Renter's rights?
By astromama
@astromama (1221)
United States
May 22, 2007 3:08pm CST
I have posted before about how my landlord is trying to rent and/or sell the house I'm renting. He's constantly bugging us wanting to know when he can show the house on practically a weekly basis. This started two months after we moved in and has continued despite the fact I just had a baby and told him I would need some time after the baby was born to just be at home, uninterupted for a few weeks. I ended up with a c-section, so here I am healing from a surgery, with a new baby and my landlord wants to 'show the house' constantly... this weekend, we went out of town for my mother's 50th birthday and we thought it would be a good time for him to show it while we were gone. We came back yesterday and our front door had been left wide open!!! Needless to say, I'm furious! Anyone could have just walked in and taken whatever they wanted! Now, I'm curious... as a renter, do I have to let him show my house when I'm paying a ridiculous sum to live here after he so blantantly disrespected his priveledge to come into my home while I was away?
3 people like this
5 responses
@maildumpster (3815)
• United States
22 May 07
Depends on where you live. It also depends on whether or not you have a lease.
Here I looked this up based on your profile:
http://www.uslandlord.com/laws/ks.html
1 person likes this
@LittleMel (8742)
• Canada
22 May 07
I rent the space for my shop and if my landlord needs to come in and fix the place, he always asks me first whether I will be there or not. If I'm not there, he won't come in and do the maintenance.
For residential contract, usually there is a section in the agreement stating the length of period when you should notify the landlord about terminating or extending the contract. During this time, if you do not extend the contract, then the landlord would consider you want to terminate and so you would have to allow some time for the landlord to show the place to new renters. That's how it works in some places I know.
@stephcjh (38473)
• United States
22 May 07
I guarantee that you do have some kind of rights since you are renting from him. Are you on a month to month contrat or did you sign a one year lease with him or something like that? You definitely have rights. He definitely had no right ot leave your apartment open like that. He needed to make sure it was secured when the people left. I think he needs to have it in writing thast he is going to show the home, otherwise, no he has no right to come into your home at all without your permission.
1 person likes this
@cher913 (25782)
• Canada
22 May 07
can you consult a lawyer? the same thing happened to us...i was pregnant with our second daughter and the owner of the house sent us a letter from a lawyer that strongly suggested that we move because she wanted to sell it (she didn't sell her daughter moved in!) i so wish we would have gotten a lawyer...
1 person likes this
@eden32 (3973)
• United States
30 Jun 07
You'll want to check the housing laws in your state before talking to your landlord. But I feel pretty confident that you do not ever have to let anyone into your home if you do not choose to- including the property owner or prospective new owners. It's unreasonable to think you should be letting strangers in your home while you are resting from your birth.
