To feel spooked...

[LMW1990]

So myself and DP went away for the night on Frisay. We left 11am Friday morning and returned yesterday at 6:30pm.

Before I left the house I tidied round, straightened all my cushions etc and cleared all the kitchen sides. We left via the side door in the kitchen. The front door was locked and my only key for this door was with my mum. The patio doors were locked.

Pulling back onto the drive yesterday immediately noticed the wheelie bin was open. Could have been wind I thought. DP unloaded the car and put coats etc on the kitchen side whilst I fed our rabbits in the garden.

I came into the house and started to hang the coats up and noticed a phone on the side. I asked DP whose it was. He thought it was mine and that I'd left it there.

The phone was dead but it was an old iphone with the old charging port. Nothing else was missing or had moved.

I remembered that we had an old phone the same as the one we found in a cupboard under the TV in a shoe box under a pile of other packaging. The phone was gone from the box so I deducted it was that actual phone. We don't even have a charger for it.

We also have an ottoman storage box with a cushion on top. The cushion had moved as it the lid had been lifted. Nothing had moved inside.

We do not use the front door unless my mum comes to feed the rabbits. The mat is always square to the door and due to a leaky seal it gets a damp patch along one edge. The mat was twisted and dry half way along. My washing basket which was on the mat was moved slightly forward.

I rang my mum. They had been miles away all day and would never come in without telling us.

Now, we rent. Our landlord lives directly opposite. They were in when we got back. I know they have a side door key but to my knowledge they have never used it. We had our inspection last week and he was sure to make sure I was present. I haven't broached it with them yet.

I am completely freaked out. Why would anyone come in, look for a phone we forgot we had and leave it on the side? And take nothing else?!

My mum is giving me the front door key so I can leave it in the door to prevent people from getting in.

AIBU to be spooked?!

I would tell police.

The info re changing locks should be in your tenancy agreement I would have thought.

One of our previous neighbours once let himself in through the back gate because his daughter wanted to pet our rabbits

They were house rabbits and when he realised they were inside, he tried the kitchen door. I could see all of this from where I was sat in the living room.

We had probably said one word to each other prior to that so definitely not on good enough terms to think he could let himself in. He moved away soon after thank goodness.

Maybe it was rabbit related?

I can’t explain the phone though.

Any update OP?

Update OP?

Slightly (perhaps) irrelevant but my sister had builders in her house, they signed for a delivery for her (new shoes) and left on her kitchen side.
When she returned home from work the builders had left the back door open and the package was gone.
Nothing else was missing.
However the police came round and still took it very seriously.
I’d def contact the police.
It could be anyone, such as someone who knew the previous owner? A carer perhaps??

Gotta be the landlord. Someone innocent would be concerned not annoyed.

Change the locks!! At least then you know you are the only ones with keys to get in, bollocks to wether you are allowed in your tenancy agreement-how’s the landlord going to know unless they actually try to unlock the door?!

Yes definitely the LL. You would be worried and concerned rather than short and offended. You were reporting an issue at the house they own, not accusing them. Of course, one might not know the other has been in your house of course. Creepy.

No update as yet I'm afraid. Still a mystery

Have you checked your tenancy agreement re lock changing?

This may sound far fetched but how much do you know of the previous occupant and their family and would they still have a key that could enter your house! Would anyone be interested to know who now lives there?

Years ago, we had not long moved into a house. The previous occupant had passed away. We had a knock at the door from a man who claimed to be the mans son. He had been in Spain so did not take part in clearing the house and he wanted one last look around his childhood home.

I was on my own so asked him to come back. I managed to confirm his identity from the neighbours but several weeks later, I heard someone coming fiddling with the door, I opened it to find him standing there with keys in his hand. Fortunately the locks had already been changed. He claimed he was not trying to enter and had knocked but I know otherwise.

I would go and see the landlord and say that it looks like somebody has been in your home and did he happen to see anything at all? He will then know that you have realised somebody has been in and you aren't accusing him outright.

Yes it could be previous tenants. Easy to get a key cut.

There are no previous tenants. All doors are new and we are the first to use them

Builders? Bit of a long shot.

No builders and no work done whilst we've been here for 18 months

Estate agents? After our tenants left we changed one of the locks but went to collect the keys the agents had. Something had gone wrong in the office and the person managing our house had left, no-one could find the keys.

When my family home was for sale someone went in and stripped the fruit trees in the back garden, the agents was the only one with a key and the only access was through the front door.

However, you are assuming a key was used to open the door, it might be that the lock was popped.

Otherwise a neighbour with a key, not necessarily the landlord but someone that borrowed a key and had one cut, or had one that had been given to them the previous owner and kept or copied it.

No agents involved. We rent directly from the LL

So it could only be the LL, he who kicked up a stink, because you didn't mention it straight away, most people would be supportive from the off !

agents were not was

I expect it’s the LL. probably the type who thinks if he owns the property he can come & go as he pleases.

But the locks were not changed before they LL bought the property?

If that is the case you have no way of knowing who had a key before that.

And depending on the type of lock it can be easy to get in.

The only way to rule out the LL would be fingerprints but that is a rare thing these days and presumably you have obliterated them by now anyway so all you can do it change the locks, get burglar proof ones and some form of camera, inside and out.

I would be offended if someone accused me of snooping, and would probably not be overwhelmingly cheerful about it, especially if it happened to be my property that had been entered, regardless of who lived in it now. The LL might be feeling guilty because they didn't change the locks. I didn't change the locks on the family home but after the fruit tree incident I installed an alarm.

Sorry, I meant after the LL bought the property.

Bear in mind they could have read this