Taking shortcut when locked out - is this trespassing?
June 7, 2015 3:55 PM   Subscribe

I live in a house that's broken up into two units, with a shared basement where everybody does laundry. I went down to do the laundry this afternoon and found that I was locked out of my portion of the unit (normally the door to the basement is unlocked). The oven was also on because I was cooking. I had no phone and no keys, so I went outside and banged on the door and shouted 'HELP!' Nobody was home to answer, for either unit. I went back into the basement and it turned out that the people downstairs still had their door unlocked. I walked through the downstairs unit to get back into the common entrance to get back into my unit. Is this trespassing if it was an emergency? As I said before, the oven was on, and there was no telling when people would get home and I didn't want a fire to start and put everybody at risk. Otherwise I would've just waited or tried to find another neighbour so I could get in touch with the landlord or a housemate. Nobody knows this happened, but I'm not sure whether I should mention it or not.
posted by anonymous to Law & Government (23 answers total)
 
This sounds like no harm, no foul. I wouldn't mention anything to anyone.
posted by cecic at 3:57 PM on June 7, 2015 [6 favorites]


I wouldn't make a habit of it, but there's nothing requiring that you report it. Not knowing your location, it's not really possible for us to assess the legality of your action.
posted by ocherdraco at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2015


I also wouldn't say anything, but of course this was trespassing.
posted by brainmouse at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2015 [16 favorites]


Probably, yes, I would guess it was trespassing if you passed through someone else's unit without their permission. What if they'd been in there with headphones on, or in the shower, unable to hear the knocks? Imagine yourself in their place.

As nobody knows, I'd let it go and not ever do it again.
posted by jquinby at 3:59 PM on June 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


Yes, it was trespassing.
No, its unlikely someone will bring you into court over it.
Yes, even if someone were to bring you to court over it a valid defense against trespass is doing so for the purposes of an emergency.

Bring keys with you next time you do laundry.
posted by Karaage at 4:02 PM on June 7, 2015 [3 favorites]


Technically yes, I'd call it trespassing: you knowingly went into someone else's private area without permission. The reason why, locking yourself out and having left your oven on, is all totally immaterial.

On the other hand, you weren't caught, you weren't there for nefarious purposes.... I'd just keep my mouth shut, never tell ANYONE about having been in there or that the neighbors left their door unlocked. And new rule: anytime you leave your unit your keys will ALWAYS be in your pocket.
posted by easily confused at 4:03 PM on June 7, 2015 [3 favorites]


It's absolutely trespassing. I don't think most people would actually mind if they found out what you did and why, though there's no reason to proactively tell anyone either. Don't mention it, try not to forget your keys again, don't worry about this anymore.
posted by jeather at 4:13 PM on June 7, 2015


Trespassing, and if this were a wacky law school exam question you'd have a necessity defense.
posted by jpe at 4:18 PM on June 7, 2015 [5 favorites]


I'd talk to the people, because I've had countless times of not having noticeably dirty feet, shoes or socks, but to my surprise I still managed to leave footprints.

I can imagine the neighbors coming home and being more than a little curious and disturbed about someone's footprints got on their floor.
posted by ambient2 at 4:22 PM on June 7, 2015 [2 favorites]


Trespassing, and I would tell them about it stat: many people have IP cameras in their homes that automatically record when movement triggers them. They are not necessarily in places you'd notice them. (All of the home automation cameras that are so popular these days are IP cameras - they're increasingly VERY common)

I have one of these, and if I got a picture of you walking in my apartment with no immediate explanation, I would be upset and would a) definitely lose trust in you, no matter how plausible your explanation was later and b) probably call the cops.

