Can a Maintance Man do this??

Question

I got an apartment and I am a single female, living alone.

I was woke up at 8 am this morning by a maintance man who entered my apartment with out my consent. I did not know he was coming and I had to no notice that he was going to enter my apartment.

I was asleep and he yelled "MAINTANCE" then i said said "Hello" but he could tell i was half asleep so he left but he slammed the door and did not lock it. I got out of bed and went to the rental office they said they would have him come back to my apartment and he did shortly after they called.

he said he was gonna fix my toilet paper roll holder

. (i didnt ask him to nor did iask the rental office too!).

Anyways I am bothered by this and I dont know if they have the right to bust into my apartment with out notice just to fix a toliet paper holder. Any advice would be very helpful!

Answer 1

No they have no right to! You must have written notification that the office should confirm. I was once robbed in a similar situation that you were in, because I thought the guy was maintenance, I let him in, we struggled, he won! He got my purse and left. ALWAYS MAKE SURE YOU HAVE WRITTEN NOTICE!!! It's also illegal for him to unlock the door even if he does have a key, you can file a complaint with your local housing authority!

Answer 2

I would complain to the management and add a second locking device that only works from the inside, like a chain or bolt.

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Answer 3

Not legal where I live.  I would think a maintenance person would want to let you know when he's coming for his own safety!  We have the Castle Doctrine in our state, and a person could be legally shot for entering your home

Answer 4

The only legal way they can enter your apartment is with a 24 hour notice or if it is an emergency such as fire or water running out of your door. Advise the office that this is not acceptable. One of those rubber, angled door stops will prevent entry while you are there. Just sit it in front of the door.

Answer 5

This is not legal. They have to provide a 24 to 48 hours notice before entering the premises.

If it becomes a recurring issue, I would speak with the rental office. If that doesn't solve the problem... its time to get a lawyer.

Answer 6

definately not legal.  you have to have 24 hours notice.  i lived in an apartment community where the maint. person was stealing from people this way.  i would complain to the manager and be firm and state that this should never happen again.

Answer 7

You have to call in a work order for someone to repair your apartment.There is a box on the work order that you can check off to request that you be home.They may have made a mistake at the office and assumed that you had given permission to enter.If you do not give permission to enter they can not come in unless of a fire or major water leak.

Answer 8

I would put a latch thingy that uses little screws (you can buy them pretty much anywhere) to lock out people when you are inside. They are called a flip lock, or you culd put a chain on. While it is weird for them to enter w/o a request from you, they are allowed.  -- Like when they spray for bugs once a month, I never knew when they were coming.

Answer 9

Former maintenance man, he followed proper procedures. We always called ahead if we had phone numbers, (mostly we did not). we would knock several times, if no one answered, we opened the door and yelled "maintenance", If no one answered we finished up as quickly as we could, lock the door and leave a note that we had been there and why. Periodic Inspections are allowed for in the lease, urgent repairs are allowed for as well. ALL maintenance is allowed for during normal working hours. Get you a safety  chain installed use it when you are in the apartment no maintenance man is so dumb he would not KNOW you are home if the chain is engaged.

Answer 10

ask the office to pleas let you know if the maintance dep.

is comeing . so youll know.