‘Predator vibes’: Ohio couple suspects someone has been getting into their house when they are at work. Then they install a doorbell camera

An Ohio renter said small things around the apartment started to feel wrong while she and her husband were at work. She wrote on a Reddit post that a window she believed she had closed was cracked open, the bathroom light was on when they got home, and their cat’s food bowl had been moved to the other side of the kitchen.

The woman posted in the subreddit r/legal as u/NobleRivet95164. She said she is 29, and her husband is 31, and that they have rented the same two-bedroom unit for a little over two years. She wrote that they have never been late on anything and have never had a complaint from the landlord or the neighbors.

She said she thought she was losing her mind, and that her husband thought she was just forgetting things. About two weeks before the post, she wrote, they installed a doorbell camera, mostly because of package thefts in the building, and they did not tell the landlord about it.

The footage helped the couple establish a pattern 

She wrote that the camera has since recorded the landlord unlocking their door and walking in on four separate weekdays, always between 10 and 11 a.m., when both of them are at work. She wrote that he stays between 6 and 20 minutes each time, that he never knocked, and that they never received a text, a call, an email, or a note on the door before or after. 

She said their lease says the landlord can enter for repairs or inspections with “reasonable notice.” She wrote that they have no open repair requests and that there has been no inspection scheduled. 

She also wrote that she has not confronted him yet because she wanted to know where they stand first, and that she has all four clips saved in two places, with dates and times. She asked whether the entries are legal in Ohio if the lease says reasonable notice, and they got none. She also asked whether the first step should be a written letter to him or whether they should go straight to someone else, and whether they are allowed to change the lock or add a second one.

The poster wrote that she does not want to move because they like the place. She said she wants the entries to stop and wants to handle it “the right way.”

The Coalition on Homelessness and Housing in Ohio says state law, Ohio Revised Code 5321.04, requires a landlord or authorized agent to give reasonable advance notice, usually at least 24 hours, before a non-emergency entry. The firm also says the entry must be at a reasonable time and must not be repeated in a way that harasses the tenant.

COHHIO says that if a landlord enters unlawfully, a tenant may sue for actual financial damages, seek a court order to stop the conduct and reasonable attorney’s fees, or terminate the rental agreement and move out.

The post did not name a city in Ohio, and it did not include a response from the landlord. Landlord-tenant disputes can also arise over what’s inside a unit, as a Georgia tenant says her landlord spotted a hamster cage during an inspection and added $50 monthly pet rent. 

In the comment section, one commenter urged the couple to look for cameras and wrote, “Honestly, I’d be on the lookout for cameras. Something is giving predator vibes.” Another commenter agreed that hidden cameras were a concern and wrote, “Yes! He could have planted cameras. You can use your camera on your phone to find them. Also see if there is anything unusual connected to your wifi.”

Several users said the couple should record inside the unit before confronting the landlord. One wrote, “It’s definitely a lease violation. I would install cameras indoors, even if it’s just the inconspicuous/hidden ‘nanny cam’ type that capture periodic still images when they detect movement, to see exactly what he’s doing while he’s in your home.”

Another wrote, “dont confront him until you have interior footage. Crossing the threshold without notice is already illegal, but capturing him going through private belongings turns a civil dispute into a serious criminal issue. Protect yourself first.” 

A commenter who described themselves as a commercial property manager in Ohio wrote that the conduct is “absolutely not allowed” and said they would not add anything that could potentially cause damage in the eyes of ownership. Another user wrote that, without proper notice and no emergency that cannot wait, “there is no legal reason for the landlord to enter like this.”