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?

I'm just popping by to do two things:

1. Offer to Tough for posting with clarity and knowledge on tenant's rights. I think MN should have someone from Shelter or another equivalent organisation in to do a live webchat or something. The misinformation on MN tenancy threads would scare the living daylights out of any tenant on a daily basis.

1. I would like to point out that a toilet seat rusted solid over 20 years' use can actually be removed by an overweight and weak 32 year old using a 95p junior hacksaw

angel how could you be do awfull. someone had bought thehouse you live in in now their home and your technically squatting.

your issue is with your previous LL not the new owners find a new tenancy and do the right thing.

i would then take the previous LL to court.

pffft, you are such a wind up merchant mrsb. she has the tenancy until oct so she is not squatting.

She isn't squatting FGS, she holds the tenancy until December. More fool the new owners for buying a house they can't move into for months.

whoops, dec, not oct.

MrsBucket - If Angel is still within her original tenancy agreement (which we don't know at the moment) she is not squatting and has a right to occupation of the property until the tenancy agreement ends, assuming the proper Notices have been served by the landlord.

Squatting She is quietly enjoying her home as she is legally entitled to do!

you live in in now their home
no, she lives in her home. only the ownership of the bricks has changed, not the tennancy agreement.

angel aren't you just the dream tenant

So it's unfortunate that the Landlord went back on what was allegedly agreed however circumstances do change you know. The Landlord's financial circumstances changed and he needed to sell the property. Not allowing someone reasonable access is a bit off imo.

She might not be squatting, but surely part of the breaks of renting is that if you're on an AST, you can be asked to leave after the first 6 months or in two months time at any point thereafter - you can't make an agreement to stay for two years. Unless this is some other kind of tenancy agreement?

If she's still within the non-negotiable bit of the tenancy agreement, though, the buyers must surely have expected she would do this, it's not exactly a big surprise.

I am not squatting!

My tenancy agreement is untill december, I am looking for somewhere else to live but untill I find somewhere I will not be letting stangers wander round My home.

It is a ast and only for a year, I have paid up front 12 months rent plus deposit.

That's really rotten for you, especially after paying all that money up front.

I hope you find another nice place.

I can see why they sold it, though ... I'd be cross too, but it's the way it goes.

LRD - you can have a tenancy agreement for longer than 6 months, surely? Mine is for 12 months. But if she is still the legal tenant til December then she is doing nothing wrong.
Crispy - the landlord's financial situation isn't angel's concern. Why should she allow random people access to her home? She doesn't owe the landlord or the new buyers any favours

Yes, I know you can, rubi, but I did not know you could have longer than 6 months guaranteed. Mine is an AST, for 12 months, but after the first six, either I may give notice or my LL may. I didn't know you could extend the guaranteed period beyond 6 months.

See page 16 on tenants rights
www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/138289.pdf

If you have a valid tenancy until Dec then the landlord may have inadvertantly sold the property subject to your tenancy.

My Assured Shorthold Tenancy Agreement is for twelve months. It is a standard Law Society form of tenancy with no break clause.

Solo about getting your sons age wrong - I was beyond knackered

Do also bare in mind from what you write your LL is playing power games with all the veiled threats & giving you info to keep secret from the other tenants, so you are not wrong in that he's a scumbag & for yourself & all the other awful sounding LL that have added to this thread.

YES, Tenants may be easy to come by, but GOOD tenants, which you certainly sound to be one of the best are a very rare breed indeed & its your LL that should be worrying about losing YOU, not the other way around -both myself & DPs & many friends have been LL in the past so I speak from experience -

my DPs had a hell of a time of it with one tenant they thought they could trust - the DD of their oldest friends - 2 years to get her out via the courts as she had DC - & that was despite her putting their business, attached to the flat she rented out of bounds to their biggest source of income, because she was selling herself as a prostitute from the flat - their good friends of over 40 yrs walked away & left them to it & they haven't spoken since

& she didn't pay rent for most of the tenancy either

toughasoldboots- I am not giving advice re tenancy law, however we currently have issues with water damage in our small block and we are trying to solve it with management company. Our tenants have allowed access as tbh as it s their home ( and has been for 5 years) it is in their interest to have problems that could potentially affect their home resolved.

OP has stated she missed the email but my view is that if it is your long term home, as it is for OP why on earth should she be uptight that something is being done to benefit her living conditions. If you are Having contractors in to examine something then sometimes things ave to be done when either you are not there or when not 100% convenient.

I rented for several years when younger and had no issues with when stuff had to be done which is probably why I can't understand why OP is finding her LL unreasonable in what he/she has done to enter and examine issues with wall....

Thanks becky, that's useful.

Rockinhippy, that's OK - I just wanted to make sure no-one thought he was a minor, because that really would have changed things.

However, he might have been! I have left him on his own in the house from when he was about 14 for a couple of hours ...

Lexie you are missing the point. Of course I wanted them to come to inspect the cracks - I called them in. He came, we discussed it, he said he wasn't going to do anything, money was short and it wasn't dangerous. Then he came back, without me receiving any warning, let himself in and opened my son's bedroom door while he was in bed.

I have no issues with him repairing things whatsoever. That is exactly what I want him to do. But I am very angry about him coming into the flat without my permission.

Now that I have looked it up (thanks for all the links) it does appear to be illegal for him to do that, in Scotland too. But so what? He's a chancer, and he knows I would never take him to court. If I did that, I would be without a home, and he wouldn't care anyway.

Besides, as I have said before, I don't like having bad relations with people.

Rockinghippy, yes, I think you are right about the power games.

Lexie - I agree with you to an extent. However if you owned your home and needed work doing you wouldn't be very happy with a contractor letting themselves in and disturbing your kids while they were in bed. If a contractor said they were coming and left you a message and you did not receive that message, for whatever reason, would it be reasonable for them to just call round and let themselves in? For some reason letting agents quite often treat tenants like the scum of the earth and this is a broad brush which is applied to all tenants, regardless of what sort of people they are. They seem to have the idea that tenants have no real rights and can be disturbed at any time which is convenient to the letting agent.

There has to be a balanced and sensible approach from both sides here. The landlord has to appreciate that it will not always be convenient to call round and the tenant has to realise that from time to time they will need to allow access to the property, either for maintenance or for an inspection.

The landlord owns the property and the tenant lives there and they both have rights under the law. However a bit of give and take on both sides makes for an easier relationship between the parties long term.

well said becky,

Angel its only a matter of time anyway. your tenancy will end and you'll be evicted. its tennants like you that make me want to sell my rental more than ever.