Landlord right to enter

[Lori N.]

I have a townhouse I am renting. I gave my tenant almost a week’s notice to have someone come in and check the HVAC for maintainence for the upcoming winter season. This tenant is very hard to accommodate because of their work schedule and they always want to be home whenever anyone is doing work in the house so I have always tried to accommodate them. Sometimes this means going extended periods of time to get anything done. While I was at work today I realized that since the HVAC guy was going to be there this would be a good time for me to go by and winterize the pipes saving the tenant from having to make additional arrangements to their schedule for me to come by and do this on another day. Also I had to pay the HVAC guy. So while the HVAC guy was there I went in to the basement where he was working and in that same area checked the pipes. I then went around to the outside of the house and also checked the pipes. The entire time I was there the HVAC guy was there. I did not think this was a problem because the tenant had already given permission for the HVAC guy to be there. However, when I left, the tenant was upset because I had not notified him specifically that I was going to be there along with the HVAC person. He stated that this was a violation of his privacy and that I did not have permission to enter his home. I honestly did not think this was a problem because he did give permission for the HVAC guy to be there and because I am the landlord I would assume that any work I am having done to the house I would have the right to inspect and review. Otherwise the contractor could do a poor job or damage and I would have no way of knowing. I’ve looked online for laws regarding this but only see things about the landlord giving notice before entering-which I had. Any thoughts on this? Is the tenant just being a jerk? Or is there something to this?

[Nathan Gesner]

You gave him proper notice and the reason for entering. Obviously you shouldn't bring 10 people with you but if you approve an HVAC technician and then decide to go in yourself, that's completely reasonable.

I would just tell the tenant that you are under no obligation but will attempt to tell him specifically who is entering each time.