AIBU to be really angry that my landlord's agent came into my flat without warning, while my son was in bed asleep?

[Solopower]

Well, he did send an email, two days ago, but I didn't see it, as there was something wrong with the server.

According to my son (aged 17) he knocked on the door and called out, but when he got no reply, he just let himself in. Clearly he had come prepared with the keys.

My son, half asleep and thinking that I was in the flat and dealing with it, didn't get up (it was 9.30 am and he was on holiday) until a woman half pushed open his door. When she saw there was someone in the room, she didn't open it fully. She must have told the factor, who then called to my son to get up and get dressed so that they could come into the room. Which my son did, very quickly, and only just before the door opened fully to admit 3 strangers. No one apologised to him.

The agent was there because they were surveying the cracks in the walls, btw.

I am livid!

But aibu?? And what should I do?

In my experience minor repairs are not performed by my tenants (I've been called because a toilet seat has come loose!). If tenants tookore responsibility for the property instead of calling for help with every little problem then maybe landlords could step back a little.

as a landlord if someone tried to alter my property (change the locks) without my permission, i would be getting rid sharpish.

i always have tenancy agreements that state this.

when will renters realise that is is NOT theirs. i went mental when my last tenants left big holes in my front door from a knocker they had added. and removed when they left and witheld funds from the deposit to replace the door.

op the landlord did inform you in writing. he may not have the tenants number (we didn't for our current tenant for a year) as he did this he didn't have to expect an answer from you.

leave instructions to call in future, with your agent or landlord. it looks like misunderstanding all round.

Thank you Laudinum! Shelter are wonderful, aren't they? Years ago they helped me - I don't know why I didn't think to google them.

The trouble is, the agent did give me notice. It doesn't say what his position is if he didn't wait for my permission, does it? (I am going to go back and read it carefully).

I agree tough that both LL's and tenants should operate within the law. As a LL I do. I just sometimes worry that people risk their tenancy contract being renewed by refusing entry. I would not renew a tenancy ageement for a tenant who had refused an inspection.

Anyway OP, the above isn't relevant for you, you didn't refuse and you wouldn't have. The landlord should have ensured that they had a reply to the email explicitly giving your permission, or phoned you to confirm.

Thank you Tough. I am going to email him, and I am going to read that Shelter link through very carefully.

At best, it might stop him doing it again. At worst we'll be getting notice to leave (just at the time that the students come back, too).

However, I can't let it pass. It isn't fair and it isn't right.

This is off-topic (but it sounds as if the OP now has things well in hand).

gatorade, I'm sure you're not my LL (nice though they are), but you mentioned tenants calling you because a toilet seat had come loose.

Well, I've done that. The LL were a bit puzzled and a bit patronizing: 'you know, you can do it yourself, dear!'

Or not.

It was so badly rusted along the fittings not only could I not move anything, nor could my 6 foot DH when he used all his strength. The plumber who came out confirmed that the whole thing needed to be removed and replaced and he had to use something to saw through the rusted metal fittings.

I'm sure it was different with you - I've heard of idiots tenants calling the LA because a bulb had gone! - but I just wanted to say, sometimes, the reason what seems to be a small task isn't carried out by tenants is because the state of repair of the building makes it a much bigger task.

Similarly, I'd also not paint walls myself. I'm perfectly capable, and just now we do need the wall to be painted (well, we don't really care, but it'd look nicer when they want to show round new prospective tenants as there's exposed plaster, and I think paint will protect the plaster). But I'm so used to LL and LA insisting tenants can't do these small jobs in case we make a mess - it really is standard. So, even though it may be a pain, I am more likely to tell the LL it needs doing than to do it quietly myself.

I was led to believe that 24 hours written notice meant written on paper and the landlord had to wait for a written reply via the post.

There has very recently been a change in tenancy law (Scotland), am off to google...

Property factors I think the law has been tightened to reign in some of the more rogue factors.

Scottish landlord's 'bible'

toughasoldboots - would the criminal action I faced for entering without permission to carry out a gas check be better or worse than the criminal action I faced for not fulfilling my legal duty and having the tenant die as a consequence?

adeucalione you would probably not face criminal action because you have reasonably tried to do the check and have the paper trail to prove.

*disclaimer, I'm not a lawer/judge so don't know if that is correct, but my common sense tells me that.

It's alright LRD, I don't think you are my tenant, according to the handyman the toilet seat had a loose screw only! But this does illustrate a good point, what one tenant/LL deems to be acceptable can be very different to another. If a tenant wants the rented property to be treated as their home (which I fully support) then they need to also treat it in the same way they would of they owned it. I'm not sure that this can ever be achieved, especially whilst short tenancy agreements are standard.

Oh, that's nasty tough! To be fair, I don't believe ours was unhygenic, it was just very old, and had rusted through long before we got the tenancy. These things happen. But I think the LL would have been visualizing a nice, newish seat and think 'what on earth?!'

Cross posted - yes, I was really just using your post as a starting point to explain something I've noticed, gatorade, not trying to suggest you were in this situation.

I don't think tenants should treat the property like their home. They're also paying for maintenance they wouldn't get in a home. That's one of the things you factor in when you're trying to work out whether it's financially better to rent or to try to buy, I think? If you buy a house, sure, you get a survey, but basically if something goes badly wrong, you have to find the money. If you know you can't afford that, that's one reason you may keep renting, and paying money to someone else that covers the basics.

*I know someone will jump on my terminology. Yes, a tenant has the right to treat their place as a home. I don't think they should treat it like a house they own. Whew! Sorry.

tough - not nice. There's nasty people in every walk of life.

We need to ban tenancy threads on here, and direct people to somewhere that's not full of idiots spouting complete horseshit law that they've made up about a landlords being free to whatever the hell they want.

I think on the whole we agree on that point LRD, I'm not saying I want tenants to make structural repairs, just sort out smaller jobs, like I say though different people have different ideas of what should and shouldn't be done by a LL so I don't think it would ever work, even of the upside was a much longer tenancy agreement. I think I'll just keep my handyman on speed dial!