To be livid that letting agent made unannounced inspection and took photos of our bedrooms!

[weatherall]

Surely this isn't legal?

They have said the inspection dates wee on the lease but we haven't checked that yet.

The flat was in the normal state you'd expect on a school day where we've all rushed out in the morning eg beds unmade, 2 towels lying over toilet/bath, clutter in surfaces. No damage to any fixtures or fittings. They even took a close up of a hair band on the floor!!

I feel like my privacy has been intruded- this can't be legal, can it?

At the last inspection we gave ten a list of repairs needed but this was ignored.

I'm guessing this is now the landlord trying to force us out (lease up in 4 months)

Christ here goes the mumsnet, let's shit on all landlords cos they are all cunts again.

Why don't I suggest that since you want to continue living there I assume? Then try to get a working relationship with the landlord or letting agent.

Ring or email them, politely say that you don't appreciate them coming in without you there etc. agree the dates by email with them for any future inspections and make them mutually convenient.

Personally I'm happy as a tenant and a ll with photos being taken. It protects both sides re damage v wear and tear.

Obviously you know when you sign a lease how often the inspections will be. I do mine 3 monthly with a new tenant and 6 monthly or yearly with an established one. More often it's just a walk round, photograph the room for the deposit agency, and check the bath seals. I couldn't give two flying hoots if the bed is made or your wardrobe colour co-ordinates.

All the talk of changing locks and refusing x and y, and even giving notice only ends up costing you money. Yes you could give notice and move but aside from a second deposit to find before you get the first one back, moving is expensive in itself, and you often find that furniture etc doesn't fit.

So if you like the house, and want to stay have a polite conversation with the agency/ll and work it out.

holidays are you reading a different thread than i am? where are people calling landlord cunts?

OP doesn't want to continue living there, because LL aren't doing the repairs they should. It's not about shitting on ll, it's about stopping crap ll/la shitting on tenants. A lease cannot supercede the law of the land; ll could write in daily/weekly/monthly/whatever inspections and it would be completely unenforceable. Totally agree with Aga there.

A quick glance at the B&Q website (other diy merchants are available) suggests a Yale barrel can be bought for about £12, it takes even an unskilled person such as myself a few minutes with a screwdriver to change over, and well worth it for peace of mind (and security; would the tenant's insurance cover theft by a ll/la who could let themselves in whenever?)

Tenants will stop complaining about shit landlords, when shit landlords stop being shit. Mine are fucking brilliant.

I am renting, I don't want the HA or any body else entering my home.

DH works shifts, quite often we have sex between 11am and 1pm < I know TMI> I don't expect people we know to knock the door so don't answer. I would be mortified if someone let themselves in while we was having sex.

I could be in the shower/bath as I get some weekdays off, and there is nothing like a long soak in the bath when the house is empty. Nobody to use the toilet or the DC coming in. It's a real treat.

Before my problems with my knee I use to exercise, and I don't wish to be disturbed then.

Of course if the HA wants to come, then book an appointment and I will be welcoming.

Wow, UK's renting laws are crazy. From the states, and I cannot imagine a person just strolling into my place unannounced and without my permission.

LL's are not allowed in apartments here without 24 hour written noticed taped to your door. That's only for mass inspections for things like water heaters and fuse boxes.

Otherwise they have to make an appointment and you have to give them verbal permission over the phone to enter if you're gone.

Then again, you are allowed to shoot, maim, and kill anyone on your property if you think they are a threat. I'm sure they want to avoid startling tenants for their own safety.

Personally, if I walked out of the shower and saw a strange person in my house, I'd go after them with a weapon. I'm sort of surprised they haven't been attacked or chased off going into homes unannounced before.

I have written about this somewhere before, but my ex-landlord once came round at 9.30 am without notice* when my son (16) was still in bed (it was the school holidays) and I was at work. They knocked, but he didn't answer, so they came in. A woman barged into his room, then when she saw there was someone in bed, she went out again. The factor then yelled at my son to get up and dressed so that they could look at the room.

I was incandescent with rage. They apologised when I complained, but I am still fuming when I remember it! I don't know if it was as a result of this, but the factor lost his job and so did the letting agency person who was with him.

*I was a model tenant, btw, and had never refused access when asked. They had emailed me, but I hadn't seen the email, so hadn't replied. I always replied to emails, so they knew I hadn't received the email.

Out of the four private landlords I have had, three have done things I have objected to (though I only complained about the last one). You are very vulnerable as a tenant. And whatever laws there are, the LL just breach them and apologise afterwards, when the damage has been done. Bitter, moi?

(However, in the interests of fairness, so do some tenants).

The lack of privacy along with the insecurity of renting are real pitas.

sillybilly I think it's this post that holidays referred to! She isn't reading a different thread

"Letting agents are cunts and they don't give a fuck about the law because they are smarmy shits. Change the barrel in the lock and when you move out don't play nicely with them.

Fucking shit stains."

LLs & LAs are such arseholes. My previous ones sent in a decorator when I was on holiday to "fix a crumbly interior wall" but he also decided to put my 5 year old daughter's room back to magnolia from lilac. He didn't move anything and got paint spatters everywhere the twat

YANBU. I'd be unhappy too.

