Location: California
A couple of weeks ago, I started having serious maintenance issues in my apartment — a hot water outage, what I believed to be a slab leak (hot spots on the floor, water leaking from a patched wall), and a roach infestation that hadn’t been addressed.
I first emailed management on July 11 with a detailed breakdown of everything. I followed up on the 13th and again on the 15th, because we still had no hot water and the water heater was showing a 10-blink combustion error. Water was leaking from the wall, soaking towels and ruining personal items. Still — no response from management for five days. That doesn’t exactly scream “emergency response.”
When I finally heard back, they asked if I’d be home that day (Tuesday) to let someone in. I said yes — but emphasized I was NOT comfortable permitting entry when no one was home. I had my wife and kids in the unit, and I didn’t want maintenance coming in without someone there. We specifically requested that if any further work needed to be done, it be rescheduled for Monday or Tuesday of the following week.
Fast forward to Friday, July 18. We were all gone — not a single person home. I check my Ring camera and see that maintenance let themselves in. No heads-up, no email, no text. Just entered our unit while we were away. That is a textbook violation of California Civil Code §1954, which requires reasonable notice and consent except in the event of true emergencies.
I emailed again, calling it out. Management replied later saying it was justified as an “emergency slab leak.” But how is it an emergency if:
• I reported the issue five full days earlier
• They didn’t even respond until I followed up multiple times
• They sent the “emergency water shut-off” notice after it already happened (timestamp on the notice was 10:18 AM, shut-off occurred before 10:00)
That’s not an emergency — that’s a lack of planning and communication.
To make matters worse, the drywall work they came in to do? They only patched two holes and left a large open hole in my bedroom closet, where I later found rat droppings. There are still more holes in the bathroom. So not only was the entry unauthorized — the job wasn’t even finished, and now my home has new health and pest issues on top of what we already had.
I’ve been respectful through this entire process, paid rent on time or early for over a year, and never had a single complaint. But this has shaken my sense of safety and trust. I’m currently weighing whether to request compensation (I was thinking a rent credit), or even escalate it legally or through housing authorities.
It’s just wild how management can ignore a serious issue for days, then justify barging into your home while you’re gone by retroactively slapping the word “emergency” on it — all while leaving your walls full of holes and pests inside.
Has anyone else dealt with this? What’s the best path forward when you’re trying to be reasonable, but they clearly overstep?
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TL;DR:
Landlord ignored my emails about a hot water outage and suspected slab leak for 5 days, then entered my unit while I was gone without notice or consent. Now they’re claiming it was an “emergency” to justify the entry — even though I reported it well in advance. Left the drywall work unfinished, and I found rat droppings in my closet due to the open hole they left. Feeling unsafe and disrespected. Wondering what options are fair to request as compensation or recourse.
Comments
I understand you told them you felt uncomfortable. That’s legally meaningless.
You requested service and that’s basically come in and fix it.
Even if it wasn’t, a one off isn’t a legal issue. Repeated unauthorized access would let you break the lease penalty free.