What would count as abuse? Do privacy laws prevent landlords from opening drores? This is my main concern. I know the landlord can legally come into the house im leasing, however can they check my drores, can they go through my closet, and to what extent are they allowed to inspect my home?
Questions I need answered directly or explained.
If my landlord happens to see paperwork and reads said paperwork, is that abuse of access?
If he goes through my drores is that abuse of access?
If they touch my personal property such as firearms, is that abuse of access?
If any of the above counts as abuse and they commit the abuse, then what would help my lawyer build a case? Of course I know I should record and follow them, but is there anything else I may need?
The first three questions are factual, but question 4 likely requires legal opinions. Since the overall post is about a specific legal issue, let’s move this to IMHO where all of the questions can be answered and legal opinions and advice can be given.
IANAL, so take this with the appropriate sized grain of salt.
The landlord needs to be able to get into each room of the rental, so leaving your sex toys on the bedroom nightstand is contraindicated. However they aren’t allowed to go through your stuff. But that doesn’t mean they can’t read something you left in plain view. So.
If you leave a contract on the kitchen table, they can read the front page, but they probably aren’t supposed to shuffle through the papers.
No, they shouldn’t be opening cabinets, dressers, drawers (seriously, did you actually think it was drors!?). They can probably open closets but they shouldn’t be pawing through your clothes. Common sense exception are things like if they need to get under the sink to check the disposal they’ll open that cabinet, or if they need to check a window they’ll move the curtain in front of it.
As is usually the case in these situations, the statute you cite gives you most of your answer (since it explains what “abuse of access” is):
So, having read the statute in context (and, admittedly, having only done so by googling, and not having reviewed S.Carolina laws that might interpret this statute, and without being personally familiar with such laws), it would seem that the “abuse of access” concerns when the landlord comes into the home, for what purpose, and whether the landlord has given notice. [By the way, for those following along, section 27-40-720 and 27-40-730 concern “noncompliance affecting health and safety” and “remedies for absence, nonuse, and abandonment”]
Thus, your concerns about what specific snooping the landlord might be doing once they are in your home isn’t covered by the “abuse of access” you are concerned about. Generally, though, the landlord will be able to see things that are in plain sight, but doesn’t have a right to go rifling through your things. Note, though, that I said “generally”. Don’t think that your kiddie porn, M80 fireworks, Meth Lab, and stockpile of weapons are safe because they are in a drawer…
My landlady called me last to tell me that they will be replacing one of my windows today, and will be accessing my apartment to do so. I wasn’t too concerned, but I did put away both my personal and work computers, which I normally leave out and turned on, and my medications (not that I think they care if I have high blood pressure and allergies, but I still didn’t feel comfortable leaving them sitting out). I also put away some stray cash. I trust my landlady completely, but you never know about the window installer.