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)

*btw the 'majority of MNeters experience of crap landlords' seems to be when people rent dumps with no clue of their rights, and then magically expect things to get better.

yes, of course it is wrong. So stop giving business to slumlords!*

Yes, because tenants have so much choice, nevermind forewarning of what the LL is like before they sign a lease. Shitty LL and LA's dont advertise how shit they are before you sign. You only find out once you are in and even when you do you have to wait months to build up a deposit for another place. Thats if you can find another available place within your budget that is close enough to school and work/childcare to make it worth moving to. Bearing in mind that you could be moving to an even shittier LL and be in the exact same situation in a month's time.

I wish I'd known the whole 'quiet enjoyment' law a few years ago. My LL at the time used to let herself in regularly and moaned if a single thing was out of place. She complained once that I'd left the ironing board up with clothes on it and that I hadn't made my bed.

My current LL is great - he arranges for the necessary inspections in plenty of time and just leaves me to it. If ever I've needed something fixed, he's sorted it within a week and he's turned a blind eye to the crayon on the wall. I will be painting over that when I leave by the way!

Unfortunately, poorly maintained places are all some people can afford, keeping some unscrupulous landlords in business.

There are some really crappy landlords out there, but I suspect there are more absolute shite agents. It's unfortunate that some landlords appear not to have acquainted themselves with any of the LL & Tenant legislation and defer to the agent to protect their interests. This is nearly always a mistake. In order to set yourself up as a letting-agent you need no specific qualifications, no membership of any professional body, no experience and no expertise. I suspect this where most of the angst originates from.

The absolute presumptuousness of the agent being discussed in this thread beggars belief! Clutter and photographs of same? Fuck right off!

In the OP's place I'd be writing a letter pointing out all of the issues of disrepair which the landlord has failed to address to date. This could prevent unreasonable deductions from their deposit. And I can almost guarantee that they will attempt to retain the lion's share. I'd bet my granny's life-savings on it.

I used to work in a letting agency in a previous lifetime and I can say that there are just as many crap landlords as there are crap tenants, neither group can claim any moral high ground from my experience. I have seen tenants skipping on their last month’s rent n lieu of their deposit before disappearing into the ether leaving behind them £000s of damage that can only be described as outright vandalism, I have also seen landlords try to knock few hundred quid off a deposit because of a single blown light bulb or have zero understanding of the concept ‘reasonable wear and tear’ as they forensically examine every smudge around a plug socket or slightly worn carpet by the front door. As a business we tried to avoid both groups are they are fecking nightmare to deal with and simply not worth the hassle.

They aren't equivalent positions. You might as well say there are just as many crap policemen as crap criminals.

Landlords buy up the supply of shelter in an effort to get the less fortunate to enrich them. They should be held to much high standards than tenants.

I honestly think it should be standard practise for prospective tenants to be able to ask for references from previous tenants of the LL/house they are considering renting.

And maybe a credit check aswell- it is a business arrangement they are entering afterall.

Our agent threatened that we would be liable for damage caused by a leak when I refused them entry whilst we were moving out.

The leak was present and noted on the inventory, noted on inspections and had been ongoing for the 18 months whilst we were there. An agent showing prospective tenants round had flagged it up and they all panicked.... I asked if the builder could wait for another 4 days until the house was empty to look at and fix said leak at which point she said "that whilst you are within your rights to refuse entry you may be responsible for the damage arising from the leak....." When I asked if she was threatening me she went silent, I said that "since it is so important to you the builder can come round and assess it but I can't guarantee that I will be there" and the conversation ended - next morning her junior rang up to say that "the builder couldn't make it" and they would wait until the house was empty. Funny that!

We were good tenants, we reported faults, repaired what we should and left the place immaculate - in return they tried to sting us for non working light bulbs (on check in the inventory merely noted "bulb present",) refused to unjam several windows and then sent sarky notes about making sure the house was aired to avoid condensation, tried to claim that the cooker extractor wasn't working when in fact it had just been turned off at the wall as per instructions, and then tried to wriggle out of paying for the heating oil left in the tank over and above the required amount, contrary to what it said in the contract about refunding if it was over the line. They were weasels, encouraged by a weaselly landlord and I'm glad to be gone.

Our current landlords are wonderful - everything done promptly, they've had a look round at 3 months and were happy enough to leave us to get on with it, and have generally behaved as civilised people should. In return we look after the property as we should.

