To hate rental inspections?

[Mortallie]

Letting agent is coming anytime between now and 5:30. I absolutely dread these things. I know they are necessary, but I find the whole thing really intrusive and if I have any problems with the house I tend to ring them and tell them!

[ConciseandNice]

I hate them so very much. I recently managed to buy, after nearly 30 years of renting (so had my fair share of landlords) and my overwhelming feeling was, ‘thank god nobody can demand to come in and look through my house anymore.’ It’s horrible not feeling like your home is YOUR home. YANBU. Plus an all day window is out of order.

[summercat]

YANBU, rental inspections are intrusive and demeaning. I can understand one after several months (to make sure you are living there/not subletting etc,) and are looking after the place, but when you have been there a year or more, I see no need whatsoever for inspections more than once a year just to touch base, and see that everything is OK.

Some years ago (late noughties,) we were renting privately, (for several years,) and we had a couple of quick inspections over 1.5 years, that took 20 minutes each - the letting agent looked around briefly, chatted for a bit, was very happy, and then tootled off. Fine.

Then someone else took over the letting agency, and he was a real twat. He got a different inspection agency altogether (not someone from his office who could take a quick gander and say 'things are ok.')

They said the inspections would now be 3-monthly, and during the first one, they stayed at least an hour and a half, and on the second inspection, that was only 10 weeks later, the man who came insisted on taking photos (to send back to the landlord.)

It felt a bit intrusive, but the tenancy was up for renewal, and I didn't want to risk the tenancy not being renewed because we were 'awkward.' So I agreed. The man who came took approximately a HUNDRED photos. I was gobsmacked and didn't know what to say or do. He just kept snapping them off (DH was at work, I wish he had been there.)

We had around 10-11 rooms and he took around 10 to 12 photos in each one. Including our bedroom (and our kids bedrooms.) I found it so intrusive and awkward, and when he went, I got very upset, and wished I had stopped him. I thought 'these people have over 100 photos of inside our home now and all our personal effects.' It was so weird and I am sure it was not normal.

Thank F that 3 months later (just before the next inspection was due,) we moved out of private let, and never went back! Horrible experience.

And yeah, the 'all-day' time frame is ridiculous.

And if I were you, I would refuse to let them take photos. It's unnecessary, and weird. To me, it was like a kind of 'we own this house, we are in control, and we will do what we like' kind of attitude.....

[Louiselouie0890]

I hate them. My last one I was referred to as tenants girlfriend. I'm not just his girlfriend and my name is on the lease too.

Also my kitchen was "dusty" utter bullshit if anywhere it would be the bedroom we don't use but that was "all clean"

I don't mind them coming to check there's no damage I'm not running a drugs den im not living in squallor etc. But my cleaning get to fuck. Dust... flipping dust.

I also hate them taking pictures.

[Arkengarthdale]

In the other hand, I've recently viewed a house to let and the current tenants were in the throes of moving out. The house was disgusting, absolutely filthy. The yard was covered in dog shit - and I mean covered. It was only a small dog so small poos but you literally had to tiptoe to find any clear un-shat-on bits. The carpet was minging - the agent advised us to take our shoes off but we had to refuse as it was just too dirty to navigate in socks. The bathroom was caked in grime. And the worst thing? The tenants had only been in there for six months so there hadn't been an inspection. It was appalling. Never seen anything like it. Oh and one of the tenants was a nurse!

[Bluelady]

I quite honestly can't see the point - and I was an accidental landlord at one point. What's the point of a deposit if you're going to inspect all the time? It's just a way of the agent justifying their fees. Dirty? Who cares? If it's left that way a professional clean comes out of the deposit.

[ForeverBubblegum]

As a landlord I also hate these inspections, but if I don't poke my head in once a year it invalidates my insurance, so we all play out this charade. I seriously don't care how my tenants live or wherever the kitchen is tidy, as long as their not knocking holes in the wall it's not my businesses, so try not to stress their not there to judge your lifestyle.

Your letting agents do sound like a nightmare though, the is no reason they can't give you a time frame, and they have no right to "come strolling into the house". If they knock and you are out then far enough (with notice) but otherwise there just been rude and you should defiantly mention it.

[PseudoBadger]

Also if your living in a home you don’t own your just borrowing it

And of course too many landlords delight in making people know their place and that they can never forget this

[Gu33s3inpark]

I look at it like this, if you rent a car or van it is inspected before and after and money deducted for damage. A house is worth a lot more and the timescales may be longer. Some landlords don't live close or abroad so an agency must do the inspections. I don't think that this is intrusive, it's keeping an eye on the asset (property) not the tenant.

[OneTooManyMornings]

YANBU. I completely sympathise.

When you have to regularly allow someone into your house and take photos, even of parts of the house you would normally keep private, like your bedroom, it just stops it from feeling like home. I know that legally you can refuse them, but if you want to renew your tenancy you don't really have a choice.

Inspections always made me so anxious when I rented. Sometimes the agents just turned up without notice. They claimed they had sent a letter but it must have got lost in the post. I usually refused to let them in if that happened but if I was out I wouldn't know that they'd been until they emailed me saying the landlord was very concerned about the condition of the house, attaching photos they'd taken showing (for example) a couple of breakfast bowls I hadn't had time to wash waiting by the sink, my unmade bed and a slightly dusty mantel piece.

I rented the same house for over ten years but always felt like I was in limbo.

Unicorn I wasn't "borrowing" the house. I was paying a lot of money every month to use it as my home.

