Wow. Even in China they don't just walk into my apartment on a whim. That's against the law here unless it is an emergency or they have the occupants permission.

Wow. That is just wrong.

I know sometimes I get my apartment inspected by the State to make sure that the apartment is suitable for foreign occupancy.

But that is extreme!!! And just plain wrong!!! no one should walk into your private space without permission. less

I live in an apartment and we have inspections once a year. They don't tell you whether or not your apartment is going to be inspected or not until a day before. It's annoying trying to make sure everything is perfect only to find that they inspected your neighbor's house and not yours. less

Wow. Even in China they don't just walk into my apartment on a whim. That's against the law here unless it is an emergency or they have the occupants permission.

Wow. That is just wrong.

I know sometimes I get my apartment inspected by the State to make sure that the apartment is suitable for foreign occupancy.

But that is extreme!!! And just plain wrong!!! no one should walk into your private space without permission. less

At the time of the inspection the smoke detector was on the table and the battery was pulled out because we checked it and the battery was dying. My boyfriend went to the store just to get batteries and while he was gone the inspectors came (surprise!) and had a fit about the smoke detector. I told them I was waiting for my boyfriend to come back home with new batteries for it. Plus I'm really short and even on a chair I can't reach up there. My boyfriend is 6'5 so I told them I was waiting for him to come back. Apparently they didn't believe me (figures) because the guy came back the next day at a random time to see for himself. They didn't even call or anything. I guess they wanted to know if I was telling the truth? Or were they THAT concerned about our well being? I'm sure they didn't believe me the first time.

It's our responsibility to make sure we have batteries in them and that we check them every month. It's just a part of our rental agreement. less

The apartment I'm living in is so annoying! We have inspections several times a year and it's so inconvenient. I usually spend hours and hours cleaning house (cleaning the oven, blinds, window tracks, drip pans, ect ect.) just so that they can show up and look for 1 minute.

I'm also annoyed because they don't tell you what time they are coming or if they are even coming at all. They give everyone a notice to clean up and give you a day but you never know if they'll pick you. I usually end up sitting out in the living room for hours waiting.

My boyfriend works nights so we have blankets up over the windows so he can sleep. Today we have to temporarily take them down so the inspector lady doesn't throw a fit about it. We also have to move a shelf full of books because it's too close to the window.

The thing I hate most is that they gave us an inspection notice last week but never showed up. They came this week and they were only here for a minute and the lady seemed kind of rude to me. Now we have another one today and I don't even know if they are coming or not but we still have to pick up the house, take the blankets down, sit out in the sunlit living room (my boyfriend just worked last night) and wait for them. UGH.

Just yesterday the maintenance man came to the door when we were asleep. He unlocked the door and came right in to check the smoke detector! I'm pissed because I told him (during the last inspection) that my boyfriend was downtown getting new batteries and we would fix it a.s.a.p. Why couldn't he have waited for today to double check? Or just call us? Today is inspection day. Nope, he had to come in the house and freak us out just so he could look at it. I understand it's important but jeez!

We're actually considering moving out because we're so annoyed by the people here. less

It's illegal to walk into an apartment without 24-hour notification unless it is an emergency or a maintenance request.

@Violetmoonstone: I'm also pretty sure it's illegal to let you change the batteries in the detector. Why would your boyfriend be responsible for purchasing new batteries? less

The apartment I'm living in is so annoying! We have inspections several times a year and it's so inconvenient. I usually spend hours and hours cleaning house (cleaning the oven, blinds, window tracks, drip pans, ect ect.) just so that they can show up and look for 1 minute.

I'm also annoyed because they don't tell you what time they are coming or if they are even coming at all. They give everyone a notice to clean up and give you a day but you never know if they'll pick you. I usually end up sitting out in the living room for hours waiting.

My boyfriend works nights so we have blankets up over the windows so he can sleep. Today we have to temporarily take them down so the inspector lady doesn't throw a fit about it. We also have to move a shelf full of books because it's too close to the window.

The thing I hate most is that they gave us an inspection notice last week but never showed up. They came this week and they were only here for a minute and the lady seemed kind of rude to me. Now we have another one today and I don't even know if they are coming or not but we still have to pick up the house, take the blankets down, sit out in the sunlit living room (my boyfriend just worked last night) and wait for them. UGH.

Just yesterday the maintenance man came to the door when we were asleep. He unlocked the door and came right in to check the smoke detector! I'm pissed because I told him (during the last inspection) that my boyfriend was downtown getting new batteries and we would fix it a.s.a.p. Why couldn't he have waited for today to double check? Or just call us? Today is inspection day. Nope, he had to come in the house and freak us out just so he could look at it. I understand it's important but jeez!

We're actually considering moving out because we're so annoyed by the people here. less

The apartment I'm living in is so annoying! We have inspections several times a year and it's so inconvenient. I usually spend hours and hours cleaning house (cleaning the oven, blinds, window tracks, drip pans, ect ect.) just so that they can show up and look for 1 minute.

