Landlord entering apartment without notifying the tenant

That ain't cool, right?

not cool at all, and depending on circumstances, probably against the law

fire, flood or other true emergencey = ok
anything else = not ok

check your lease. it should specify under which conditions your landlord may enter.

But if they broke this rule...what then? What's the punishment?

What was the reason they went in there? Are you moving and they were showing the place? Is it a small building/house with a private owner? If so, you may not have any recourse as they usually don't have to adhere to strict "landlordy" guidelines like the big guys do.

If not, and your in a large building, with a serious lease, and something is missing from your pad, then maybe the authorities can be called? Then, you know, it'd be robbery.

Or, do they suspect something might be going on in your crib? That could be a justification....maybe.

If you can, set up a hidden camera. A person did this years ago, caught their land lord peeing in their food, and sent the videos to all of the TV stations.

Not to sound like a broken record, by for what reason did the landlord enter the apartment without notice? It makes a difference. Normally 24 hours written notice should be given for a landlord to enter an apartment between 8am and 8pm in NYC. I have seen leases that grant the landlord additional powers in regard to entering the apartment, you should check yours. If the landlord is entering the apartment in violation of applicable laws and in violation of the lease, it can be considered harassment and you can file a complaint with DHCR. "Punishments" vary, the max would be a class E felony with a $5k fine, generally it would be far less.

yeah, you've given us nothing to work with.

Big apartment building or private house? Real apt. or semi-legal converted basement? Any notice prior or after the entry? C'mon give us something.

Oh and if it turns out the landlord was out of line, mention firmly that you don't want it to happen again and that you trust it won't - and do it without citing a bunch of laws and regs - because it just immediately escalates the whole affair to somewhere it doesn't need to go right off the bat.

If it continues then you can start citing law and regs. And keep track of the landlord's comings and goings.

I'm a private owner with tenants on the top floor.

also, keep in mind that just because your lease stipulates a broader right of entry by the landlord, does not necessarily make that a legal or enforceable clause. landlords often throw tons of unenforceable crap in boilerplate leases.