‘Ready to move again lol’: Woman forced to hide in her closet when landlord barges his way into her apartment without warning

Landlords are an unfortunate reality of rental life, and in this economy, they’re becoming an increasingly frequent norm.

Home prices are simply too high for many people to afford, which leaves them at the mercy of a range of occasionally toxic landlords. It’s not true of all of them, of course, but an unfortunate bulk of landlords seem to shirk the rules whenever it suits them, jack up rent prices, or simply barge into the homes of their renters without warning, as TikTok user Shelby (@lil_cheb) recently experienced.

The content creator only needed to upload a single video of her landlord’s questionable tendencies to get viewers on her side, after the man she pays rent to showed up unannounced at her place. Rather than knock, call ahead, or wait around for permission to enter — something that’s broadly expected of strangers seeking entrance to a home — the man simply let himself in, prompting a strange but understandable reaction out of his tenant.

Unsure of his intentions, and reasonably curious as to why he might let himself in unannounced, Shelby sneaks into a closet to wait out his visit. Allowing her landlord to assume the home is unoccupied, Shelby cozies herself up alongside her jackets and socks to spy on his activity. While she doesn’t clarify exactly what he’s up to out there, her irritation with the situation is clear, as she’s forced to hide in her own home from someone with no legal right to be there.

Shelby’s approach to the situation may have yielded her some interesting information on her landlord, but she’s actually got far more rights than she may realize. It’s not necessary to hide in your closet when your landlord comes knocking unexpectedly, because he (or she) has no right to enter your abode without a clear emergency or prior notice.

In almost every state in the United States, along with much of the U.K., landlords do not have the right to enjoy their occupied properties unchecked. Once a renter has taken up residence, they gain rights, and those include enjoyment of the space without unwanted interruption. If there’s a major issue — a water leak, plumbing emergency, fire, or similar — it’s acceptable for a landlord to access the space without warning, but for anything else they’re required to give notice.

In most areas of America, 24-hour written notice is required if a landlord wants to access your rented space. It’s even longer in some states, and always requires that the tenant has advanced notice that their space will be invaded. That’s set up precisely to avoid situations like Shelby’s, where she feels forced to hole up and hide in order to discover her landlord’s intentions.

Shelby unfortunately doesn’t provide an update on what her landlord was up to, but her video did educate quite a few young renters on tenant rights in the United States and beyond. The comment section is rife with advice — from contacting the police about a break-in to changing the locks — and that alone showcases how valuable sites like TikTok can be. Open forums where we share anecdotes and information, arming our peers with the knowledge they need to get out of the closet and stand up for themselves.