Your explanation doesn't have to be complicated. If you have their phone number or email just send them a short message: Earlier this week I was locked out of my apartment in the laundry area. I knocked loudly but no one answered so I walked through your unit to get back into my apartment. I'm sorry! It won't happen again.
posted by arnicae at 4:27 PM on June 7, 2015 [14 favorites]


I think your question isn't so much "is this trespassing" as "is this ethical" and "will my neighbors be upset". I think yes, probably, and maybe/maybe not.
posted by amtho at 4:39 PM on June 7, 2015


Some people are much more sensitive to noticing slight changes in their homes -- rugs slightly askew, footprints, etc. I would definitely mention it to the neighbors, so that they're not worried that someone broke in.
posted by jaguar at 4:43 PM on June 7, 2015


Yes, it's trespassing, and frankly, I think you crossed the line the very moment you even tried to open the door to their unit.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 4:50 PM on June 7, 2015 [4 favorites]


You're weighing the likelihood of two possibilities-- that they'll be really upset and uncomfortable when you tell them, or that they will somehow independently notice that you entered their unit. Personally I wouldn't tell them, but you know your neighbors better than we do.

If you're comfortable exaggerating/lying, you should probably make the situation sound a bit more dire than it actually was. Like, say that you were cooking something that smokes/burns easily.
posted by acidic at 4:57 PM on June 7, 2015


Yes, it was trespassing. If you did that in my apartment I would be pissed that you did not call the landlord or the locksmith like a normal person. (All bets are off if there is an actual emergency, but the oven being on is just somewhat urgent, not an immediate emergency unless you had cookies in there that would catch on fire in five minutes.)
posted by Dip Flash at 6:05 PM on June 7, 2015 [6 favorites]


I think you should tell the neighbors, as others mentioned, in case they noticed - but if they're decent they'll be fine with it.

My greater concern is having a basement with no emergency exit. If the other door was locked you would have been truly trapped. What if there was a fire? That's unacceptable.
posted by ftm at 7:06 PM on June 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


My greater concern is having a basement with no emergency exit

OP has a way to exit from the basement to the outdoors...they mention above that they walked outside and pounded on the front door of the unit but no one answered the door, after which they returned to the basement and accessed their unit via their neighbor's interior door.
posted by arnicae at 7:32 PM on June 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


Locked out of your place with the oven on counts as an emergency in my book. I think you did what you needed to do.

Hide an extra key in the basement in case it happens again.
posted by mono blanco at 8:33 PM on June 7, 2015 [1 favorite]


I'd inform the neighbours, if only to let them know of the fact that their door was unlocked and anyone could have gotten in. They might leave it open deliberately and be fine with the idea of random people being able to get into their space, or they might be really forgetful or perhaps not have any idea that people would do something like trespass on other people's property. I don't see a downside to telling them other than your own embarrassment, and plenty of upsides.
posted by Solomon at 12:08 AM on June 8, 2015


You know, there's an amendment to the Constitution that states that you don't have to say anything to incriminate yourself.
Also, duh, possibility of a fire in the building? Yes walk through my apartment without asking permission. You did your due diligence, let it go.
posted by sexyrobot at 1:12 AM on June 8, 2015


I've done this exact thing! Locked myself out, sneaked back in through the neighbor's condo after much knocking. I felt incredibly awkward about it, and then when I let myself back in our place my roommate's cat ran straight up the stairs and back into the neighbor's condo, and I had to chase the cat around the neighbor's condo. This was in a two-condo duplex owned by my roommate and the upstairs neighbor; I told the roommate, she didn't feel like it was necessary to tell the neighbor.
posted by mskyle at 7:07 AM on June 8, 2015


I feel like there isn't enough focus on the possibility of a neighbor being home. What if they couldn't hear you or didn't want to deal with someone? If someone (even a neighbor) were to enter my apartment, I would react as though my life were in danger.

Yes, it was trespassing, and in the future consider that you may be perceived as a threat in a similar situation and be injured or have the police called on you.
posted by Logic Sheep at 7:54 AM on June 8, 2015


I feel like there isn't enough focus on the possibility of a neighbor being home. What if they couldn't hear you or didn't want to deal with someone? If someone (even a neighbor) were to enter my apartment, I would react as though my life were in danger.

This is a good point. I don't always bother to answer the door if I am busy or napping, but I do own guns and I would not be happy to hear someone walking around downstairs.

Personally I'd chalk this up as a "no harm, no foul" moment, but also treat it as a reminder to never do it again.
posted by Dip Flash at 9:16 PM on June 8, 2015 [3 favorites]


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