Landlord or owner of premises has no legal right to consent unless the tenant has been ______ or ______.

• A. evicted / abandoned
• B. moved out
• C. paid rent
• D. terminated

Answer: (A)

Tenant privacy in a rented home means the occupant has a reasonable expectation of privacy, so a landlord can’t give police blanket consent to search the unit unless the tenant no longer has rights to occupy. Eviction and abandonment are the situations that remove that occupancy right: eviction ends the tenancy through a court process, and abandonment shows the tenant has left with no intent to return. In those cases, the landlord can effectively permit access because there’s no longer a protected occupancy right.

If the tenant has merely moved out but still holds the tenancy, or if rent is paid or the lease is merely terminated without the dwelling being abandoned, the tenant retains privacy rights. In those scenarios, the landlord’s consent wouldn’t be legally sufficient for a search without a warrant or other valid exception.