The private rented sector in the UK is not a functioning market. It is distorted and made dysfunctional by lack of transparency, against a background of incredible diversity in market power.

it is the nature of the vulnerable to complain bitterly, whether that's an "accidental landlord" in negative equity

The letting agent industry is also almost entirely unregulated.

Aside from the entire buy to let situation.

I am a LL as well as a tenant (long story) so I do understand the LL's pov too. I've had a bad tenant who abandoned my old place leaving bills etc which I'm still having hassles with months later.

However in most cases I do think it's the tenants who are getting the raw deal.

To answer questions- we are agreeing to the visit so we can show the la the problems that need repaired. I will however say that we don not consent to any more visits until this work is done.

Someone above quoted 'being deprived of services' - I'm wondering if tv counts? The ll hasn't fixed the Ariel so we've had no signal for several weeks.

We had to pay a 6 week deposit to move in and I'm now wondering whether we should not pay the last 6 weeks rent if we might not get this back, given how the ll and la have been behaving.

There are 3 walls which could do with re painting which we will do but we've caused no other 'damage'. (It's all laminate floors)

Sorry, I hit "post" by mistake.

... or a tenant without the funds to move, or with children at school, or under domestic pressures to move (up to and including DV).

With such inequalities in our society, there is bound to be myriad examples of two parties in the renting/letting transaction exerting their superior market power to make the other bloody miserable, and we're going to continue reading about miserable tenants and miserable landlords on MN .

Each "example" can be equally true, and it's more about the shittiness of human nature and the utter dysfunction of what's supposed to be a "market", than the inherent "evil" of tenants or LLs (not sure what to say about LAs: with excessive and un-transparent fees, they're certainly abusing their gatekeeper status, yet seem to have limited power to stand up to clients (LLs) if they are acting illegally).

In your case, weatherall, you're clearly in the right, and you'd be well within your rights to cancel the followup inspection, on the grounds that the only thing which is their business is the structure of the building, yet they are clearly uninterested in that, and are perhaps seeking to distract you?

Oh and to the poster who asked about clutter- no it's not do much to prevent air circulation- 1 foot high on 1 dressing table, small toys in one room and 2 high stacks of board games in another.

We do have a lot of bookcases- maybe the LL's not a reader

YoureBeingASillyBilly - This is wrong I'm afraid, you don't need to provide anyone with a copy of the key during your tenancy. You must however, replace the old lock when you return the property, or if the LL agrees, a copy of the new key would do.

Thanks demined. It is in my contract that i must provide LL with key so i wrongly assumed this was standard. Glad to see it isnt.

The letting agent is British presumably and they should know better!

I had this once, the report referred to washing up needing to be done and children's toys strewn around. They had called me while I was driving, XH answered my phone and told them they needed to call me back to arrange a time. They didn't bother and just let themselves in at the time they decided was convenient so similar story - house was a mess!
I complained about the content of the report and got a shitty half apology. I insisted that the inspection was done again and they sent the manager. He again tried to comment on the items belonging to us that were on the floor. When I asked what material harm they were causing to the LL's property he couldn't answer me. When I asked why then, it was necessary to comment on it, he couldn't answer me. Yet he still included it, and simply couldn't understand why I experienced this as judgemental and intrusive.
They were utter cunts and I make no apology for saying so.

I don't think I've ever had a letting agent I'd describe as good.

I had a brilliant letting agent when I lived in Romsey. Unfortunately, I got a job elsewhere and the commute would have killed me if I were still there. And she is the only one I'd describe as brilliant in the 20+ years of private renting I've had. Most have been adequate, but not great; one was a complete git, although the law has changed a bit since (protection of deposits and so on,) so they wouldn't get away with as much now.

I met a la once at a party who was happily boasting about illegally evicting tenants they didn't like.

They should all be regulated and be held accountable when they break the law.

I cant believe how little regulation there appears to be regarding LAs. I mean these are the very rooves over people's heads! Surely that is a basic necessity for surviving and should be protected?

IMHO the problem lies in the nature of the relationship. LL and LA have all the power because of the shortage of rentals and ability to give notice and some abuse that. Greater regulation and penalties would help balance things up.

Sometimes tenants face the harsh choice of renting the a property that's amongst the cheaper end of the market or the street. In addition some problems don't become apparent until you move in.

Ask the agents to state precisely which provision in the tenancy agreement prohibits clutter.