Check the terms of your lease. Whilst the agent may have stated they take photos, I doubt they have been as organised to state date of inspection at the outset. If they didn't, they needed to give you reasonable notice (24h) which they failed to do.

Yes, without notice it's a trespass but it isn't a criminal offence unfortunately, it's a civil matter so the Police are powerless. However, if damage occurred during the trespass, it becomes criminal...check your home.

I'd quietly change the locks and have a chat with the landlord - the agency are upsetting the tenant he paid money for.

From what I know of housing law harassment of a tenant is criminal. Not that I'm considering getting the police involved.

Is there anyone who's ever dealt with the photos aspect from an advice/legal perspective before?

I'm not so much bothered about the visit but the photos. The thought that these intimate pictures could be anywhere on the net is really unsettling. The la has them on email and has emailed them to ll. they could have forwarded them or stored them anywhere.

They weren't even just standard room pics they ere close ups of the unmade beds, a hairband on the floor, a bit of grass (just cut lawn) at the skirting at the door, a pile of odds and ends on a dressing table, a school letter on the floor in DSs room and a 'den' DD had made the previous night in her room. There were no photos of the clean and tidy areas eg kitchen and living room. It's like they wanted to shame us.

I can't wait until September so we can get out of here.

"LLs & LAs are such arseholes." Nice

I once came home to find a footprint in the middle of of my tablecloth (in front of a window). A repairman from the LA had been in without my permission or knowledge and obviously couldn't be bothered to move it to gain access.

If you wanted to stay OP, I would suggest contacting your LL. They probably don't know. You are entitled to their address.

As a landlord (or should that be arsehole!), I would appreciate you letting me know and would have words with the letting agent. If I had lots of problems with the agent I would change them, not necessarily the tenants. I make sure my tenants have my email address for this reason. (If you ever email your agent, you may find your landlords email accidentally attached to forwarded emails or replies from them)

Definition of harassment in this context is the Protection from Eviction Act 1977:
The landlord of a residential occupier or an agent of the landlord shall be guilty of an offence if—
(a) he does acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of his household, or
(b) he persistently withdraws or withholds services reasonably required for the occupation of the premises in question as a residence,

and (in either case) he knows, or has reasonable cause to believe, that that conduct is likely to cause the residential occupier to give up the occupation of the whole or part of the premises or to refrain from exercising any right or pursuing any remedy in respect of the whole or part of the premises.

I wouldn't like to argue this: the second part (ie that the motive of the conduct is to get you to leave) just isn't there.

I rented a flat in which the 'll gave a set of keys to a contract handy man company who kept letting themselves in unannounced while I was bfing ds. They also allowed over occupation on the flat they owned above- we had 6 people working shifts in a one bed flat upstairs with no insulation. We had a rodent infestation due to poor repair outside and all over so they could get in from outside. I could go on.

My point is this. We stayed 4 years compladining regularly unable to actually realise that the 'll was never, ever going to sort the problems to any kind of reasonable standard. Op is at least leaving asap. Renting is shit.

How did you find out about the pictures and what they were.
Has the ll been round to show and discuss them with you? What have you said to him about the photos?

*sillybilly I think it's this post that holidays referred to! She isn't reading a different thread

"Letting agents are cunts and they don't give a fuck about the law because they are smarmy shits. Change the barrel in the lock and when you move out don't play nicely with them.

Fucking shit stains."*

You'll have to hilight the part where it says "landlords are cunts" which is what holidays claimed in her post and what i was questioning.

I don't see anyone shitting all over landlords and calling them cunts, holiday .

That says letting agents not landlords

The la emailed me the pictures asking for mother visit as the "ll is concerned about the clutter".

Of course it wouldn't be do cluttered if there was adequate storage or we were allowed to put shelves up!

The ll is a polish woman- I don't mean this in a discriminatory way but maybe there are differences in tenants rights in Poland and she is unaware of the law here?

I think she is an accidental ll- I've looked up the property and she bought it in 2008 and used to live in it herself. It is now worth less so I assume she can't sell and is stuck renting it when she didn't intend to.

Renting is indeed shit.

Does it matter if a house is cluttered. I would have thought the only concerns would be if the property was riddled with dirt and food, rats everywhere and it was falling to pieces.

Surely clutter is perfectly normal in a family home?

I know there are these super powered anthea turner type people who would faint at the sight of a hairbrush on the mantelpiece but that isnt the norm in my experience. I know lots of families and the only ones who dont have clutter are those without children or with grown up ones.

No please don't start changing locks etc.

I am a LL, my agency do checks but presumably (hopefully) only when the tenants are in and with their full knowledge. The LL won't know when checks are being done so please don't all start blaming the LL for this one - it's the agency not the LL in the wrong here.

The la emailed me the pictures asking for mother visit as the "ll is concerned about the clutter".

I think that this is outrageous. Surely the clutter is absolutely none of the landlord's business as when you leave you'll be taking it with you. I would let her know that you did not give permission for the letting agent to visit or take photos and are very angry about your privacy being invaded.