City inspectors broke into Monte Turner’s home Thursday afternoon.

While Turner was at work, inspectors armed with an administrative search warrant signed by a judge used a locksmith to enter the locked home he rents at 924 Murrow Court.

Their purpose was to inspect the house under the city’s new landlord registration act. Thursday was the first time city officials used a locksmith for the inspections.

“I could not stop the government from going into my home for no other reason than the fact I’m a renter,” said Turner, who had refused earlier city requests to inspect the home. “That’s incredible. I have a Fourth Amendment right to privacy.”

City officials say they’re acting legally.

“We’re doing everything we can to make sure that when we enforce the law, we’re following the law,” Assistant City Manager Dave Corliss said Friday.

But Turner said he would join a planned lawsuit against the city by a coalition of tenants and landlords opposed to the 7-month-old inspection program.

“We’re completely against the whole thing,” said Bob Ebey, a spokesman for the Citizens Rights Committee that plans to sue the city. “This adds ammunition to the lawsuit.”

Monte Turner, Lawrence, is outraged that city inspectors used a locksmith to enter his house on Thursday. The city officials had a warrant to inspect for rental code violations.

He declined to say when the suit would be filed.

Since February, city officials have been inspecting rental homes registered in single-family areas under an ordinance passed last year by the Lawrence City Commission. More than 1,800 properties have been registered; 1,575 inspections have been done on 1,030 of the houses, Corliss said.

Some tenants, including Turner, have refused entrance to the inspectors. In May, inspectors began serving administrative search warrants allowing officials to inspect the homes anyway.

The city had served 19 warrants through Friday, less than 2 percent of all the inspections. Until Thursday, tenants had been acquiescing to the search warrants.

Turner and his landlord, A & S Rental Solutions, refused to do so.

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“I didn’t want to give them legitimacy,” Turner said. “I wasn’t going to recognize them doing that.”

Officials say the inspections are used only to ensure that a tenant’s home meets city requirements for building safety. The warrants have generally allowed a police officer to accompany the inspectors, but only for security purposes. And they said they’ve given 24 hours’ notice of the inspections, even with the warrants, though the notice isn’t required.

Corliss said the inspections had been beneficial for tenants.

“Code violations have been found in a number of properties,” he said, “with the property owners responding to correct these important life safety issues for their tenants.”

The inspection of Turner’s home did not reveal any violations. And Turner said his rights outweighed the city’s concerns.

“I really can’t let this happen,” he said. “I’ve got to stand up on the principle of the thing. I’m infuriated that government agents searched my home without my permission.”