The Landlord With a Key: A Story I Can't Stop Thinking About

Article by Dr Sotiria Moschopoulou, Founder of RooMate, Photo by Christina Radevich on Unsplash

Two women she knows were sharing a flat in Athens. Their male landlord kept letting himself into the property without any warning -they'd come home and he'd just be there. That's actually illegal. Under Greek law you're entitled to at least 24 hours' notice before your landlord enters, except in a real emergency.

One evening the three of them were on the balcony, a few drinks, nothing unusual. Then something shifted. He got angry, started shouting. One of the women went straight to her room and locked the door.

The next day she asked her flatmate what had actually happened. Turns out he'd developed feelings for her flatmate, and the anger was because she didn't stay that night.

I keep coming back to this. I've read it back four or five times. It sounds so ordinary right up until it isn't. A male landlord with a key. No boundaries. And underneath the whole thing, nothing to do with rent or repairs at all.

This is why RooMate insists on what it does, ID verification, women-only landladies, safety reminders before every viewing. Not because I think every male landlord is this person. I don't. Because too many women have a story just like this one.

If you're renting right now: know your rights before you sign anything. Ask what the notice period is for entry and get it in writing. Tell someone you trust where you're living. And if something ever feels off, you don't need permission to act on that, trust it immediately.

If you're navigating this right now, theroomateapp.com was built for exactly this moment.

Sotiria 🤍

Dr Sotiria Moschopoulou is the founder of RooMate, a trust-based roommate matching platform for women in Athens. RooMate operates as a single-sex service under Schedule 3, Part 7 of the Equality Act 2010.