A woman has accused her landlord of repeatedly entering her apartment and pretending to fix things, always in her bedroom and bathroom.
As a result, she got the police involved.
In a TikTok posted on Aug. 28 by Sara Kero, her landlord stands in her bedroom with a police officer. The landlord tells her that he has more things to fix and then says that he needs to get his phone, keys, and wallet and walks into her bathroom.
“I’ll be back,” the landlord says.
In the video’s caption, Kero says that her landlord “keeps entering my apartment whenever he wants” and covers the cameras that she has inside her home. She says this constitutes landlord abuse.
Landlord rights vary from state to state, but laws and leases typically stipulate that landlords must give tentants written, advanced notice before entering a residence except in cases of emergency.
On Wednesday, Kero’s video had over 18 million views on TikTok. (Kero and her landlord did not immediately respond to the Daily Dot’s requests for comment.)
@sarkero #landlordsfromhell keeps entering my apartment whenever he wants. Friends and family say he’s pretending to fix things. Always in my bedroom and bathroom. Police here because he blocked all my inside cameras. #policeoftiktok #landlordabusevideo ♬ original sound – Willow the WiLd Whoodle!
Kero believes the landlord is intentionally blocking cameras or turning cameras she has installed in her apartment. But in another TikTok, she captures a police officer saying that the landlord is fixing things in her house. (The Daily Dot reached out to the Chicago Police Department.)
Other posts from Kero show the landlord in her apartment—even, Kero says, shortly after the police left.
“Landlord keeps [entering] my apartment,” Kero wrote in one caption. “Staring into cameras. Blocking them with objects. Turning them around.” She also posted screenshots of her blocked cameras.
Kero’s cameras captured the landlord going through her fridge and cabinets, moving her tea kettle, and turning on her stove.
She also says that the landlord and his wife had been “threatening, stalking and harassing” her. In the comments, users encouraged her to find a new place to live.
“Welp, I think it’s time to move,” one commenter wrote.
Kero has since vacated the apartment.
Update 12:41pm CT, Oct. 9: In an email to the Daily Dot, Patrick J. Williams, a lawyer who represents Kero’s landlords, said that Kero did not pay her rent and is currently being threatened with eviction.
“Mr. Ledebuhr [Kero’s landlord] never entered Ms. Slaybough’s apartment without first giving her at least 24 hours’ written notice, and he always advised her as to the reason for the visit (including showings to potential new tenants, and completing repairs that she requested),” Williams told the Daily Dot. “He never installed a camera in her apartment, nor did he ever take anything of hers from the apartment.”
Regarding the landlord’s interactions with Kero’s cameras, Williams said that he didn’t consent to being recorded while performing “requested repairs.”
“The repairs performed by the landlord included the replacement of the bathroom door hardware and installation of new blinds. The refrigerator was accessed because the tenant claimed the refrigerator was leaking which turned out to be a clogged defrost drain,” Williams told the Daily Dot. “The manner and extent of the tenant’s postings clearly evidence her intent that has resulted in placing my clients in fear of both immediate and future bodily harm.”
