Hello, this is my first post. I registered with this message board because I need to vent with people who understand what it is like to love a cat. This is an email that I just sent to my landlord:
I called the police, because according to the laws of the state that I live in, I am entitled to 24 hour notice for routine maintenance. I was informed that this is a civil matter. I then asked if I could be arrested if I changed the lock on my door, and was told no, that that would also be a civil matter, on the bright side. If I don't receive a satisfactory response, I don't know if I should just move out or simply change the lock and then let them make their move. I would be infuriated if I ended up losing her because of them.My name is [redacted], and I have lived in [redacted] since [redacted]. I adopted a cat a few months after moving in, and since then, have paid extra money with every month's rent for her to live here. I have told the leasing office staff, several times, that I want 24 hour notice whenever maintenance needs to enter my unit. My cat is an indoor cat and she ran away once, for a day, when I took her to my parents' house soon after adopting her, so I go to great lengths to make sure that she does not go outside. Therefore, it is imperative that my wish, for 24 hour notice everytime someone must enter my unit, be honored so that I may move her, her litter box, food, and water to the bedroom and shut the bedroom door before I leave for work on the day that my unit is to be entered.
Yesterday, someone came here to change the blinds in my bedroom. Today, someone else came by to replace the knocker on my door with a plate displaying the letter of my unit. He needed to keep the door open for a few seconds in order to complete this task. Fortunately, I was here both yesterday and today when each worker came by. I was not given 24 hour notice for either visit. I asked the worker who came by today if he had a key for my unit, as well as permission from the leasing office to enter my unit, and he indicated that he did have both the key and permission to enter my unit. If I was not here for either maintenance job, my cat, whom I care about very much, could have escaped. I am extremely upset that I was not given 24 hour notice in either case, especially for today, since that job actually required the worker to keep the front door open for several seconds. I then went to the leasing office to discuss this matter, but a sign on the door indicated that the leasing office was closed for the rest of the day. Therefore, I am emailing you, the senior property manager, to inform you that I want my wish for 24 hour notice, for each required entry, to be respected. I do not want my unit to ever be entered without 24 hour notice for routine maintenance. I understand that there exists a small class of exceptions in which a unit may entered without any notice (such as emergencies). However, these incidents are routine maintenance, and certainly do not fall into that class. Please do what is necessary to ensure that my right to be provided 24 hour notice is respected.
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