[TheHodgeoftheHedge]

UnicornRainbowColours
Thing is my family own a lot of property we rent out

Hahaha I can tell by your supercilious next comment
Also if your living in a home you don’t own your just borrowing it and with anything you borrow it should be taken care of properly.
This is why I hate renting. I am paying a huge amount of money every month for it to be my home but smug landlords like you really rub it in that actually I am in constant limbo and anxiousness despite being a great tenant and keeping the house in better condition than it was when I moved in. But yeah, rub it in some more.

[WhoGetsHeard]

Unicorn the fact that the tenant is paying what could be hundreds or thousands in rent each month to the landlord as per a legal agreement, in exchange for the use of the property within an agreed timeframe and with a deposit to secure against damage costs, makes it a bit different than the arrangement implied by your use of the term "borrowing".

[WhoGetsHeard]

Cross post with others who know the difference between renting and borrowing.

[happymummy12345]

I hate them as well. We had one a few weeks ago. We were told between 1.30-5. The man came and was incredibly rude. He asked questions then talked over us when we tried to answer. They way be worded things was very rude. And when we tried to explain about a couple of problems that we'd had to resolve ourselves because we'd waited for months and still they hadn't even sent someone to look, let alone fix them, he constantly interrupted us.

[QueenOfMyWorld]

I actually read that as rectal inspections.Not enough sleep

[JoeElliotsMullet]

I have literally just had mine (is it National Inspection Day or something??) and the agent spent most of his time here showing me photos of his 7mo DD :)
He also tested the smoke alarms, tutted at the state of the rusting sink surround which he then took photos of and said he would press the landlord for replacement. We then agreed that the house probably hasn't been updated or improved since it was built sometime in the dark ages and that it was a dump.
He was great. The landlord doesn't give a shit though. It took her three weeks to agree to the washing machine being repaired - and we have two small children.
I can't wait to buy.

[summercat]

You sound disgusting smug @unicornrainbowcolours and your post is the reason many people loathe private renting. (And the reason some people laugh when landlords get a bloody nose.)

[summercat]

I didn't read it as 'rectal inspections' you mucky little barstads!

[divadee]

I hated them. My Letting agents did them every 3 bloody months. They also used a tick list and would mention things like "draining board had water marks" yes it did have fucking water marks as my washing up was still on it from the morning breakfast things before I went to work.

I found them intrusive and caused me massive stress as it was like an exam you had to pass.

They even once said I needed to dust the tv. What the tv I bloody own and has nothing to do with the landlord?????

It was like they had to find something to justify their existence.

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

I do them, every week, it's part of my job. I think some agents and landlords make a concerted effort to make renters feel uncomfortable.

They shouldn't be demeaning, they shouldn't be intrusive or stressful. They should be a quick snapshot of the property and a chance for tenant and landlord to compare notes on what maintenance is required. If the agent does them and tells you to dust or to tidy up just give them the look! And bloody ignore them! If a landlord does it, start looking for somewhere else to live, they will be a bloody nightmare!

-Most BTL insurances include the need to regular inspections

-No one in their right mind would leave tens or hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of anything in someone elses care without checking on it every now and then

-The report will say something like "Lived in, cluttered" as that reflects the reality of how people live. I hate having to write "In show home condition" as I know the tenant has gone to great lengths and probably won't feel comfortable telling me if their are any niggling issues. Then the landlord has no bloody idea what is really happening

Then again, the idea that you're just borrowing a house is fucking stupid! A tenant rents a home, their home, not the landlord's home. The landlord owns property, they have an investment. The tenant has a home, they should be able to treat it like one.

Thankfully, though I know many here have had horrid experiences, in my day to day work I very rarely met gobshite tenant or landlords! Awkward cusses yes, a lot of them, but very very few outright nasty bastards!

[Mammasmitten]

'Also if your living in a home you don’t own your just borrowing it.'

I disagree. You are not borrowing it you are leasing it. You are investing your own money to use the property as your home. There are rights and responsibilities for both parties. A bit of mutual respect goes a long way. I hate inspections too even though I get why they are necessary. I think they should give you a shorter window of time than all day. I like to be there too. My first inspection in my current rental I wanted to reschedule because me and my then 3yr old dd was sick with flu and very high temperature. They refused so while dd was asleep and I was barely conscious I had this young man poking around taking photos and not sure how to describe it but giving off some kind of attitude. Felt so uncomfortable took an instant dislike to him.

[specialsubject]

usual babble...

rental inspections are to check who lives there, that the property is not being damaged and that there are no faults that n eed fixing as not all tenants report them. visit one month in and then six monthly. one of those with the gas safe man. piles of clothes, lack of housework etc - ignore as long as not causing damage or attracting vermin.

if inspections are refused, assume drugs and start eviction.

[maxthemartian]

Babble my arse. Like I said I get it, I rent out a property too, but of course no-one is going to like some randomer coming into their home and taking pictures!

[CuriousaboutSamphire]

Ooh! Nice. I am a randomer

Oddly, most of the tenants I see are pleasant and take the opportunity to tell me of any niggles they have. The ones I don't see just leave their home as they would normally, I rarely see a spotlessly clean and tidy house. Most often there is at least one "teenager" room with a narrow trail of clear carpet twixt bed and door.

It all goes down as "Lived in, cluttered" I have no grading for mess, or dirt. They are both very different from damage!

[Confusedbeetle]

I am a landlord and we only inspect when we have to or there is an issue. We respect peoples privacy and quiet enjoyment, without neglecting our tenants and their homes. However we are regularly disappointed by the way some people treat our properties. I sometimes feel we should be more intrusive but for now we just repair the damage and clean up the mess

[maxthemartian]

Happily the letting agency staff that I've dealt with in my fortunately temporary foray into private renting have all being pleasant Curious. But yes they're still randomers, and yes I found the process stressful and it went towards stopping the property feeling like my home.