By Helene Lesel
After a recent burglary, the tenant quietly replaced the locks, keeping the new keys and changes to himself. When the owner found out, he demanded a spare key. Does the owner have a right to the new key?In all likelihood, yes. For starters, owners must have a key to fulfill their obligation of maintaining and repairing rental property. Many leases now contain a specific provision requiring changes be reported immediately. Some disallow tenants changing the locks at all. In New York, a tenant can add an extra lock, but the owner must get a copy of the key.
No matter where you live, emergencies certainly qualify as a reason the owner needs a copy of the key. No one wants to kick down a front door in an emergency when a simple twist of the wrist will do the trick.
So what's considered an emergency?
Emergencies are any unexpected or sudden problem that calls for immediate action, such as fire or flood. Hot water rolling down the wall into a downstairs unit sent one landlady running upstairs with a passkey. Loud knocking produced no result, so the passkey was called into action. Letting herself in, the landlady discovered the hot waterline had sprung a leak in the bathroom wall, turning the upstairs into a steamy sauna. Paint was starting to peel off the walls from the heat, and mildew was setting in. Quick entry helped determine the problem, allowing access to the shutoff valve and spawning quicker cleanup. Could you imagine if the owner had been unable to gain entry? Damage would have multiplied by the minute.
Noise or lack of noise can also generate an emergency. Screams of abuse have prompted calls to landlords. If no one answers the door after a report of abuse, the landlord may have to open the door to enter with police and determine the situation.
Silence could also be a crisis, especially if a tenant is living alone. If family or friends call a landlord to check in on a missing person, the landlord may need to quickly enter if there's a cause of concern.
Landlords may also come in when the unit is left unattended for a period of time, often justifiable at seven absent days. Why? Driving rains, for example, may accelerate the need for a landlord visit to an unattended unit to check for leaks or water damage. Unusual odors coupled with a longtime absence have also prompted unexpected landlord visits to units.
While most landlords have better things to do than let themselves in to browse through units, what about landlords who abuse their key rights? When is a landlord entering a rental considered stepping over the line?
Depends on where you live. While common sense used to prevail, laws have sprung up in many states to close the door on potential landlord entry abuse. About 20 states have no statutes on the books at all, while states like California have very well spelled out entry rules.
Though the law recently changed, California set 24 hours as a reasonable notice standard for non-emergency entry. Written notice was required for a time, but was relaxed recently to allow for verbal notice to suffice in certain situations, such when it is mutually agreeable.
Some states include a window of time that is considered reasonable for landlord entry, since being served a notice that a plumber is coming at 5 a.m. is annoying. California sets the “normal business hours” limit as the rule, which, while still vague, should rule out too many claims for pre-dawn entry. Details can be found at www.dca.ca.gov/legal/landlordbook.
In New York, “except for emergencies, landlords may enter during reasonable hours or with advance notice.” Details can be obtained at www.consumer.state.ny.us.
What about entry for inspection? Some cities, including Los Angeles, have implemented a systemic enforcement inspection system. Vowing to check every rental unit in the city every three years or so, the code enforcement team looks for a host of health and safety violations. All cities have some type of building and safety department, which have the right to demand inspections.
What if the tenant doesn't want anyone to enter? An owner could serve a three-day notice to cure along with a Notice of Entry to Make Repairs, which indicates a specific day and time the owner will be coming after the three days have passed. If the notices don't pry open the door, an eviction lawsuit may be filed, which could lead a tenant permanently out the door.
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