I Found Out My Landlord Has Been Living In My Apartment While I’m At Work
I started noticing strange things in my apartment.
My couch cushions were rearranged.
The thermostat changed.
Food disappeared.
One day, I found the bathroom mirror wet when I hadn’t used it.
I thought maybe I was forgetting things.
Then my electricity bill increased.
I installed a security camera.
Three days later, I got an alert.
My landlord entered my apartment.
He didn’t inspect anything.
He walked into my living room.
Sat on my couch.
Opened my refrigerator.
Made himself food.
Then he took a shower.
I was speechless.
I confronted him.
He said he had an emergency key and had entered because he “needed to check something.”
I asked what.
He couldn’t answer.
Then he said:
“Maybe you should keep your apartment cleaner.”
I told him never to enter again without proper notice.
He became angry.
The next week, I installed another camera.
He entered again.
This time, he brought a sleeping bag.
He stayed for almost three hours.
I called the police.
The landlord claimed he had permission.
I said I had never given it.
The police told him to leave.
Then I discovered why he’d been doing it.
The apartment had previously belonged to his daughter.
She had moved away suddenly.
Apparently, he had become emotionally attached to the apartment.
He had been using it as a secret place to sleep because his own house was being renovated.
That was disturbing enough.
Then I found a second problem.
He had been entering another tenant’s apartment too.
Apparently, he’d been using vacant units as personal storage spaces.
Several tenants came forward.
The landlord eventually lost the property management contract.
I moved out.
But before I left, I asked the new property manager to check the apartment’s locks.
There was a second deadbolt installed.
One I had never noticed.
It was connected to a key only the landlord had.
I still wonder how long he had been entering before I finally bought that camera.