I'm also annoyed because they don't tell you what time they are coming or if they are even coming at all. They give everyone a notice to clean up and give you a day but you never know if they'll pick you. I usually end up sitting out in the living room for hours waiting.

My boyfriend works nights so we have blankets up over the windows so he can sleep. Today we have to temporarily take them down so the inspector lady doesn't throw a fit about it. We also have to move a shelf full of books because it's too close to the window.

The thing I hate most is that they gave us an inspection notice last week but never showed up. They came this week and they were only here for a minute and the lady seemed kind of rude to me. Now we have another one today and I don't even know if they are coming or not but we still have to pick up the house, take the blankets down, sit out in the sunlit living room (my boyfriend just worked last night) and wait for them. UGH.

Just yesterday the maintenance man came to the door when we were asleep. He unlocked the door and came right in to check the smoke detector! I'm pissed because I told him (during the last inspection) that my boyfriend was downtown getting new batteries and we would fix it a.s.a.p. Why couldn't he have waited for today to double check? Or just call us? Today is inspection day. Nope, he had to come in the house and freak us out just so he could look at it. I understand it's important but jeez!

We're actually considering moving out because we're so annoyed by the people here. less

They have every right to come in whenever they want, IF they tell us first. They didn't tell us the guy was coming to check the smoke detector the next day. We had no idea he was coming. They didn't even call us! If we weren't home he would have still come in anyway. That bugs me. I like to be here when the inspectors show up because I'm paranoid like that. But now that I know they can just walk right in here at any time it bugs the heck out of me. I hope it doesn't happen again or I'm going to complain big time. less

Is the property owned by a management company or is this a case of some douchebag who thinks he'd make a killing in rental property? 'Cause the smoke detectors in my state are protected and inspected by law and I can be fined $1000 for looking at the thing sideways. So, to be expected to change the batteries myself is a bit incomprehensible for me. less

Is the property owned by a management company or is this a case of some douchebag who thinks he'd make a killing in rental property? 'Cause the smoke detectors in my state are protected and inspected by law and I can be fined $1000 for looking at the thing sideways. So, to be expected to change the batteries myself is a bit incomprehensible for me. less

In most states the landlord is legally obligated to install/provide alarms, but changing batteries and checking that they work is the tenants' responsibility.

As for dictating where things belong, the landlord can insist something be moved if it creates a hazard. That bookshelf blocking the window may not seem like a big deal in the bright light of day when there's no emergency, but what if you wake up to a dark apartment, filled with choking smoke and can't see six inches in front of you? Seconds can mean the difference between life and death in a fire, and you don't want to waste them moving something you know shouldn't have been left in front of your exit.

Safety aside, if a tenant repeatedly fails inspection the landlord is no longer legally required to renew the lease. less

In most states the landlord is legally obligated to install/provide alarms, but changing batteries and checking that they work is the tenants' responsibility.

As for dictating where things belong, the landlord can insist something be moved if it creates a hazard. That bookshelf blocking the window may not seem like a big deal in the bright light of day when there's no emergency, but what if you wake up to a dark apartment, filled with choking smoke and can't see six inches in front of you? Seconds can mean the difference between life and death in a fire, and you don't want to waste them moving something you know shouldn't have been left in front of your exit.

Safety aside, if a tenant repeatedly fails inspection the landlord is no longer legally required to renew the lease. less

In most states, apartment owners and their workers have to gain a court order to enter your apartment with a key or otherwise without your consent unless it's an emergency, like Tim said. Checking a smoke alarm is not really an emergency, I would guess.

(Although the owner could get fined for not having the smoke alarms working. It would be his or her ass on the line if something happened and a smoke alarm was found not working. Landlords are prosecuted all the time in Chicago for fires happening where there are nonworking smoke alarms.) However, what the maintenance man did may have been illegal. Depending on your lease and the laws in your state. less

In most states the landlord is legally obligated to install/provide alarms, but changing batteries and checking that they work is the tenants' responsibility.

As for dictating where things belong, the landlord can insist something be moved if it creates a hazard. That bookshelf blocking the window may not seem like a big deal in the bright light of day when there's no emergency, but what if you wake up to a dark apartment, filled with choking smoke and can't see six inches in front of you? Seconds can mean the difference between life and death in a fire, and you don't want to waste them moving something you know shouldn't have been left in front of your exit.

Safety aside, if a tenant repeatedly fails inspection the landlord is no longer legally required to renew the lease. less

I am not familiar with housing laws for all 50 states, but I know this is not the case in much of the Northeast. Landlords maintain a right of entry, which extends to Maintenance workers who are authorized to perform tasks on behalf of the landlord. They can enter an apartment to inspect it as long as they provide notice (the time varies, but is usually no less than 24-hours).

Many tenants consider it an annoyance and invasion of privacy, but landlords don't have a choice. If something were to happen, the landlord would be held accountable, and in some cases that means jail time in addition to heavy fines. Also, if the housing is in any way funded by the state, the landlords are required to provide proof of compliance with state laws quarterly. less