What constitutes "reasonable access for emergencies or repairs"

[MagnifyMobile]

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? NJ

I am having a dispute with a landlord who seems to want unrestricted access to my home. He has already entered illegally without any prior notice or consent, while doing so he set off my alarm system causing the police to arrive. No charges were pressed. Since then I have installed a lock on my basement door since I have things down there I want secure, and the police said I can't have an alarm on a door that didn't have a lock. I got a notice to cease letter from the landlord's attorney saying that I have to give him keys and an alarm code so he can get in the property for emergencies or to make repairs. Of course any time I have needed a repair he dragged his feet for months with me constantly calling him, and eventually threatening to file complaints in landlord tenant court to force him to make repairs. Here is the thing. The landlord owns a small hole in the wall car dealership. I just found out that he used my roommate's personal information and tried to take out a fraudulent auto loan in his name. This has been turned over to the police and I'm sure they will be speaking with him shortly. This guy is a real dirty guy and I don't feel comfortable just handing over unregulated access so he can just walk in my home anytime he wants and steal stuff from me. He has made it clear that he does not care what the law says, his motto is "it's my property, it's my law, I don't give a f%%k what NJ law says". At the same time I do realize that I have some responsibility to provide a reasonable means to enter if there is an emergency, and obviously if a repair is needed I will open the door for him. I have googled this exhaustively and have found no law that specifically say that I have to give him a key and alarm code, but I do see that I can't just flat out refuse him access either. So the question is what defines "reasonable access" in the eyes of the law?

Here is what I believe should be an acceptable solution. I can have an outdoor lock box installed that will contain the keys to the property, in which I will give the landlord the combination to open. The box will be connected to my alarm system and if opened the monitoring company will automatically be notified. To do myself one better if there is ever a fire or burglary, the alarm company can even provide the police or fire department with the combo to retrieve the keys as well if appropriate. So this way if there is some sort of an emergency that requires the landlord to enter immediately, he can simply use his combination to do so. That way I can know that he will only be entering in an emergency, and he will know that he will not be denied entry. Is this reasonable?

Not that it has much to do with it, but I can't think of any scenario where he would need to enter in an emergency without me actually not knowing first. He actually asked me "what if you have a pipe break, how can I get in to shut the water off?" Keep in mind this is an entire single family house that I am renting, with no connecting neighbors. My response to him was "how would you even know if a pipe broke if you are not even inside of the house?". He jammed right up and couldn't think of an answer. Of course recently in retaliation against me he actually shut my water off for almost 24 hours, so it seems that even if this pipe breaking scenario did take place, he has some kind of exterior means to turn off the water. Anyway at this point I simply want to do what I need to do to maintain the security of my property while making sure I am not breaking the law.

 

[justalayman]

I got a notice to cease letter from the landlord's attorney saying that I have to give him keys and an alarm code so he can get in the property for emergencies or to make repairs.

didn't we already go over all of this?

You do not have to provide a key unless your lease requires it.


You do not have to give him access unless it is a qualified emergency or that state department wants in (cannot remember the name of the department offhand but it's in your other thread) or it is specified in your lease.

and the police cannot tell you you can or cannot have an alarm anywhere in the house. It's none of their business.

now, if you damaged anything when you installed the alarm, the landlord can use that to evict you.

but I do see that I can't just flat out refuse him access either.

actually, you can unless he can claim one of the very few exceptions in the law. If he doesn't like it, he can attempt to obtain a court order that you allow him in the house.

ere is what I believe should be an acceptable solution. I can have an outdoor lock box installed that will contain the keys to the property, in which I will give the landlord the combination to open. The box will be connected to my alarm system and if opened the monitoring company will automatically be notified. To do myself one better if there is ever a fire or burglary, the alarm company can even provide the police or fire department with the combo to retrieve the keys as well if appropriate. So this way if there is some sort of an emergency that requires the landlord to enter immediately, he can simply use his combination to do so. That way I can know that he will only be entering in an emergency, and he will know that he will not be denied entry. Is this reasonable?

to me, that is more than reasonable but what happens when he takes that key, makes a duplicate, puts yours back in the box? He then has a key.


as I said before, he can always change the locks and retain a key if he really wants a key. You would be hard pressed to refuse him the right to change the locks but even if you did, there are ways to do it even without a key.

 

[MagnifyMobile]

I'm just looking to be extra careful and make sure I do everything on my end to be completely blameless. The keys that go in the locked box will be marked "DO NOT COPY", on top of that if the box is opened the alarm is activated. As far as I know if he chooses to just open the box and there is no emergency, there could be a problem when the police arrive. As far as the police and the alarm I am within the law, the township requires a permit and I obtained one prior to installation. The system was installed professionally and no damage has been done as a result.

Now as far as him changing the locks, which I guess he would have to hire a locksmith to pick the lock. What happens when the police arrive due to a burglary call? The alarm permit on file at the police station only bears me and my roommates names, so he is going to come up empty when they check him. Isn't that breaking and entering if he enters the property without my prior consent? Is a locksmith going to just pick the lock without seeing some sort of proof that he can enter? I don't know about you but if you called me and said you wanted me to pick the lock of a tenant I would tell you to either show me a court order or f off.

 

[justalayman]

The keys that go in the locked box will be marked "DO NOT COPY",

like you believe that actually is followed? Come on. The landlord takes the key in and says; it's my key so of course I can get a copy of it.

or he just goes to a friend that makes keys (and you did say he has a car dealership so you can bet he knows somebody that makes keys).

btw: I have had keys that said "do not duplicate" duplicated by the local hardware store. They really didn't care about the statement on the key.



[QUOTEon top of that if the box is opened the alarm is activated. ] As far as I know if he chooses to just open the box and there is no emergency, there could be a problem when the police arrive[/QUOTE].as long as he doesn't enter, not really a problem and more than likely, the cops will be pissed at you for they being called out for this purpose.

.

The system was installed professionally and no damage has been done as a result.

was a screw used? any holes drilled?

unless you taped everything in place and the control box sets on a table and all the wiring is run exposed, I know better than there was no damage done.

Now as far as him changing the locks, which I guess he would have to hire a locksmith to pick the lock. What happens when the police arrive due to a burglary call?

he'll say: I'm the landlord and I have a right to enter my property. The police will probably agree and walk away.

you seem to have way to much faith a system that is known to be very flawed will care about your rights.

 

[STEPHAN]

I have never entered a property that I have rented without the tenants agreement.

=> find a different LL and move.