When you rent a place, you are actually buying the temporary but exclusive right of possession from the landlord. You own possession until you leave. The landlord still owns the property, but not the right of possession, because he traded it off for money, your rent. Even if your rental agreement says that the landlord can come in at any time, he can’t, and that portion of your rental agreement is illegal. Even if you stop paying rent and are being evicted, you still own that right of possession.  If the landlord illegally comes in, he is a trespasser, and you can have the police remove him.  The same is true for a repairman, realtor, a manager, or other person who say that the landlord said they could come in.  It’s not the landlord’s permission they need, it’s yours.

It doesn’t have to get to DefCon 1. You can tell the landlord to stop the trespass, preferably in writing, and work something out. It may work, but if it doesn’t you at least have the paper trail to show that you tried informally. You don’t have to tolerate it. You have the legal right and power to stop it.

It’s important for you to understand the strength of your position.  Since trespass is a crime, you can just call the police and ask them to make the arrest. If they say it’s a civil matter, you tell them you disagree, and will make the citizen’s arrest using all force necessary.

You can read the laws about citizen’s arrest in Penal Code 834-849.5, especially 837, in the pdf download available below.  Citizen’s arrest is what a shopping mall cop would do, but you don’t need the badge, title or uniform. “You’re under arrest for trespass,” is all you need to say.  It has to be done in your presence, unless it was a felony like a burglary. By law, you can using all force reasonably necessary, even with the help of others, to subdue the resisting criminal suspect, tie him up and haul him to the police station for booking. It’s not assault and battery.

The nosey resident manager is a typical trespasser. Little people with power. They think that because they have the keys to all units, they can come in whenever they want to snoop around. Nope. If the manager takes something of yours, it goes to burglary. Trespass can also be outside the building, like if you have a yard, coming into the yard.
You can also sue the landlord and the other people who come in, for trespass, invasion of privacy, breach of contract, elder abuse, intentional infliction of emotional distress, retaliation, tenant harassment, and other things that apply. It can be a small claims case for up to $12,500 or a larger amount in a Superior Court case. You can get an injunction against further intrusions. It is your right of possession, and the law is ready to support you.

There is an exception in the law, which allows certain kinds of entry so as not to be a trespass. It is Civil Code 1954. If the landlord, or those acting under the landlord, follow every step correctly, then it is not a trespass, and they do have the legal right to come in.  If your rental agreement says that the landlord can enter in any way or time note permitted by Section 1954, that part of your rental agreement is illegal and unenforceable under Civil Code 1953.
Under Section 1954, the person can come in by your permission, like “ Hi, can I come in?” Sure” The fact that you have requested repairs does not mean you gave permission for the actual entry.
The person can come in for an emergency, like a fire, gas leak, water leak, flood, medical emergency or similar event. That does not include the landlord being in a hurry to do something else.
The rest of the ways that the landlord can come in require a 24 hour notice, in writing, identifying the date, time, and purpose of the entry, and be only during normal business hours. If the notice was mailed, it must be 6 days ahead of the entry. Writing means paper, not text or email. The date and time need to be narrowly defined, like 10-11 AM on June 4th, not sometime this week, or between 9-5 for something that might take an hour to do. The purpose of the entry means one of the permitted reasons under Section 1954, not any other reason, even if it in their official form. You have the right to ask what exactly is going to be done, and who will be coming in, and how long it will take. Normal business hours is generally 9-5 M-F.  Finally, the right of entry can’t be abused.

There are a couple of exceptions applicable only for realtors. For them, normal business hours includes the weekend, and maybe holidays. Also if you get a letter saying that they will be showing the place over the next 120 days, that is your written notice. Then any realtor can call you 24 hours in advance to schedule the showing, but they have to leave their business card each time they come.

The first type of permitted entry is to show the property to workmen, buyers, tenants, and lenders. That usually only takes a few minutes.  The workmen need to see the situation so they can give an estimate on what it will take to fix the problem. It does not include looking into your closets or drawers, or a general inspection/snooping. For workmen it might involve taking a picture of the problem, but not of your home in general. It would not include prospective tenants or buyers taking photos, since they might be disguised future burglars casing your home.

The second type is to make repairs.  That does not include remodeling, unless it is a necessary part of the repair.  It does not include checking the smoke alarms.
The last type is doing the security deposit inspection 2 weeks before you are leaving. That is upon your request. It is done to present you with a list of proposed deductions to you can address those in order to get your full deposit back. This does not extend to any “annual inspection” that the landlord puts on their Notice of Entry form. There is no such right to enter under Section 1954.

One of the most important parts of Section 1954 is that the right of entry cannot be abused. There is no definition of that, but common sense does come to bear. The purpose of Section 1954 is to protect you from unreasonable interference with your occupancy and privacy, so that purpose is defeated if the landlord could abuse the right under the guise of a legitimate entry.  Landlords often use the right to entry to retaliate and harass you into leaving. Or they may just have no regard for your rights, and just want to push you aside to do whatever they want.

If the landlord is trying to sell the house where you reside, the realtor may want to hold an open house for the weekend, and tell you that you need to be away. Nope. That is an abuse. The landlord may need to do mold remediation or other major construction work, turning your home into a construction zone, telling you to stay in a hotel for an unlimited period. Nope. That is an abuse. Similar to that is tenting your home to do termite or cockroach fumigation for a few days. That is also abuse. Taking too long to do repairs, or leaving your place a mess with construction debris is an abuse. A realtor coming in to take pictures of your home for the Multiple List Service online posting is also an abuse of his right of entry to show the place.  Having too many showings of your home is also an abuse, as is having realtors show up on special holidays to take strangers through your home. The list is as long as your imagination, but you get the idea.

It is possible to work out your needs and the landlord’s needs without a great confrontation. For example, if the landlord signs an agreement with you for your temporary relocation in a hotel, and pays for your room, all meals, incidental expenses, and an extra amount for your inconvenience and cooperation, as well as promising to finish by the stated date, and restore your home to clean and good condition as you left it. You could agree. There is a sample temporary relocation agreement below that you might find useful in that type of situation.  He also could pay you to take a short vacation for the open house, and your leaving the place clean and ready to show.  You don’t have to permit his abuse of the right to enter, so by making a deal like that, you are doing him a favor.

Of course, if the landlord refuses to work with you, and disrespects your rights, you are in control. You can prevent anyone from coming in. You can tell the realtors that if the come with a buyer you will warn that buyer that they will become a defendant in your lawsuit against the landlord. You can prevent the construction, construction work and other plans that the landlord had, destroying their plans.  If the landlord tries to evict you for that, you can successfully defend because you are only using your rights under Section 1954 and he is retaliating. You can sue the landlord and his lawyer for trying to evict you.  While the landlord is trying to evict you, you stay in possession rent free, and without that threatened disruption of your quiet enjoyment of your home.  He may just pay you to go, because you have him over a barrel. The bully thing doesn’t work against a tenant who knows their rights.

You are probably surprised that you have such a strong position, and so much control at your disposal. That’s why you are here.  You should also watch the video on this page, and review the papers you can download from this page. Share this information with your neighbors, who may be having similar concerns.

Written and presented by Ken Carlson, J.D. (CA State Bar #93602)
Protecting California tenants’ rights since 1980