If you are NOT home:

As a general rule, police can obtain consent to search from anyone with control over the property.   If your roommate has a key or his name is on the lease he can give consent to a police search.

If you are home:

If your roommate consents to a search, you can object to the search and prevent the police from entering (unless they have a warrant). Simply state, “I do not give consent for you to search my home.” If the officer says he has a warrant, ask to see it. If the officer has a valid warrant, call your attorney.

Can my landlord give consent?

Courts have held during a lawful tenancy a landlord cannot give officer’s consent to enter and search the guest’s room.

What can I do to protect myself from a search of my room?

To maintain your expectation of privacy, keep your room locked, while maintaining control over your personal space. If your room is off-limits to roommates and friends, then it is off-limits to the police. If your room is the party room, then the police are going to treat it as such.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″ css=”.vc_custom_1454187940998{border: 1px solid #000000 !important;}”][vc_custom_heading text=”Follow Us on Social Media” font_container=”tag:h4|text_align:left|color:%23000000″ google_fonts=”font_family:Playfair%20Display%3Aregular%2Citalic%2C700%2C700italic%2C900%2C900italic|font_style:400%20regular%3A400%3Anormal”][vc_facebook type=”standard”][vc_tweetmeme type=”horizontal”][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][vc_row_inner][vc_column_inner width=”1/1″][vc_wp_search][vc_widget_sidebar sidebar_id=”sidebar-blog2″][/vc_column_inner][/vc_row_inner][/vc_column][/vc_row]