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I’m trying to understand what my rights are as a tenant after my landlord entered my apartment without any notice last week to show it to a potential buyer. I know there’s supposed to be some kind of reasonable notice requirement, but this felt like a real violation of my privacy and I’m not sure where the legal line is drawn.

That sounds really frustrating. In my experience, landlords typically can’t just walk in for a showing without some notice, except in emergencies. The exact rule depends on where you live, but 24 hours is a common baseline.

You’re not imagining it. Privacy and quiet enjoyment protections exist in many places, and there’s often a right to reasonable notice before entry. If they didn’t give it, you can ask for written notice next time and keep a simple log of when they came and what happened. If this happens again, you might reach out to a local tenants’ rights group or file a complaint with the housing authority or small claims court, depending on what’s allowed locally.

I’m not sure if this was a one off or the start of something, and I’m not totally confident about how it plays out in court. It helped me to write a short note to the landlord requesting advance notice, but the next showing still happened without it, so I felt stuck.

Do you know what your lease says about entry for showings?

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