to think my landlord should inform me when someone comes into my house?

[Pendu]

I am hopping mad, this is just the latest in a long line of problems with this house.

Running a bath this morning and no hot water. It had been flicked off (it's kept on always) and then I suddenly noticed a radiator had been replaced. This happened twice the other week - I came home and someone was fiddling with my boiler, they don't even tell me , let alone give me the option of being here when workmen are here. I hate it, in sick of it. I locked up carefully so they obviously have the key.!

[venusinscorpio]

Jeremy - Your link relating to an eviction is entirely not the point.

Good luck with calling the police to tell them your landlord entered with keys earlier during the day to fix a radiator. Sorry, you do have to go to court to challenge the landlord.

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

So arrogant venus

In fact, if the occupant has a tenancy agreement and the landlord doesn’t have court orders, you may want to consider actually arresting the landlord…

[ReallyTired]

"OP, have you spoken to your agent or landlord directly? What do you want? Do you just want sufficient notice before coming round or do you want them to arrange any visits with you at a time that's convenient? Tell them what you want them to do, how you want to be contacted etc."

100% agree. Maybe ask if you can have the phone number of the heating engineer so that you both can make a mutually convient appointment. I also get tradespeople to phone the tenant an hour before they arrive so that there is no wasted journey and the tenant is expecting the tradesperson.

My point about the landlord paying for all the new radiators is that they maybe a completely decent person. It may well the agency that you should be angry with. Legally you have the right to get the address of your landlord. If you write and tell him what has happened he may well be shocked. He can choose to have a different letting agent manage the property.

[ReallyTired]

Believe or not trespass is a civil offence rather than a criminal offence. The police will not arrest the landlord for breaking a contract unless there is evidence of a criminal offence like theft. They would look for evidence like finger prints that something had been stolen. There are mechanisms for enforcing the right to peaceful enjoyment. The police tend to focus on minor nuisances like catching rapists or burgers

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

It's not trespass, it comes under protection from eviction act (harassment).

Any comment on your statement earlier that you can charge tenants for missed appointments and take it from their deposit? I might have missed it.

[Roussette]

LL's have to give 24 hours notice to enter the property. I've had dealings with two awful LLs through one of my DCs renting. I know they aren't all bad but I have been unlucky (trying to help young DC).

Latest thing is - correct notice given to enter premises because 2 of the rooms are now free and she is showing round prospective tenants. On one of the visits she planted a pile of crumbs behind coffee/tea storage jars and on the next visit found that the crumbs were still there and wrote to my DD saying she wasn't keeping the place clean enough. This is just an illustration of what she does.

This is just one incident out of hundreds. She writes telling them they can never have anyone staying overnight, visitors can visit for an evening but must go home and maximum of 2 at any one time. It is a big 4 bedroomed property and this is madness. I know the law is on our side because the tenancy agreement doesn't stipulate this but it's all so exhausting and stressful for my DD who has a very busy job. I am close to thinking this is harrassment.

I am trying to keep out of it because my DD is the tenant and is an adult (but young!) but it's hard, so I just advise her what to say and do if she needs help. I actually want to punch the LL in the face. The tenancy is coming to an end and I am dreading the fight we are going to have on our hands, to get the deposit back.

One tenant has already moved. LL is insisting on a new mattress paid for by this tenant, for a stain the size of a 10p piece on a mattress (ex tenant insists it was there on the underside when she moved in but has no proof).

Why are LLs like this?? It was LLs family home - it has been split into 2 flats totalling 7 bedrooms and the rent she receives monthly is over £6,000 (London), yet in one bedroom you can't even switch on main lights without fusing whole house and it's been like that for a year! She uses cowboy tradesmen to sort problems and when it all goes wrong, insists it was tenants fault.

Sorry to ramble, that was cathartic. I know there are good LLs out there.

[Roussette]

Sorry Pendu ... I hijacked your thread, didn't mean to!

[MyKidsAreTakingMySanity]

I'm astonished that a so called landlord is so ignorant of property law. It IS illegal to go into someone's home uninvited and unexpected for maintenance and non emergencies..

Also, saying you would consider eviction of a tenant who changes the locks? As a landlord has no legal right to enter the property he does not need keys. In the event of an emergency a locksmith would probably be required or the emergency services could gain access themselves in the case of immediate emergency such as fire or flood.

I don't know if people are aware, but tenants of rented properties are required to have new locks fitted if they want their home contents insurance to be valid in most cases.

[WitchyPoos]

I've been through similar, LL tried to enter when I was just sat in living room and called several times unannounced for trivial things. I rang the council who have a tenancy relations unit and said it is against the law for her to let herself in or turn up un announced, min of 24hrs notice. They contacted LL and reminded her of this. Not that it made any difference but that's a whole other thread. See if your local authority has the same service?

[ReallyTired]

I have never had a tenant change the locks without permission. I had good relationships with my tenants and they have stayed for years.

If I had a tenant who changed the locks I would feel that the landlord tenant relationship had broken down irrevocably. I would issue a section 21 notice at the first opportunity. I'd. 2 months before the 6 month break clause or 2 months before the end of the AST.

I managed to have content insurance without changing any locks in rental properties. It's standard to have a clause forbidding the tenants from even copying the keys. I deliberately have keys that are impossible to copy by normal means as I want to know who has a set of keys. I need to be sure that ex tenants do not have access to the property.

[LadyStarkOfWinterfell]

reallytired maybe your tenants might change the lock because you threaten to charge them for having a tradesperson visit?
Following good landlord tenant relations works both ways

[ReallyTired]

A landlord can evict for no reason whatsoever once the initial AST is over. All they have to do is issue a section 21 notice. Of course things get fun if the tenant refuses to leave and you need to get in the ballifs. It's expensive going to court, but you can sue the tenant (who is probably penniless). Either the tenant pays you back at something stupid like £1 a week or they get a CCJ that lasts five years.

