I had an experience a couple of years ago. Our landlord passed away and before we knew it, our home was up for sale. The son hired a property management company. My very first interaction with the management company came with a threat to evict if I got in her way to selling the house. I was quite shaken and decided to check my rights as a tenant. There are very specific rules as to when they can show an occupied property with regards to giving notice, leaving identity of the person who showed the house, etc. They proceeded to break all of those rules. They usually gave 24 hour's notice, but then the realtor didn't feel a need to leave a card. So I wasn't certain if someone had come into my house or not. It was a strange feeling. Legally, the realtors are not allowed to show the property on weekends without occupant's permission. I, once again, was threatened with eviction if I didn't show one Saturday afternoon. So, I explained my teenaged son was visiting and I was going to be home. They came anyway. The realtors and the people looking at the house were quite uncomfortable. I also had a realtor call at 8AM on a Sunday morning. She wanted to show the house that day. She and her clients showed up at my front door at 10AM. I didn't answer. I waited in the house, naked, figuring if they walk in, they'll think twice about invading someone's home on a sunday morning. They were wise enough not to enter the house without express permission. I then sent a letter of complaint to the landlord outlining how the management company was violating my rights as a tenant. His answer was a letter with 60 days notice. We decided at that point to leave. I couldn't believe how they can push people around. I, along with people at Grassroots Leadership Network of Marin, decided to then create a Tenant's Voice Council of Marin.
