding- from your communication with him, the landlord understood that you wanted this fixed asap because of the freezer, and he did send you a text to say someone would go in. While you didn't give explicit permission (and for all he knows, may not have gotten the text), you also didn't say you didn't want him/ the electrician to enter. If the landlord had waited for your permission/ for you to be there, you may have been without electricity for days until you could take time off work, which would be bad for you.

In your situation, I'd let the landlord know that while you appreciate him fixing the issue so quickly, the electrician left a mess and in future you'd rather wait a bit longer in order to enable you to be there. That way he knows not to enter again.

the_syco

roosterman71 wrote: »

When I got home, sure enough it had been fixed, but my tv, UPC box, playstation, etc had all been moved out from the wall and just abandoned. My computer had been moved too. And my bedroom was entered and the tv plugged in.

I'm thinking that when the electrician came around, he flicked the plugs switch and it popped back down, he then plugged the usual suspects out, flicked the switch again, and it worked. Left the stuff that he thought may have caused it plugged out, and left.

What the landlord did wasn't good, but maybe find out where said switch board is, so you can do it yourself in future (I acknowledge the LL should do it for you, but doing it yourself may be quicker, and I'd say it'll happen again).

irishdude11

Eh what's the issue, you had a problem and the landlord sorted it out asap. He said the electrician would be there to fix it and the afternoon which he did. I fail to see the problem, so what if a few items are moved around, he was trying to get to the bottom of an electrical fault. You are making a big deal out of nothing imo, be thankful you have a landlord that sorted your problem out so quick.

Supercell

roosterman71 you really are acting a bit precious.
So a few things got moved around while the electrician was fixing your power, so what, was anything broken?
The landlord did let you know he was coming, if you didn't want him there then you could have told him (and have a freezer full of spoiled food).

Move your electrical things back to their places and be thankful you have your power back and get on with your life!

qwertytlk

I see where your comming from but i think it was more down to miss communication than anything. He texted an said he would be there later to fix it. While you seem to have thought tat woud bbe at a time when you were home, he seems to have thought it was ok to go in as you had asked to have the problem sorted. Imo if you tried to take it any further i dont think you would have a case. But if he had just entered your apartment out of the blue then this is against the law. If he wants to come to your premises he needs to give you 24hours notice... Or thats my understanding of it anyway. If there is ever a situation where he needs to come, at your request, to fix things etc or with workmen, then say 'well il be home at x time, see u then' or make it clear that if any of your belongings need to be moved etc, that they are put back where they belong and things are as you left them.

Zimmerframe

You had an electrical problem, you rang for help, you were informed of when the electrician would arrive and you were informed it had been sorted. Your freezer full of food was saved.
And you feel hard done by.

Allyall

The landlord probably knows about as much about electricity, as you do. He thought he was doing the right thing.. I don't know how you think that's bad.. So you have to plug back in a few things..

I'd be happy everything was sorted, and food was saved.
I had a rotten landlord years back, sounds like you've got a gem.

I understand where you're coming from, but i'd say it was, in and out, least disturbance the better.

When i was younger, people just used to walk in and out of my house. If nobody was there, they left..

Maybe society is who you should really blame.. :pac:

Treehouse72

It would be ludicrous to expect the LL to have called you again specifically to ask permission to enter. I would have thought that was more than implied in previous conversations. Not only that, he entered at the specific time he said.

This seems a frivolous complaint OP.

denballs

erm, you say thank you

denballs

oh and yeah..the other poster is correct...if it happens again plug everything out and flip the switch on the fuseboard..........sounds like you overloaded it.........guessing you propably had some socket adapters in.....or maybe just an old setup that cant hasndle multiple high usage items like modern games consoles and pc,s..........at times

denballs

and are you really annoyed causde you had somthing embarressing laying about?

