To have sent an arsey response to this text from my landlord?

[SpottedGurnard]

Backstory: We are moving out next month and I said to the landlord I was ok with showing people around as long as the letting agency emailed me ( I cant answer my phone during the day as I drive for a living) with 24 hrs notice.

Since then I have had the landlord round twice with workmen. The first time they stood in my kitchen for an hour and a half discussing quotes all the while I was waiting to cook my dinner and was starving! The second time was in an evening right as I was packing for a hen do and wanting to get ready ( I didnt feel comfortable getting in the shower while they were here, my house is very small).

So last week I had a message from the letting agency that I picked up at 4.30 saying they have arranged a viewing for the next day at 1.30. I sent back an email saying no, this is not ok. It was not 24 hrs notice and me and dp were both away on hen and stag all weekend so couldnt let them in.

Yesterday they emailed at 4.30 saying could they arrange a viewing for between 3.30 and 4. I said ok and arranged to be around then. Got a call at 3 askong where I was as they were at the door.

I have just had an email from my landlord asking if I can contact the letting agency as the people from sat still want to look around.

I said

1. I will not contact them. If they want to arrange a viewing they can contact me.

1. I spoke to them today and they didnt mention it so I dont understand why they have sent this message through the landlord.

Aibu to just want some fecking peace in my own home?

(I must add Im going through a stressful redindancy, DPs OCD is playing up right now and I just hate the fact I am not able to have some private space)

Raspberry I think that's a bit immature tbh, to say 'I would just be as awkward as hell', how would that approach help the op, anyway? Surely it would just mean she'd prolong the agony/disruption? Anyway it sounds like the agency are the real tossers here, rather than the landlord, because they're blatantly disregarding her stated wishes.

But even if you have a hands free, you are still concentrating less on the driving?

OP-do you not get any breaks when you could check messages if you wanted to?

It sounds as if the LL thinks it would be easier for you to arrange a time to suit you tbh.

Just checked in and found lots of replies. I will ty and clarify a few things!

diddl- I do get breaks but considering I'm trying to organise a house move halfway across the country, speaking to agencies to find a job AND dealing with my work calls I don't have the time to be chasing a letting agency.

The agency were truely shit when I moved in so I prefer to email them, then I have a record of everything.

I don't understand why my landlord got involved. I had spoken to him and agreed they could email me to arrange viewings with 24hrs notice. He pays the agency to find tenants and book viewings.

I know some landlords on here say they would be keen to rent out again ASAP but please remember your tenants are entitled to peace and if they don't want people coming around then that is their choice.

I have had no contact from the letting agents today. Either their not as keen to get people around as the landlord suggests or he has got confused and didn't realise people looked around yesterday.

Either way, it does not excuse the arsey text I got at 11.30 last night as I was drifting off to sleep!!!

It doesn't sound great, spotted.

It's just ... what do you want to do now? If you can bring yourself to send a polite-but-pointed clarification to the LL saying you are not happy to have viewings organized at under 24 hours notice and you are quite busy, that will probably mean it gets sorted out soonest. It sounds quite sensible that you should organize times with the agent if the LL will accept that.

Other than that can you not just brush it off - if they've been clearly told you can't be in for viewings unless agreed properly in advance, it's really up to them to sort things out.

It certainly doesn't excuse texts late at night, but just say so.

I know some landlords on here say they would be keen to rent out again ASAP but please remember your tenants are entitled to peace and if they don't want people coming around then that is their choice.

Yes, but it's likely that you will have a contract that allows the landlord/agency to show prospective tenants around.

A contract doesn't override my right to being undisturbed in my own home unexpected.

They can put it in my contract but it means bugger all.

I thought that LLs had the right to enter your home provided they give you 24 hours notice?

I'm happy to be corrected on that though

OP sounds to me like it's the agency that are the problem. Like others have said I would contact them about it.

They don;t have any right to enter your house except for emergencies.

You are within your rights to tell them to keep out, no showing prospective tenants round while you are there.

It's a very slapdash thing to do to be honest, a decent landlord/agent would wait till you've left and the house is nice and empty.

So if the LL isn't allowed to enter the house except in an emergency, can I refuse to let him in when he comes to put/remove stuff in the loft? (Not that I need to refuse him entry, I just didn't know I could)

No you're not unreasonable at all. I used to be a landlord and one of my tenants did kindly show people around for me. But I would never have expected her to put herself out, it would never be down to her to liaise with the agency, and I'd never have let people in without her permission. And I always gave more than 24 hours notice.

Really Frommage?! That's interesting!

I previously rented from private landlords and we found new tenants for them (our friends wanted to move in once we'd left) so having viewings in our current flat is a bit strange but I thought it was normal if you want through a letting agent because they'd be losing out financially if the flat wasn't let year round. There are so many repairs needed in our place that just haven't been done (most there since before we moved in) so it'd be better if our letting agent took a few weeks to sort that out before moving new people in.

OP I hope your agency finds new tenants soon, then they'll leave you alone! I found that a few possible tenants gave up on seeing ours because we had to hold off on allowing a viewing. I kind of wish we'd let them come anyway so that it wouldn't drag on for so long.

