FindLaw Answers User Question(s) of the Day: Landlord v. Tenant
It's time once again to put those Greedy smarts to use. FindLaw Answers users have questions, and they need (free) answers. Today, we bring you a pair of entries in the ongoing Landlord-Tenant Wars. There's never a shortage of crazy-landlord/crazy-tenant stories on Answers, and today we look at an issue that, in the experiences of some tenants, rockets right up the Creepy Scale: when can (or should) a landlord just stroll on in?
First, we have the landlords. Have sympathy for us, they say. Landlording is a thankless business. We are suffering in the down economy. Mortgage, taxes, and maintenance are heavy expenses, and our property values are through the floor. On top of all that, there are the daily confrontations with the intricacies of landlord-tenant law; for, instance, asks amysanchez7, what do I do when Johnny Law wants access to my tenant's space?
When should a landlord give police access to a tenants apartment or dwelling place? If there is no search warrant, and no imminent danger is present, should the landlord give access to a unit? If access is determined as unreasonable search and seizure and a violation of the 4th Amendment, can I be sued?
Yes, it's tough out there for landlords. But tenants get no peace either. Read on for the other side of this story.
Tenants, well, tenants feel harassed. Beaten down by long-term leases they can't get out of, swindled of their security deposits via questionable "carpet cleaning" charges, harassed with an endless stream of landlord-imposed rules on pets, guests, and smoking. And if they can somehow fend off all that, they are rewarded with a problem like IMPoohBear faces:
My landlord keeps coming in unannounced to check on the place and also sends workmen in unannounced. I am a single woman and live in Illinois and feel violated. Do I have the right to ask for notification before he/they arrive unlock my door and enter?
So here we are. The landlord wants in; the tenants wants the landlord out. From opposite sides of the door, everyone's looking to The Law to provide a definitive answer. Greedy Associates, rack your brains, access your 1L Property memories, and head over to Answers to settle this score.