roosterman71

I work about 10 minutes from where I live. Landlord knew that.
I've no problem getting time off work to pop home to do this. But the landlord expected me to sit in the apartment waiting for him for an afternoon.
I know where the switch box is, the switch wouldn't stay up even with everything plugged out. According to the girl that rang me, there was a loose wire in the switch box.
Regarding things moved, no need to do it, and certainly no need to move them out away so far from where they were, and then just abandon them there.
I got the text about when the electrician was due to arrive (in the afternoon), a phone call to say he was there would of been nice. No one is allowed enter my home without permission, and certainly no one is allowed move stuff around and then leave it abandoned. There was even stuff taken out of the fridge and left on the counter. They were in my room moving stuff. Its not on in my view

Zamboni

roosterman71 wrote: »

I work about 10 minutes from where I live. Landlord knew that.
I've no problem getting time off work to pop home to do this. But the landlord expected me to sit in the apartment waiting for him for an afternoon.
I know where the switch box is, the switch wouldn't stay up even with everything plugged out. According to the girl that rang me, there was a loose wire in the switch box.
Regarding things moved, no need to do it, and certainly no need to move them out away so far from where they were, and then just abandon them there.
I got the text about when the electrician was due to arrive (in the afternoon), a phone call to say he was there would of been nice. No one is allowed enter my home without permission, and certainly no one is allowed move stuff around and then leave it abandoned. There was even stuff taken out of the fridge and left on the counter. They were in my room moving stuff. Its not on in my view

It all comes down to what exactly was requested/agreed in your phone conversation with the landlord.
If you specfically requested a phone call so that you could make arrangements to be present for the repair, and this was not provided, then it is not on.
But other than that, it seems the landlord was reasonable in his efforts to assist in your complaint.

seamus

Definitely think you're being too precious about the "moving stuff" issue. When workmen come into your home, they move your stuff around. The good ones put it back, but most of them don't because they're paid to do the work, not clean up after themselves. If you had been there, he would have moved the stuff and left without putting it back. Non-issue IMO.

Zimmerframe

Zamboni wrote: »

it seems the landlord was reasonable in his efforts to assist in your complaint.

Most tenants can only dream of landlords with that level of promptness and efficiency.

Mr. Presentable

roosterman71 wrote: »

Hi

Where do I stand? And what do I do next if this is a no no?

Sue him, take him to the cleaners.

That's what you want to be told, right?


You had an electrical problem, by your own admission he told you when he'd be there. You weren't there but instead of making a new appointment and paying the electrician for a non-call out, he fixed the problem. Where do you stand? Really?

jeckle

You can't have it every way. It was obviously a communication misunderstanding.

If it wasn't fixed, no doubt you'd be on here asking what course of action you should take as regards compensation for your freezer full of food.

Try to move on from this episode.

If you're not happy with the landlord, just move out when your lease is up.

Zamboni

jeckle wrote: »

You can't have it every way. It was obviously a communication misunderstanding.

If it wasn't fixed, no doubt you'd be on here asking what course of action you should take as regards compensation for your freezer full of food.

Try to move on from this episode.

If you're not happy with the landlord, just move out when your lease is up.

And post his details for future reference.
He seems a good sort.

D3PO

OP seriously get a grip.

You reported a problem he said he would get a sparks out Monday afternoon to fix it and he did. What the f**k do you want ? You either wanted the problem fixed or your didnt.

by all means call the landlord and complain that you werent there despite being told when the workman would be :rolleyes: see how your next complaint is dealt with. If it were me and you said anything Id have no drive to ever sort anything out in a timely manner for you ever again.

mattser

I'd absolutely hate to be your landlord.

Snakeblood

Speaking as a tenant:
He told you when the dude would be there. You didn't want to hang around. If you had said 'By the way, I want to be there when the electrician is there' then he might have accomodated you.

My landlord would have asked me before coming in, true. You should politely say to your landlord that if anything like that happens again, you'd prefer to be given a shout so you could be present. And then you should probably thank him for sorting out your problem so promptly.

munstergirl

Have you said thank you to landlord?
He saved you a fortune by solving problem so quick.

