A Third-party Dog Walking Service Mistakenly Entered My Apartment Using A Management-issued Key Fob.

Location: Connecticut.

Earlier this morning, I (28F) was alone in my apartment scrolling on the toilet when I heard the front door to my apartment unlock.

I froze and tried to listen for clues on who entered. At first I thought it was maintenance, but there was no prior notice, and the maintenance team is really good about knocking twice and making their presence known.

I then shifted to thinking it was my husband home extremely early from work, but after checking his location, I saw that he was still at the office.

I stayed where I was in a bit of a panic. I was half-naked, had no weapon, and the bathroom door was a half inch from being closed. I was scared to move because I didn’t want to make my presence known. I couldn’t hear the intruder walking around so I had no idea where they were in my apartment.

I tried to clean up quickly and quietly in order to at least put my pants on, and as I was pulling them up, I see the bathroom door being slowly pushed open. Truth be told I was so embarrassed at the idea of the intruder smelling the bathroom that I just grabbed the door handle and opened it enough to poke my head through.

There looking back at me is a young woman in her early twenties wearing a blue high vis vest. She looks at me and asks “where is the dog?” I’m in shock. No greeting, no name, no statement of business. Also, I don’t have a dog so I ask her to clarify. She holds up her phone to show me an email, “there’s supposed to be a dog.” On the email I notice the unit number is for my neighbor. I tell her she’s in the wrong unit, and I can tell she’s extremely embarrassed. She just says “oh my god” repeatedly to herself and leaves. I never got her name, the company name, or even an apology. To be fair, we were both in shock.

This is where I get upset. As I go to check the front door after she leaves, I noticed she locked it on her way out, which you can only do if you have a key fob for the unit. So I immediately go to management’s office and explain what happened. I’m in shock and still shaken up. I’m explaining that some stranger had access to my apartment and entered while I was NAKED in the RESTROOM, and the manager has the most nonchalant attitude about it. She’s like “oh, was it a dog-walker?” Girl, idk you tell me!!! I ask how she has access to my apartment, and she goes on to say that this third-party dog walking service has access to multiple units, and what she thinks happened is that the tenants before my husband and I moved in used the service for their dog, and that the access was never updated. Mind you, my husband and I have been living here for over 18 months. You mean to tell me your team hasn’t updated access in over a year and a half??

They had my unit removed from the third-party’s fob access. I filed a police report but since nothing criminal took place that didn’t really go anywhere. Is there anything I can do legally? I’m laying in bed, unable to sleep because I keep thinking back to the incident. I’m so grateful it was just a mistake, but I can’t get over the fear and the vulnerability and the “what-if’s” that could’ve unfolded. I feel angry and violated and it feels like the property management could not care any less.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.