creepy landlord-legal advice needed.

healthworker13

I moved into the house im in in October...at first all was grand but then my Landlord started letting himself in late at night and giving me a big sob story about his mad gf...this has happened a few times and i get the impression hes looking for more than the rent...ive given him a telling off to no avail...can i fit a sliding lock to the door without his permission? Went to the Gardai btw worse than useless. My flatmate works nights so of course my Landlord sees me as a sitting target.

Stheno

Report him to the RTB? You should be getting at least 24 hours notice of his need to enter the property.

Do you and your housemates all have a lease together? Is there a spare bedroom in the house/apartment?

slavetothegrind

horrible. Go to a locksmith, there are temporary locks that will not result in damage but keep the creeping landlord out.
You fit them from the inside once in.

Stheno

slavetothegrind wrote: »

horrible. Go to a locksmith, there are temporary locks that will not result in damage but keep the creeping landlord out.

That's illegal iirc

slavetothegrind

how so?

If the landlord has not arranged a visit as per the regulations how is it illegal to prevent his unauthorised entry into the home?

slavetothegrind

by temporary locks i mean devices that secure the door without need for permanant fixings or any damage.

riffmongous

What sort of a lock is it? Can you leave the key in on your side to stop him from opening from outside?

sawduster

A rubber door-stop might also be useful.

slavetothegrind

Ok so i'm no locksmith, but it is a device that is inserted in the door jam and ratcheted home to prevent the door opening

I remember them as a safety device in a house share with a party going on

this is the first thing google throws up, not what i had in mind but same idea

http://www.door-jammer.com/en/ie/Home.aspx

I am not advocating any illegality at all, but if your landlord does not respect the rules.....help yourself

MarkHall

What he's doing is not only Creepy but also wrong.
I'd get onto the PRTB and see what steps you can take to stop this. But no landlord has the right to set foot on your property without 24 hours notice unless it's an emergency. And these visits don't seem like an emergency.

If you have a line of communication to their partner. You may wish to inform them of the unscheduled visits.
And if you have a chain on the door. Start to make use of it.


http://www.rtb.ie/tenants/rights-responsibilities-obligations

Red Kev

Go back to the Garda station. If they do nothing insist on speaking to the Duty Sergeant/Officer. If they then relent, still insist on speaking to the Duty Officer.

If you've no luck there, then go to the District HQ and ask to speak to the Superintendent. Don't leave till you do. They'll soon shift arses. Write down the name/ID Nr. of every Garda who refuses to help you.

The case is serious, he's entering illegally and as he has kept on doing so after you requested he stays away, he is committing harassment. It should be dealt with seriously and not with a "there's nothing we can do". Most Gardai are sound out, there's a few lazy ones in it (Plenty of Gardai in my family and I know this from experience).

The Gardai should meet the Landlord and have a word with him, unless you want to take it further by pressing charges. The chat may well be enough for him to leave you alone, but I'd be looking for another place if it's at all practical.

two wheels good

That portable door-jammer looks useful.
Here's a cheap 'n' cheerful DIY jammer; door lock from dinner fork

Graces7

I am in a house new to me and as well as the door lock there is a simple bolt at teh top of the door. Works fine; no one can get in.

We always had these when I was a child.

emeldc

Gardai, RTB, pressing charges, FFS. How difficult can it be to lock a door from the inside so that it can't be opened from the outside.

Graces7

Graces7 wrote: »

I am in a house new to me and as well as the door lock there is a simple bolt at teh top of the door. Works fine; no one can get in.

We always had these when I was a child.

emeldc wrote: »

Gardai, RTB, pressing charges, FFS. How difficult can it be to lock a door from the inside so that it can't be opened from the outside.

While the LL is very much wrong (unless he has retained a room in the house which would give him the right to enter) it's still illegal for the OP to add any additional locks,bolts etc which prevent the property owner gaining access to the property.

The door jammer looks like a good idea though as it's easily removed.

Thoie

If you have a standard lock (like one of these), just put the latch on the door when you're home alone. The switch that you use to keep the door unlocked will also stop the key from opening the door if the door is already locked. It will mean you'll have to let your housemate in, but you'd have to do that anyway with a bolt or a chain.

Google "hotel door lock for travelers" and there's lots of non-permanent solutions. Usually aimed to be portable and to stop someone coming into your hotel room, they may work in your scenario. Just don't lock your housemate out on a freezing night!

https://www.corporatetravelsafety.com/catalog/hotel-safety.html

Emme

One of these might help if he tries to force his way in:

http://ultrasecure.ie/alarmed-locks-chains/486-door-wedge-security-alarm-.html

It would certainly give him the hint.

emeldc

Dangelo Shy Berry wrote: »

While the LL is very much wrong (unless he has retained a room in the house which would give him the right to enter) it's still illegal for the OP to add any additional locks,bolts etc which prevent the property owner gaining access to the property.

