Please or to access all these features

AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Anyone else’s Landlord do this? AIBU to be irritated?

239 replies

Specksofwhiteallaround · 27/05/2026 10:26

For context we’ve been renting this house from our Landlady for just over ten years now and she’s hands down the most intrusive landlord I’ve ever had. Can be very free with her opinions on how we live and has form for dropping in unannounced as she’s passing by, if she does let us know she’s coming it’s with as little notice as possible.
So fairly or not I find her very irritating generally but what’s really annoying me is the last couple of years she's developed a habit of scheduling in visits to the house every single time my son is off school. My son has autism and attends a special school, he really doesn’t like having strangers in our home which she is aware of. As my husband frequently travels for work at short notice I don’t work so she could come anytime during term time but she repeatedly turns up during the holidays, usually with one days notice and disrupts our plans. I just don’t understand why she herself wouldn’t rather come when my sons at school, everything is tidied away etc.
The last straw is her texting me at 6:30am on bank holiday Monday to say she wanted to call in at some point that afternoon to drop in some paperwork to us. She wasn’t too happy at being told we weren’t available that short notice but agreed to reschedule so now she’s coming today at some point between late morning and early afternoon so we’re wasting a day just hanging around waiting for her and I spent the hottest day of the year deep cleaning downstairs to circumvent comments on my not having hoovered over the bank holiday weekend and how my son really doesn’t need that many toys out…
Is anyone else’s landlord like this? Am I unreasonable to find this annoying and wish she’d try to schedule this in outside of the holidays?

OP posts:
New posts on this thread. Refresh page
Ricequark · 31/05/2026 05:39

Seems to me that this landlady soon realised that her tenants were a very malleable couple that lacked confidence and very much needed her flat for their son…. and fully took advantage of that fact. It makes me angry that a vulnerable couple have been treated like this.

I hope you have a good solicitor for your home purchase @Specksofwhiteallaround

Ronnybabes · 30/05/2026 14:46

OMG.
I'm a Landlord and would never ever dream of that level of interference.
Indeed, the only time I go is if I'm asked, and that is usually to have some repair, or attention that needs inspecting and seeing to. I would insist on a visit once a year though just to check everything is in order if I had not visited for a year.
I encourage this as it is obviously better to have any work completed before it becomes a bigger problem.
What to do.
Paperwork can be posted by hand or Royal Mail, there is absolutely no reason for entry.
She can visit the property only for a valid reason such as repairs or maintenance that may be required.
A visitation time must be at both your conveniences and an approximate time should be given and adhered to. She absolutely cannot come and go, or turn up whenever she feels like it. Yes! it is her property, but while you are paying rent you are in charge. It is your home.

One final piece of advice.
Make sure she maintains the property, and has a gas safety and fire check done every year (that is mandatory anyhow) Do report and insist that any maintenance issues are dealt with.
You said she visits, but does not check the property for repairs etc., yet will comment on cleanliness. Bloody cheek. Make the visits on your terms and for valid reasons only.
She is not your friend (unless you choose her to be) She is your landlord with great landlord responsibilities towards her tenants.

Costatesco · 30/05/2026 13:55

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Onmytod24 · 30/05/2026 10:28

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

You can send it in an email and that is proof of sending and receipt. Anything else is just personal fluff.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 16:08

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

MikeRafone · 29/05/2026 16:04

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

no, because you can send it signed for delivery and also email a copy of the letter so there are two paper trails

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 15:24

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

PrincessofWills · 29/05/2026 15:16

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

The point is that if tenants do not sign to say they received it, the landlord has no proof they have fulfilled their statutory duty. When tenants lie in court and say they have not received a document it's very helpful to provide proof to the court. It's very poor practice to fail to obtain proof of the serving of any legal document, and often fatal to a case.

If you want professionalism from landlords, this is it.

Any inspection or attendance at the landlords property should give notice in accordance with the Housing Act.
The fact is I inspect my properties to ensure maintenance that is needed is not missed. I don't care how the tenant lives, providing when the property is returned to me, it is in the immaculate clean condition in which it started, barring wear and tear.

If tenants want the property to be kept in good well maintained condition, supervising trades, and inspecting work before payment is maintenance in action. Because the fact is tenants will say it's fine when it's not, then I have to have the job redone or put right and that causes more inconvenience.

