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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Flat inspection

69 replies

Ilovewheelychairs · 07/05/2015 16:24

Hi all,

I live in a small rented two bed flat. Been there 18 months or so, no problems so far, letting agent has been good etc. anyway today I had a flat inspection. As usual, made my flat look as tidy and clean as possible. However, have just had an email from the letting agent to say they looked in my cupboards and they didn't think what I had in there was appropriate!! It was stuff that is bagged up to go to the tip and which I didn't feel should be on display for an inspection. They also said my spare room had too much stuff in and I needed to get rid of some things.

I don't feel that a letting agent should be snooping through my cupboards or telling me I should get rid of my possessions? AIBU? As I say, I've lived there for 18 months and had several previous inspections and it's never been a problem.

Many thanks! Perfectly prepared to be told I'm unreasonable!

OP posts:

Original poster

Ilovewheelychairs · 07/05/2015 19:18

Hi all, thanks so much for the replies and advice, it's been so appreciated.

Okay so I have refused the inspection tomorrow. I have said that they may re inspect in 3 months which is August and that I must be present as I was unhappy with the way this inspection was carried out. After that I expect 6 monthly inspections only.

I have conceded that the spare room may not be as tidy as they wish it to be and have said I will tidy up appropriately and make sure there is nothing to cause a fire hazard.

I'm trying not to piss them off too much as I want them to extend my tenancy, but on the other hand make it clear that the way they acted today was not right or fair.

Thank you so much again to all who have replied and offered advice!

OP posts:

whois · 07/05/2015 20:11

Uh, flat inspections are to check that you've not trashed the actual flat. Not to check that you have 'suitable things' in the cupboards.

GERTI · 07/05/2015 20:29

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

raawwhh · 07/05/2015 20:45

I have conceded that the spare room may not be as tidy as they wish it to be and have said I will tidy up appropriately and make sure there is nothing to cause a fire hazard.

A couple of boxes and chairs are not a fire hazard. They over stepped the mark massively. Even when I was letting from a particularly notorious letting agency they didn't mention the spare bedroom being used as a storage room. Also, as others have said, unless your mess was damaging their property it's none of their business.

I would be telling them to fuck off to the other side to fuckinghamshire with a rather formally worded letter from a law student with a grudge to bare. I've found delivering said letter personally in the middle of the day and causing a big fuss in front of prospective tenants meant they bucked their ideas up sharpish. It would help to have the landlord onside with that one though.

GraysAnalogy · 07/05/2015 20:58

Fucking hell who the hell do they think they are?

And 3 monthly inspections? Are they for real?

IggyStrop · 07/05/2015 21:16

unbelievable. Glad you've put your foot down and refused more people coming round - a whole bloody gang by the sound of it.

Something similar happened to me. I had an inspection shortly after I moved in. I had done a load of washing and only had a small over-the-door rack at that point. So I'd hung stuff up on coathangers on door frames etc. Agent said it was "untidy" having laundry on display" or some such crap. I just ignored the email and nothing came of it.

OP tell them it's ok because you're clearing out the spare room to create a sex dungeon, which will mostly utilise the walls so the fire risk will be lessened.

ChampagneAndCrisps · 07/05/2015 21:26

Quite glad to read this, as we're going through a similar experience. We're renting for a few months as a stop gap. The house is messy because I'm so busy, there are 5 of us and not enough cupboards.
But the rental company are so rude about any mess!
And now they want to show other prospective tenants - so they expect perfection all the time- we move out in a month.
The house is clean, and quite tidy. I hate being dictated to. I hate renting, you have my sympathy

33goingon64 · 07/05/2015 21:38

My only advice is that when they come again, especially when you're moving out, you should be there in person and make them tell you before they go if you've passed the inspection with no problems or deduction of deposit. If there are issues they should tell you on the spot otherwise you can face nasty surprises like this after the event.

londonrach · 07/05/2015 21:45

Champagne. You dont have to allow access for viewing whilst you living and paying rent even if written in blood in your contract. You allow access at the godness of your heart so if any ea looks throigh your underwear drawer (yea happened to me) access for viewing can be removed until you leave. You allowed peaceful enjoyment of the house or flat. Can never understand why ea dont realise this and treat tenants with respect! Talk to cab if you need to clarify.

