Refused Entry by Roommate
landlord tenant attorney Texas Aug 13, 2026
Location: Denton, TX Hello! I just had an unpleasant situation with my move-in and I wanted to get some legal clarification. I was moving into a place today in the state of Texas whose lease began at the start of this month, as I didn't move to the city in question until today. I mistakenly forgot to arrange a meeting time with the landlord to pick up the keys until my flight landed, which I admit was completely my fault, and now I'm waiting to meet with him a few hours from now. The thing is, the roommate who answered my initial knock at the door refused me entry (in 99 degree heat), even after I offered to show him our landlord's contact on my phone, our other roommate's contact on my phone, and the signed lease on my computer + my ID. Now, I totally understand his weariness at a stranger showing up at the door, but I just wanted to confirm whether or not he actually had a legal right to do this, given that I would assume my access is guaranteed by the lease rather than the keys. For clarification, we are not co-tenants, but rather several of us each have separate leases for individual rooms within the same shared house. I'm not actually interested in taking any legal action since that would be silly, but if he didn't have a legal right to do this, I do want to inform him of that. Am I in the wrong here or not? Thanks!
