There are many reasons why an apartment would perform an inspection. Some landlords want to make sure their property is not in need of any repairs, or they want to make sure the renter is abiding by the lease agreement. According to Apartments.com, there’s a clause in many lease agreements that allow landlords to enter the unit in order to inspect it, and it may state how a landlord will perform the inspection and how many times there will be an inspection throughout the course of the lease period. While Apartments.com states some landlords do inspections more routinely than others, like “every three to six months,” most people would agree that an inspection every single month is excessive.
TikToker @imanijas, a renter who seems to be located in Austin, Texas, said her apartment conducts “mandatory inspections” each month and shared all the ways residents are circumventing having their units inspected.
In her pinned video, which has been viewed 312,000 times since being posted on April 14, TikToker @imanijas walked around her apartment building and showed handwritten notes tacked on her neighbors’ doors, politely asking inspectors not to come inside for various reasons.
Several notes were from renters who work from home or take online classes and did not wish to be disturbed during work or school hours. “Please do not enter my apartment. I am recovering from surgery!” one of the notes said.
“Hello, please do not enter, in the process of moving out,” another read.
The TikToker’s video features 11 notes like these, so it’s possible the apartment complex gave residents a way to opt out of the inspections if they had a good excuse. It’s also possible the residents just banded together via the door notes to prevent inspectors from coming into their units.
“They’ve had six different ‘inspections’ since January and even more since I’ve moved in,” @imanijas wrote in the video’s caption.
@imanijas SIDE EYEWEE! They’ve had 6 different “inspections” since January & even more since I’ve moved in. Glad im on my way out 💀#fypシ ♬ Boy's a liar Pt. 2 – PinkPantheress & Ice Spice
Most viewers agreed in the comments section that every month was excessive and compared @imanijas’ apartment to a jail or a dorm. They also speculated why the property has so many inspections.
“As someone who works in leasing, we’re usually looking for unregistered pets and/or any other violations to charge for. It’s all for monthly quotas,” one said.
“Might be trying to sell. My apartment sold after a lot of inspections,” another suggested.
Moving.com makes a case for prospective sellers to get an inspection before putting out a listing. It states that getting inspections in advance may avoid back-and-forth negotiations and lead to more profits for the seller.
Regardless the reason for the number of inspections, viewers urged @imanija to rate the complex poorly on Yelp. But she’s probably not sweating all the inspections. As she noted in the caption, @imanijas’s moving soon. “Glad im on my way out,” she wrote.
The Daily Dot reached out to @imanijas via TikTok comment.
