Daily Archive for Thursday, July 15th, 2010

Yesterday, I walked into my apartment to find a receipt for services performed by a pest control company. This seemed misplaced to me, since I was never given any notice that anyone would be in my apartment that day, and of course the office was closed by then so I couldn’t go over there to find out what was going on. So this morning I walked over to the leasing office, where the person I spoke to informed me that I was “put on the list” for pest control services, that I had been on the list since last Wednesday (07/07), and could not give me any more detail. I was still a little confused, so I asked her why I would have been put on any list without my knowledge, and she just kept reiterating that I was on the list but I wasn’t on the list for the next week.

While I was there, she claimed that tenants on the pest control list were given notice on their doors. When I told her I had never received any notice on my door, she seemed dumbfounded, but collected herself enough to give me a copy of the notice that she said had been pinned to my door.

So, here’s what I’ve learned about Colorado law as it applies to my situation:

• There is no statute in Colorado law that clearly states a landlord must give advance notice to enter a rental properly.
• The Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) has a publication that states tenants have a right to be notified before a landlord enters their properly.
• The lease agreement of my complex is written in such a way that the landlord basically can enter the premises at any time they wish, day or night, for nearly any purpose
• Any attempts to get a straight answer out of the landlord about any activities will be met with confusion and any lie they can think of to get off your radar.
• There is no responsibility shouldered by the government to ensure the privacy and security of the tenant, at least none in the State of Colorado.
• No one seems to know why that is.

I know I won’t be letting this matter drop. It is in the best interest of the State to protect the rights of the taxpaying citizen. Landlords already wield an astonishing amount of power – some of this power needs to be eviscerated at the source. I do intend to contact my representatives about this both at the state and national level, because Government should be concerned with the rights of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness for their citizens, and allowing landlords to enter rented properties without regard for the liberty of the person renting from them is an encroachment of the Pursuit of Happiness.

(Incidently, I also reported a leak around the base of my toilet to the landlord at the same time I was complaining about people being in my apartment. I am sort of wondering how long it will be before maintenance comes up to have a look?)