A Westland, Michigan, couple says their landlord clearly crossed the line after they asked him to remove dead birds from the attic of their rental home.
But instead of handling the repair, tenant Javon Crawford said the landlord appeared on the couple’s indoor security camera, engaging in intimate activity with a woman on the living room floor while the tenants were away visiting a sick relative at a hospital.
Got naked, made a sandwich
According to Detroit television station FOX 2 Detroit, Crawford and his wife received motion alerts Monday while they were out of the house. When they checked the live feed, Crawford said they saw their landlord in the living room of the Westland home with another woman. “He was walking back and forth naked,” Crawford told FOX 2. “I think he was making a sandwich. I don’t know.”
Crawford said the landlord had access to the home because the tenants asked him to remove dead birds from the attic. Instead, Crawford told reporters the man appeared “too comfortable” inside the house, which made him wonder whether something similar had happened before.
The footage reportedly showed the encounter unfolding directly in front of the tenants’ security camera. Crawford told FOX 2 the video included timestamps and recorded the incident live while he and his wife sat at the hospital with a sick grandmother.
The landlord has not been publicly identified. FOX 2 said reporters later approached him at a home in nearby Canton Township seeking comment, but he declined to speak on camera and waved journalists away.
Crawford and his wife later turned the footage over to police, according to multiple reports. Authorities have not announced criminal charges as of Wednesday.
Where’s the crime?
Legal experts interviewed by FOX 2 offered mixed opinions about whether prosecutors could pursue charges. Some legal analysts told FOX 2 the incident could raise questions about unauthorized use of the property. Others said the dispute may center on whether the landlord exceeded the limits of lawful access allowed under the lease.
Landlord-tenant laws in Michigan generally allow landlords to enter rental properties for repairs, inspections, or maintenance with appropriate notice. Lease agreements often place limits on how that access happens. Attorneys interviewed by local media said any legal consequences in this case could depend on the lease and whether investigators determine any laws were broken during the visit.
While the landlord in this case has not been identified, in December 2025, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a major, unrelated federal lawsuit against another prominent Westland landlord for severe sexual harassment of female tenants during repair requests.
The tenants said the experience left them upset and uncomfortable in their own home. Crawford told FOX 2 that he and his wife cleaned the living room after returning because the situation made them feel unsettled.