FuckingLiability · 07/05/2015 21:48

I am mystified by this. I rented for 12 years and never once did an inspection include looking in my cupboards or trying to dictate how many chairs I had (seriously, WTF).

As an LL now, I've inspected my tenants once in about five years and the letting agent did it twice in the year preceding me binning them. I would never dream of going through their cupboards. We have a good relationship and they let me know if anything needs fixing, which I then do in the shortest time possible.

Three monthly inspections are not unusual with some agencies - I have had this in the past - but all it's consisted of is them having a swift look around the flat to make sure I hadn't done any damage and that was it. It's not meant to be about how tidy you are, it's meant to check you haven't broken anything or knocked a hole in the wall and are keeping the garden tidy.

Your agent sounds bonkers. Well done for pushing back on them.

ChampagneAndCrisps · 07/05/2015 21:57

Thanks londenrach, that's interesting. I may well put that back to them, as I find the whole experience unpleasant. I get they need to relet the house, but there are ways of communicating with people.

Fizrim · 07/05/2015 22:04

I have had 3 monthly inspections when we rented - they had problems with previous tenants so I can see why they did it. They did go in to each room but didn't open cupboards!

At the same time, we were renting a property out and I did like to see the inspections of our property - only photos of the rooms though, I don't want to know what they kept in the cupboards!

TakeMeUpNorthMountain · 07/05/2015 22:19

a few years ago, our tenancy was coming to an end and the managing estate agents were regularly bringing prospective tenants round for inspections. One Saturday afternoon, we were having an afternoon nap and heard a man's voice, very loud. Cheeky estate agent had just let himself in and was showing people round! Hadn't called beforehand or even knocked on the bloody door! Unbelievable.

rallytog1 · 07/05/2015 22:28

As a landlord I'd be OUTRAGED if my agent did this to my tenant. Well done for holding your nerve op. If you've got a way to contact your ll directly, it might be worth doing that, as if they're a good ll they'll want to know about idiocy like this.

Original poster

Ilovewheelychairs · 07/05/2015 22:29

Gosh Fizrim I hadn't considered if they were taking photos! They haven't asked if they can- they couldn't do that without my permission surely?

OP posts:

meercat23 · 07/05/2015 22:43

I have conceded that the spare room may not be as tidy as they wish it to be

They are not entitled to expect you to live tidily. You can be as untidy as you like as long as you don't cause damage and leave the property in the same condition that you took it on.

As for photographs. If they take pictures they are taking pictures of your belongings. They should not be doing that without your permission even if they are wanting to market it for re-letting.

I do inventory services and have had an agent saying to me before a check out, "The tenants have kept their bikes in the spare room, can you check the carpets for tyre marks" The tenants were quite within their rights to keep the bikes in the spare room but not of course to allow the carpets to be marked.

Fizrim · 07/05/2015 22:47

I have no idea tbh, the agency we rented from didn't do it and I didn't even know that the letting agents we rented our other house out through did it until they arrived. It was a bit weird seeing someone else's stuff in your home.

As others have said, I see inspections as just a way of seeing that the building is not being damaged or needing work. I didn't care what was in the cupboards, I do think it's a bit strange and invasive to look inside.

paxtecum · 08/05/2015 07:30

Tell them you have CCTV cameras hidden in each room so you will know if they have been in and routed around.

YBR · 08/05/2015 08:32

Inspection frequency is a sticky question, but a bad tenant could do a lot of damage in 3 months. I guess I'd be starting at quarterly then moving to less frequent as trust is built.

My parents paid through the nose for an agency to deal with a property they let out, and when the tenant left it was clear they were not doing inspections. The garden was an absolute jungle so they can't even have been driving past!
If we'd thought to ask for photos, then inspections might have actually happened, but it's invasive for the tenant.

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