Many letting contracts will have the "right to show prospective tenants around with 24 hours notice". It means nothing and has been shown in law to be overriden by the tenants right to "quiet enjoyment" of the property.

Technically therefore you can insist they show no one around until you have left. Personally as long as the agent and landlord are reasonable I would be happy to allow viewings but I would want to be there.

ineed, they have access for emergencies only.

They don;t have any right to enter your house except for emergencies.

Um, no, that's not the case. Most letting contracts allow the landlord to carry out periodic inspections and routine maintenance.

This is for the benefit of both the landlord and the tenant.

funny little men from gas companies and fire safety and things

How dare they be so considerate about such trivial things like your safety and complying with the law (rented properties are required to have a gas safety inspection once a year). When my tenants set fire to the house last year (by chucking a lit cigarette into the recycling bin where it smouldered into the night before igniting at 2 am) they were pretty pleased I had insisted on checking the smoke alarms, otherwise they would have all been dead.

OP, I agree with you about the intrusion, short notice and late night texts but for many landlords it's hard going to wait until tenants leave before showing people around. It leaves a 2-3 month gap in rental income while toe mortgage payments are still expected and ultimately puts rental costs up for everyone.

If you wanted to view a rental property would you say on principle "oh no, I will only go and see empty ones, because I don't want to disturb their quiet enjoyment."?

Forgive me I'm a little bitter this morning, waited 30 minutes for a prospective tenant that didn't show up last night (and missed my DDs bedtime) and then agreed to let a tenant move out (with no cost to her) after she only moved in 3 weeks ago because her boyfriend's dumped.

dumped *her.

If a tenant refuses access to a landlord, they may only enter in the event of an emergency, or by court order.

Tenants CAN refuse access, to everyone, including periodic inspections.

Gas safety etc IS a legal requirement, but again needs to be undertaken with the tenant's permission to enter.

You can write all sorts of bollocks into a contract, but it doesn't make it law.

When I was young and naive I rented a room in house where the contract included clauses saying overnight visitors were allowed only once a month, and the LL would let herself in any time she liked for spot checks. I found it such a hassle I checked the law and found it to be utter bollocks, but I know people who still live in that house and are still signing ever-more complex contracts saying things like 'tenants may expect spot-checks on the position of furniture in bedrooms ... tenants must not leave pots on the kitchen worktop; if the landlady finds these on a spot check they will be binned'. You can take an immense amount of advantage of tenants if they don't understand what you can and can't legally ask them to do.

It's worth being very clear to a LL that you know the law.

That's why it is recommended that the prospective tenant is given min 7 days to read the contract before signing - which is what I do.

Of course unreasonable clauses are not enforceable, but is it unreasonable to ask the tenant (with due notice) to allow a gas safety inspector to enter a property to carry out legally required checks?

LRD and others on this thread have given examples of really bad practice, but there are good landlords as well.

I rely on a certain amount of good will from tenants but hopefully earn that from them by being professional, friendly, accommodating and sensitive to their needs, as well as ensuring the property is in really good conditoon.

If I felt I had to consult a solicitor every time I picked the phone up to a tenant I would be most perplexed.

unexpected - it's in the nature of the thread to give bad examples, I guess, but I am trying to say, I don't think this LL is necessarily being awful, so much as possibly ignorant of the law. She or he needs to be told clearly what the OP won't do.

I think there are many good landlords. I've had excellent ones.

Oops, sorry, missed the question ... IMO it's perfectly reasonably to ask the tenant to let in a safety inspector and I imagine if this was constantly refused, it'd become a safety issue or an emergency. But it's also perfectly reasonable for the tenant to object to a specific time - if they can't do 4.30 on Friday (for example), fair enough!

Yes, but it's likely that you will have a contract that allows the landlord/agency to show prospective tenants around.

it doesn't matter what the contract says in this instance, the tennants rights to peaceful enjoyment overrides that. the tennants doesnt' need to let anyone into their home at all during their tennancy if they so wish.

agree that it is benifical to the tennant to let people in to do the maintainance check but they don't have to

tbh, I would not allow anymore viewings, the agency/landlord have shown they are not considerate...

Thanks for all of the responses!

I have now made it clear to my landlord that I will not be chasing the letting agency to organise viewings.

I have also told him that I will not be dictated as to a deadline to which I have to show people around by. I will let people in when it is convenient for me and if he doesn't like it then I won't be letting anyone in.

I will let people look around (if I get enough notice) because, although he can be a bit strange, we have always had a good relationship with the landlord in the past.

Re. gas safety certificates- I have always booked these myself so I can liase with the gas company and get a time that suits me.

And I'm also slightly alarmed at landlords on here who think they have a right to enter their house (for non-emergency reasons) with 24hours notice!

I have a question here for unexpected too...

You said upthread that having a periodic inspection is beneficial to both tenant and landlord.

How?

I have always found them to be a complete pain in the arse. I choose to live how I live, it makes no difference to the landlord as long as the house is as it was when I moved in. And if it's not, well that's what the deposit is for.