by henigan

Created on: October 07, 2009   Last Updated: October 09, 2009

In order to feel safe in your apartment building, I think one of the most important things to do before you rent an apartment is meet your landlord or building manager.

I rented my apartment through a realtor.

After some trouble with rent getting through the mail, I asked the landlord if someone could start picking up the rent from me. He agreed and began sending a guy named Mike to come pick up the rent.

One day, Mike, the landlord's representative, told me he had been in my apartment during the previous month. And he asked me if Vince, the landlord , had told me. I called Vince and he said he didn't know Mike had been in there. I told him Mike made it clear that he had told him to come inside. But he denied it.

A couple of months later, a friend was staying with me. I was at work when I got a phone call from her. She asked me why Mike was in my living room. She had been taking a shower when she heard an alarm. She threw on some clothes and ran downstairs to find Mike and another man in my living room.

I called Vince who told me it was his fault. The other guy was the alarm inspector and when he scheduled the appointment, he didn't know the inspector would need to get into my apartment.

I don't see how this gave Mike the right to come into my apartment, as it was not an emergency, just an inconvenience. Or maybe another visit would have cost him some money.

Anyway, about eight months ago, while I was at work, there was a fire next door. When I got home, Mike was standing on the front step and told me about the fire. I was really annoyed to see him and to know that he still worked for Vince. His presence proved to me that Vince had given him permission to enter my apartment without notifying me. If he hadn't, Mike would have been fired. Well, I would have fired him!

The fireman had had to break down my door. When Vince re-placed (It is the same door. He just put it back up.) and gave me the new keys, he told me not to change the locks since there is the chance there could be an emergency and he might need to get in again. I wonder why he made that comment. How did he know I changed the locks if he or one of his representatives didn't try to get in again?

The first thing you should make sure of when renting an apartment is that you can trust that your privacy will not be invaded by your landlord. Remember, it is not his property; it is your home.

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