Eviction is stress and thankfully I have only ever had to evict someone once. They were sent to jail (for child abuse and attempted murder) so I did not require ballifs to evict them. The stupid woman refused to surrender her tenancy so I had to issue eviction proceedings. Changing the locks was the least of my concerns. The police had bashed the door down to rescue her three year old son.

Not all tenants are nice. Thankfully most tenants are decent and reasonable people.

[BluePitchFork]

we always change locks on moving in. as previous poster said many/most contents insurances are invalid if a third party holds a key.

[RaspberryOverload]

LL is insisting on a new mattress paid for by this tenant, for a stain the size of a 10p piece on a mattress (ex tenant insists it was there on the underside when she moved in but has no proof).

But does the LL have proof the stain wasn't there at the time the tenant moved in? They'd need that, surely?

[SouperSal]

They would. And they would only get what the old mattress was worth (£25-50?), not the value of a new mattress too.

[venusinscorpio]

So arrogant venus

And you're so rude. And missing the point entirely.

[venusinscorpio]

www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2014/09/09/all-about-landlords-rights-to-go-into-their-tenants-property/

www.thetenantsvoice.co.uk/advice_from_us/landlord-access/

[ReallyTired]

Venus links are right. The landlord cannot force access other than by the courts. If a landlord is forced to result to using the courts then it's time for a parting of the ways. If the tenant does not give notice then the landlord needs to seek reposession.

Generally courts are reasonable. They can force the tenant to allow access via an injuction and award costs. The tenant may well find themselves homeless and the council would refuse to house them as their awful behaviour has resulted themselves in being homeless. No private landlord will touch them with a barge pole.

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

No venus you are missing the point. Your links don't enlighten me any further. I know what the law is as do many of the posters here.

It is illegal to enter without permission, it is a criminal act. If you can't pick out that from nearly legal' blog then I don't know what more I can do to help you.

It comes under the protection from eviction act, this does not mean it just relates to eviction. Illegal entry comes under harassment.

It is like banging your head against a wall sometimes on here.

[Jeremysfavouriteaunt]

Oh hang on this is in your link

What the law means
It is illegal for a landlord to gain access to your property without your permission. If your landlord arrives unannounced, you

[Roussette]

Re the mattress. She is insisting it was a brand new mattress. Ex tenant is asking to see the receipt for it. It was on the underside of the mattress and she has never turned it. So yes it will have been there but to have to argue every small point like this is exhausting and TBH it's not my battle - DD and I have ours coming up!

I am dreading when my DD's tenancy is up end of August. It's going to be one helluva battle but I am braced for it! (Have done it before with another LL in student accommodation but that's a whole other story that would take forever to relate)

[venusinscorpio]

A landlord needs to get a court order to evict someone, or enter property without permission for most reasons. The exception is in an emergency.

My point was that if a landlord gives the required 24 hours written notice to a tenant and they are not specifically refused entry by the tenant, some landlords (wrongly) interpret that they can now enter on the time they've specified for the visit. Especially if it's highlighted in the contract that there is an understanding that will be the case. It is a legal grey area when people say they didn't receive the notice that the landlord claims to have sent, there is no clear case law.

My point is that it's pointless to call the police when your landlord has already been in with their own keys to carry out one off repairs. Well you could try, but they wouldn't do anything. What they would do if you called them if you were there when the landlord came in remains to be seen.

Harassment is not a clear cut issue. If the landlord are trying to intimidate you or force you out or it is often etc it is much more likely to be accepted by a court. But you cannot refuse permission indefinitely for maintenance and repairs. The landlord is allowed "reasonable access" particularly as the tenant may be at risk if there is a danger if the repairs are not carried out. If you refuse repeatedly you are likely to be in breach of your own contract. Again matters which may have to be decided by a court. They can't force their way in though, agreed.

If you refuse entry it's a different matter to when you just don't acknowledge the written notice they are required to give.

I have researched this in detail for personal reasons. I have read what the law says and lots of forum discussions. So do get over yourself and don't be so obnoxious.

[Pendu]

I have a tenancy agreement - the landlord and agent are terrible. My ceiling has had a hole in it for months , bees living in the wall since before I moved in but they had hoovered the evidence when I viewed the house , overflowing sewers (it's an old country estate and a private sewer system) and recently found out they are leasig the properties without planning permission (it's an old college site and this was a staff house , it shouldn't be residential) , and then I received a planning application on my doormat from the council which had earmarked the whole lot for demolition (didn't even bother to give me a heads up) but I am holding out because rent is beyond expensive around here (this is cheap at £1250) and they have also applied for permission to let these houses , so I might aswell wait and see.
The burst radiator ruined my curtains and they responded with "your contents insurance should cover it" I responded saying I am not paying an excess and lose my no claims because of their poorly maintained property.

[Pendu]

All I wanted was a heads up , a short email saying the plumber is coming on X day. It was not expected - the radiator burst before Christmas. They have mine and my husbands number - it's the agent who is doing this. Their excuse was the plumber said he called but they made that excuse last time, and I said please inform me. I don't feel comfortable people just entering the house - they haven't let us live here out of the kindness of their hearts, we pay a lot and expect a little privacy. They left us hopping over raw sewage for ages , until environmental health called them.

[FruitCockatiel]

OP, I'd advise you to call shelter and not to listen to the misinformation on this thread.

Sticking up for landlords, my landlord is fabulous and we have a great relationship but I have had a terrible one and I armed myself with facts, courtesy of Shelter. They are invaluable.