The door jammer looks like a good idea though as it's easily removed.

I'm not talking about adding extra locks. Any house I've ever lived in over the last 30 years had simple hall door locks that could be locked from the inside. Maybe the OP could clarify what type of lock she has.

El Weirdo

Red Kev wrote: »

Go back to the Garda station. If they do nothing insist on speaking to the Duty Sergeant/Officer. If they then relent, still insist on speaking to the Duty Officer.

If you've no luck there, then go to the District HQ and ask to speak to the Superintendent. Don't leave till you do. They'll soon shift arses. Write down the name/ID Nr. of every Garda who refuses to help you.

The case is serious, he's entering illegally and as he has kept on doing so after you requested he stays away, he is committing harassment. It should be dealt with seriously and not with a "there's nothing we can do". Most Gardai are sound out, there's a few lazy ones in it (Plenty of Gardai in my family and I know this from experience).

The Gardai should meet the Landlord and have a word with him, unless you want to take it further by pressing charges. The chat may well be enough for him to leave you alone, but I'd be looking for another place if it's at all practical.

Whilst the LL may be acting illegally by entering without the required notice, it's not a criminal offence so that's why the Gardaí say they can't do anything about it. Harassment may be one way of looking at it though.

mcmoustache

Is the door secured with a Chubb-style lock or a Yale-style lock? Both of these can be locked from the inside so that they cannot be opened from the outside.

I'd echo emeldc's confusion, tbh.

Unshelved

There's a flatmate who works unsocial hours and who may need to access the house. Locking from the inside may be unfeasible.

Thoie

emeldc wrote: »

I'm not talking about adding extra locks. Any house I've ever lived in over the last 30 years had simple hall door locks that could be locked from the inside. Maybe the OP could clarify what type of lock she has.

My current and last place only have a "thing" you can turn on the inside to lock it, whereas before that either there was what I consider a standard type of lock (see above) or at least a key on the inside of the door to stop people letting themselves in from outside with a key.

With my current setup the only way to prevent that is with a chain or a bolt. You also can't just pull the door behind you when leaving, you have to lock it with a key on your way out.

Saipanne

The Gardai were no help at all? That's unlike them.

pilly

Unshelved wrote: »

There's a flatmate who works unsocial hours and who may need to access the house. Locking from the inside may be unfeasible.

I was wondering when someone would finally cop on to this. The flatmate needs to get in so unless OP wants to stay up at night to let them in the door has to be accessible.

razorblunt

pilly wrote: »

I was wondering when someone would finally cop on to this. The flatmate needs to get in so unless OP wants to stay up at night to let them in the door has to be accessible.

That wouldn't be my priority, in the interest of someone's safety there are plenty of workarounds. If the person finishes at a certain time say 8am, then get up and unlatch it and go back to bed.

I'm sure the added safety would outweigh the minor inconvenience until the unannounced arrivals are sorted out.

Robineen

Dangelo Shy Berry wrote: »

While the LL is very much wrong (unless he has retained a room in the house which would give him the right to enter)

Even in the situation where a room has been retained, one would hope that a landlord would have the common courtesy to not show up late at night unannounced. I've lived in a couple of licensee situations and in both, the landlord would still give us a heads up and it would be at a reasonable hour. They would never just let themselves in unannounced.

And I don't think the posters you quoted were suggesting adding anything, just using what is already there.

emeldc

pilly wrote: »

I was wondering when someone would finally cop on to this. The flatmate needs to get in so unless OP wants to stay up at night to let them in the door has to be accessible.

So do you reckon the LL calls when she's sitting watching TV after she has gone to bed. If it's the former she needs to lock it from the inside while she's still up. If it's the latter, she needs to change the lock and take her chances on the the legalities. This LL's behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable. And I'm a LL by the way.

pilly

emeldc wrote: »

So do you reckon the LL calls when she's sitting watching TV after she has gone to bed. If it's the former she needs to lock it from the inside while she's still up. If it's the latter, she needs to change the lock and take her chances on the the legalities. This LL's behavior is inappropriate and unacceptable. And I'm a LL by the way.

I never said it was acceptable in any way. It's not. I was merely stating that the practicalities have to be thought about.

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Thoie

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To be fair to the OP, her initial question was "is it legal to fit a bolt/chain to door without landlord permission". Everyone else is coming up with alternatives.

Glebee

I remember years ago I was renting a house in Dublin with friends. One morning the front door bell rang and I was in bed with girlfriend, nothing going on mind just both had day off. No body else in the house so we let the door bell ring. Next minute we heard the front door opening and for some reason pretended to be asleep.... Next minute the bedroom door opened and we just lay there pretending to be asleep. The person who came in the door saw us and quietly reversed tracks and left the house. When I heard the front door closing I lept out and ran to a front window only to see the landlord slink away. I never mentioned it to him or he to me..:D