What is the best way I can deal with a creepy living situation with my landlord?

Asked by beautifuldreamingstars (163) September 25th, 2015

Hello Fluther Friends,

I used to be on here a long time ago. I joined again because I want to know the best way I can deal with a current situation I am going through.

I HOPE I am just being overly paranoid. I hope. But I’d rather be safe than sorry. I just want personal opinion of what to do I guess.

I didn’t know this when I first moved into my place but my landlord is a registered sex offender. I wasn’t smart enough to Google his name. I loved the price and the area. It wasn’t until a few months ago that I found out. I did some digging and I think he used to be an elementary teacher way back… There’s 2 different mugshots of him. One looks older like decades ago, and the other looks very recent. The landlord is about 58 now. I don’t know what he did or what happened. I was molested as a little girl so living with a pedophile or registered sex offender feels very creepy and “close to home” to me… Literally :(
I feel disgusted for living around this guy… But then again the good in me says that I should not judge and I do not know what happened…. But let me say that my landlord actually LOOKS creepy. And acts creepy. He’s 6’3 big guy (230 pounds) and acts very very sweet and gentle/kind. Like almost too friendly…. He also wears the same thing everyday which are overalls. One time he knocked on my door and he smelled absolutely horrible like sh*t and I thought I was going to puke. I held my breath in until he left and I felt like throwing up because he smelled that bad. I feel horrible for saying all this because I WANT to believe that I should NOT feel scared….... This guy LOOKS like a creep. I know that sounds horrible to say. But please believe me. The other roomate is an older woman (there’s 3 tenants total-me, the other girl, and the military guy) who said that when her boyfriend first saw our landlord he said he looked like a pedophile.

Recently our landlord has installed 14 cameras that we know of inside and outside the house. This is very creepy to ALL of us. Even my other roomate is a tough military veteran and he thinks the camera are freaking weird…..

The landlord basically put cameras everywhere in and outside the house so it has most angles… 3 in the kitchen, 2 in the hallway on the way to the bathroom… Outside the house 2 and in the backyard… The driveway.. On the roof, in front of the mail box…. Different places.. At first I only thought there were 9 cameras.. Then my roomie told me there were 12… and we discovered 2 more today (in the drivway and one on the roof).

I completely understand if people want to have cameras or home alarm systems for protection. My mother is a small Asian woman and I would want her to be safe always. So I would encourage my mom to get a home alarm. I completely understand this. But this man has (that we know of) 14 cameras… That seems a lot… Me and the 2 other roomates feel VERY uncomfortable… Especially knowing that he is a registered sex offender….

It does not feel like he put the cameras for safety… It feels more like voyeurism… I know that this is his house so he can do what he wants… and he put them in the public areas… but given the very creepy nature I am fearful there might be hidden cameras. I don’t feel safe in my own space and this is a horrible feeling to have.

I have 2 huge windows that have no blinds and sometimes I get scared if he might have placed cameras outside the house looking through my window. I hope that I sound crazy. I get this gut feeling because of his record… because he gives off a creepy vibe…. very friendly soft spoken voice…. cameras everywhere so it feels like he’s paranoid or he’s watching us…

My roomate also said that she saw him looking on his phone different times watching the camera… I guess there are apps now that you can watch cameras through your smartphone??? I didn’t even know this was possible… So it’s freaky to think he’s watching us in real time from his phone…..

Me and the 3 other roomates are all nice and friendly with one another. So he has absolutely no reason to place 14 if any cameras. What is he afraid of? It feels more like I am trapped INSIDE…... One of my friends said that it’s because of his record he’s so paranoid…

The gate to go in and out of the house is very hard to get in and out of also… He has a contraption that makes noise loud whenever you open and lock the key. He also built a fence on TOP of the gate… So that you can’t jump or hop over the gate… It feels like we are trapped… Either he is keeping others out or keeping us trapped in… If there was a fire or emergency no on would be able to jump over the gate or leave quickly…

There are signs posted all over the house “24 hour camera” and he also has a paper on the gate posted that said any guests visiting were supposed to show their I.D to Bob. Also “Beware of Dog” even though there isn’t a dog… What is he afraid of?

I’m thinking either he is overly paranoid…. obviously is an odd guy… is a pervert of a voyeur… or maybe he’s known for being a sex offender in the neighborhood? I know it is his house and he can place any cameras he wants… but given the situation I feel creeped out like he placed those cameras to spy on us…

In another situation I was parked out on the street because I had just gotten home. The landlord had pulled up behind me and entered the driveway. He had to unlock and open the gate. A group of teenage kids were walking by. As they passed my car they were all joking like “Whooo… I bet he has people captured in there…” joking like that guy was a weirdo keeping us captives… But I can’t believe they said that because it feels true.

Maybe I’ve seen too many horrors movies… But it feels like this is one or is becoming one….

I am giving my notice to move out on October 1rst so I’ll be in a new place November… I’m happy for that but moving is very stressful. The area is beautiful but the landlord is just a weirdo.

How would you guys handle this situation??? I want to buy a small weapon… My roomie also brought up that they have hidden camera detectors… I will probably get that to just make sure (or hope) there aren’t any hidden cameras anywhere…

People say to always follow your gut feeling…. I hope I’m just being paranoid….. but it feels so odd.

I try to avoid the guy as much as I can. When he talks to me I just try to be friendly… I don’t want to cause drama… Like I said I don’t know what he did…. But everything put together makes me feel very uneasy. I feel like I’m an easy target too. I’m a slim, very petite, young asian girl living on her own. This guy is 6’3 and big boned. Like a lumberjack. I’m thinking of having friends sleep over just to keep me company because I don’t feel safe sleeping alone.

I don’t feel safe enough to sleep here at times. Sometimes I hear noise outside my window when I’m sleeping and PRAY it is a small animal or something… Like a cat. I feel like I’m being watched. But again I hope I’m just paranoid and hearing things…

It sucks because I already paid rent… So I can’t really not sleep here.. It would be a waste of money what am I going to complain that I feel creeped out??? Plus I don’t have a place to stay yet.

I feel like I can’t say anything to him either because I’ll need his reference when I move out… I’m a young adult and trying to build a good credit history so I need good reputation. I don’t want this landlord to tell another landlord that I wasn’t a good tenant or something.. So in a way I feel like I can’t tell him face to face that I feel uncomfortable around him.

I know I will give my notice to move out October 1rst… I guess I’m trying to handle this situation the best way I can…. Living with a sex offender while I was molested as a little girl is hard to deal with. I don’t want to say anything to the guy ever. I don’t even want to smile at him. I try to stay away and avoid him as much as I can. I want to get a small weapon, and cover my windows with towels….. and also get a hidden camera detector… Now that I think about it I don’t even know or remember seeing the landlord put up all the cameras :(

I hope I’m being too paranoid… I hope I watch too many horror movies as a kid :( It just feels voyeuristic…. I know I can’t do anything though because he is the owner of the house.

I don’t know how to handle this situation. Should I just keep my cool and distance myself from the landlord???