Some landlords don't give a shit and they're the ones you never see.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 15:05

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 15:02

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Specksofwhiteallaround · 29/05/2026 15:00

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

My point is there’s a difference between something a bit patronising and someone saying something really insulting, I think it’s fine for me to just correct her comments where I can then ignore it in these instances. I don’t understand why you keep arguing over it and also being quite rude about it. You’d obviously act differently and thats fine. I wasn’t asking for opinions on how to deal with her or how I should be reacting, I posted asking if I was unreasonable being irritated by it.

OP posts:
Costatesco · 29/05/2026 14:52

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 14:50

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 14:47

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 14:21

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

PrincessofWills · 29/05/2026 14:20

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

But they don't 🙄

Specksofwhiteallaround · 29/05/2026 12:59

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Again without the full context I don’t see how you can decide what is rude or not. Yes she comments on our age but it’s in the context of referring to us a young couple which is fairly patronising when we were early thirties with a toddler but it’s not insulting is it? I always say we’re not that young, what more should I be saying in your opinion?
I think most people would be irritated by it but ultimately roll their eyes and ignore the comments?

OP posts:
Etiennethemad · 29/05/2026 11:56

Specksofwhiteallaround · 27/05/2026 13:17

Yeah she was very not happy with these new regulations. She asked us for a meeting to discuss the new legislation, again in the evening knowing my son would be home and be a distraction, then skimmed over that then she started talking about how much money it was going to cost her, next thing we know she’s telling us our rent was going to increase next month but she’d be keeping it below market rate as we’re such good tenants and she and her DH believe in helping out young people. DH was furious she'd lied and said it was just talk about the new rules then increased our rent with no notice. Suddenly became obvious she’d increased the rent as much as she legally could before she could only do it once a year.

If the rent increase was after 1 May she needs to serve you a Sectipn 13 notice with two months notice. The Renters Rights Information Sheet can be paper or a PDF (emailed). There is no requirement for you to sign for receipt .

SpringsOnTheWay · 29/05/2026 11:50

Specksofwhiteallaround · 28/05/2026 22:18

He’s a bit sad at the prospect of leaving as place as this is the only home he can remember living in. But he’s excited for the new house having an open fire being a big fan of toasted marshmallows 🙂
I am a bit relieved to only be disrupting him the once though.

How exciting. A house you can finally call a home, somewhere you can plant flowers and see them bloom, somewhere you can have as many pets as your heart desires, somewhere you can paint all the colours of the rainbow and somewhere you can put pictures up without fear!!!

it will be fantastic for you and your family. I think some of the people on this thread telling you to tell the landlord no, don’t know the reality of how beholden you are to your landlord. That anxiety is hard to live with, I’ve had near breakdowns (not an exaggeration) over some of ours.

viques · 29/05/2026 11:12

LarksAscending · 27/05/2026 13:28

Don’t do that. It should be in a scheme so she can’t just nick it. You very simply submit evidence of the house after you leave (time stamped photos) and any cleaning services paid for etc and they rule in your favour. Don’t be a wet wipe.

Most of that stuff is considered wear and tear after a few years so she cannot claim it from you.

Edited

And if she hasn’t put your deposit in a recognised scheme then she is in for a shitstorm of legal nasties and you OP are in for a little bonus! Please pursue this, your landlady is clearly not in touch with legislation and the chances are she has messed up on the deposit scheme which means she is liable for a penalty, which you get.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 11:10

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 11:09

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Specksofwhiteallaround · 29/05/2026 10:38

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Jeez people on here lack nuance. There’s a difference between someone being outright rude to you and some sporadically making passive aggressive comments. As I’ve said before I do reply to her. When she comments on my spare duvet living in the box room I point out that with no loft and no built in storage it’s hardly going to live anywhere else, I’m not sure what else there is to say to that.
I just don’t see the value in escalating a war of words with someone who could ant any time ask you to leave their property and cause you no end of disruption and cost you a lot of money.

OP posts:
Costatesco · 29/05/2026 10:13

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Costatesco · 29/05/2026 10:07

This reply has been deleted

This has been deleted by MNHQ for breaking our Talk Guidelines.

Swipe left for the next trending thread