canada rental-property trespass
Is it trespassing if you unlock a door to which you found the key?
<p>I'm not looking for legal advice. I live in a shared house. Each bedroom has a lock on the door. I keep finding keys in communal areas, for example keys in the bottom of a cupboards. The keys look like they're for the locks on the doors. I tested some keys on the door to my room and am wondering would it be legal to try to unlock other doors with the keys I found? I would like to know if the landlord is leaving keys to tenants rooms around the house because I wouldn't feel safe assuming he didn't leave a key to my room lying around. Normally I would ask but several rooms are vacant right now and others are on vacation etc. </p>

<p>No it is not legal; it is trespassing.</p>

<p>the common law definition of trespassing is to enter someone's land or property without their permission. By locking the door they have denied permission to everyone <strong>except</strong> those to whom <strong>they</strong> have given a key. If someone finds a key that happens to fit the lock, there is no longer a physical restriction but as they do not have permission, the legal restriction is still in force.</p>