JohnCleary

Hold on, you had a problem (a serious one, which yourself considered urgent because of the freezer) which the landlord promptly fixed, and now you want to make a complaint about it?

What do you hope to achieve? Get real, your issue with the property was fixed in a timely manner - be grateful you have such good communication with your landlord

Tigger

roosterman71 wrote: »

I work about 10 minutes from where I live. Landlord knew that.
I've no problem getting time off work to pop home to do this. But the landlord expected me to sit in the apartment waiting for him for an afternoon.
I know where the switch box is, the switch wouldn't stay up even with everything plugged out. According to the girl that rang me, there was a loose wire in the switch box.
Regarding things moved, no need to do it, and certainly no need to move them out away so far from where they were, and then just abandon them there.
I got the text about when the electrician was due to arrive (in the afternoon), a phone call to say he was there would of been nice. No one is allowed enter my home without permission, and certainly no one is allowed move stuff around and then leave it abandoned. There was even stuff taken out of the fridge and left on the counter. They were in my room moving stuff. Its not on in my view

i agree 100% with you.i have it spefically in my lease that no landlord or agent can enter if i'm not there (unless the house is on fire or something)

denballs

roosterman71 wrote: »

I work about 10 minutes from where I live. Landlord knew that.
I've no problem getting time off work to pop home to do this. But the landlord expected me to sit in the apartment waiting for him for an afternoon.
I know where the switch box is, the switch wouldn't stay up even with everything plugged out. According to the girl that rang me, there was a loose wire in the switch box.
Regarding things moved, no need to do it, and certainly no need to move them out away so far from where they were, and then just abandon them there.
I got the text about when the electrician was due to arrive (in the afternoon), a phone call to say he was there would of been nice. No one is allowed enter my home without permission, and certainly no one is allowed move stuff around and then leave it abandoned. There was even stuff taken out of the fridge and left on the counter. They were in my room moving stuff. Its not on in my view

well then stop renting, geez...........how hard is it to just buy a house if landlords are this irritating.

D3PO

Tigger wrote: »

i agree 100% with you.i have it spefically in my lease that no landlord or agent can enter if i'm not there (unless the house is on fire or something)

I cant wait until you come on complaining that you have an issue and cant get your landlord to sort it in a timely manner. Im going to have fun laughing and ridiculing you then.

Hell it might even be worth a temporary ban from A&P when it happens.

Tigger

D3PO wrote: »

I cant wait until you come on complaining that you have an issue and cant get your landlord to sort it in a timely manner. Im going to have fun laughing and ridiculing you then.

Hell it might even be worth a temporary ban from A&P when it happens.

if i have an issue and the landlord dosen't sort it i'll simply take the money to sort of it out of the rent and gine him the receipts (as per the lease)

D3PO

Tigger wrote: »

if i have an issue and the landlord dosen't sort it i'll simply take the money to sort of it out of the rent and gine him the receipts (as per the lease)

I fail to belive any landlord would have a clause allowing you to unilaterally deduct money form your rent to "sort" anything out.

if they did and I dont believe it for a minute they clearly have a single digit IQ

Tigger

D3PO wrote: »

I fail to believe any landlord would have a clause allowing you to unilaterally deduct money form your rent to "sort" anything out.

if they did and I dont believe it for a minute they clearly have a single digit IQ

not unilaterally, i would have to get agreement and then i'd get it done.
i have good leases for my business also do you fail to believe me on that?

anywhey since you don't believe me and since you look forward to mocking me i think i'll just putr you on ignore, i really fail to see how it can do anything but improve my boards.ie experiance

Tigger

D3PO wrote: »

I fail to believe any landlord would have a clause allowing you to unilaterally deduct money form your rent to "sort" anything out.

if they did and I dont believe it for a minute they clearly have a single digit IQ

not unilaterally, i would have to get agreement and then i'd get it done.
i have good leases for my business also do you fail to believe me on that?

anywhey since you don't believe me and since you look forward to mocking me i think i'll just putr you on ignore, i really fail to see how it can do anything but improve my boards.ie experiance