Rent/Landllord/Information/Advice

[Greenkit]

This letter was delivered by the letting agent, to my DD and her expartner. He is moving out and I will be taking his place, so to speak.

We have signed a new contract and if we hadn't excepted all conditions and signed, wouldnt have been accepted as tenants.

My question, can they charge for not letting them in?

On another thread it was said, you don't have to let them in, you can change the locks, etc etc However, if you have signed a contract and technically accepted those things, can we still refuse?

This letting thing is complicated

Honestly, just let them in. Technically you could fight it but is it worth fighting over to have to find somewhere new to rent if they take issue with your tenancy/decide because of your fussing not to lease to you at the end of the contract?

I hate it, absolutely hate it, but nothing you can realistically do about it.

If the tenancy specifies periodic inspections then they can come with due notice. Why would you prevent this?

I think it’s very important that you just go ahead and let this take place. You have signed a contract to say you agree to the conditions of the let and routine inspections are part of this and quite normal. Why don’t you want it to happen? Property owners need to see if there are any repairs or routine maintenance that need doing, and that you are looking after the place! Just make sure it is tidy before they come. And point out any small jobs that may need doing, like sealant deteriorating round sinks etc. It is a condition of the let that this happens.

Technically you do not have to allow them access. Those fees are the very reason the law is being changed Daylight robbery.

But you have to ask yourself why anyone would refuse access for an interim inspection? They have explained what they will be doing and why. Why would anyone object to that? It is ow both you and the landlord communicate about any niggling issues, maintenance etc etc.

I will say up front, as usual, I am in inventory clerk, I do interim inspections regularly. Sometimes the tenant wants to be there, to let me know about issues or just to meet me, some leave me a note, others just tidy like demons... yet others just accept the inspection and leave home as usual - which is what I would expect.

Do you have a reason not to want them to inspect or is it that you don't know why/what they would be doing?

I don’t see any issue here at all. Inspections are part and parcel of renting and you have been given plenty of notice.

I had to rent my house out when I lived overseas, if my agent had been redgused access for an occasional inspection, I would probably have been concerned enough to not renew and evict at the end of the tenancy.

*refused

Why do people get so wound up about inspections, surely it's part of your tenancy agreement that you sign up to?

@ANellRetentive because I don't like having strangers traipsing through my home?

Why do people get so wound up about inspections, surely it's part of your tenancy agreement that you sign up to?

Because you are judged on how you keep your home, often they comment on the tidiness of your house which is nothing to do with them at all, but the agents like to feel all powerful

Cranky17

If you were renting out a property, would you not need or want to know that it was being generally looked after?

I don't have any objections to the visits, although Wed midday is quite inconvenient if you work.

More the conversation on the other thread about, not having to let them in, and how people don't know there rights etc

How exactly would you refuse do this when its in the contract and you had to sign it.

I don't like the fact they are taking picture though

Because you are judged on how you keep your home, often they comment on the tidiness of your house which is nothing to do with them at all, but the agents like to feel all powerful Sadly that does seem to be true of the inspections many agents carry out. I don't. I may say things like "Cluttered, lived in, domestic standard of clean" but my general notes section explains that this is what I would consider to be normal and that show home / end of tenancy condition is an unrealistic expectation.

Then again I also see agents reports where they have opened cupboards and wardrobes and taken pictures.... a definitely intrusive act. I have taken pictures of cupboards, when a T has commented that their LL seems overly anxious, it helps reassure the LL and the T gets fewer questions. But other than that, never! I stand in the doorway of a room, traipse through as little of the Ts home as possible.

I do think that there is a lot of misinformation given about interim inspections. Tenants get such mixed messages!

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/3398217-workmen-have-been-in-my-flat-without-my-knowing

That's the other thread which was quite interesting

How exactly would you refuse do this when its in the contract and you had to sign it. Because the law is that you have the right to quiet enjoyment of your home and they only have a legal right of entry in specific emergencies, and an interim inspection is not an emergency. Contract clauses cannot over ride the law... so you can say no, and that fee would probably be rejected in a court or at arbitration

I don't like the fact they are taking picture though That is par for the course. There has to be some pictorial evidence, especially if there is an issue that the LL needs to be aware of. But they should never be of the inside of cupboards etc. That is too intrusive. I tend too take pictures carefully excluding electronic gadgets too, so the tenant doesn't feel uncomfortable about the possibility I am scoping out their home for a burglary!

That other thread has nothing to do with interim inspections. In that thread the LL is overstepping their mark and flouting the law.

In your case your LA is merely threatening to do so! They may well do so if you say no and they enter anyway! But as of yet...

The Landlord has the right to enter the property for periodic inspections and repairs. They need to give you 24 hours notice. Most landlords are considerate and cooperate for a tenants convenience. Photos are not how you are keeping the place, but any damage or things needing repairs. Most of my tenants let us know if there is anything needing doing, but some don't. For example ignoring a leaking roof until it has done extensive damage, letting a mouse infestation flourish, piling up rubbish breeching the damp course, shutting dogs in for many hours resulting in damage to woodwork. Redecorating badly in garish colours, drilling hole all over to hang TVs, blocking the drains with oils and fat, toilets with all sorts, including cat litter.. I could go on but it does mean checks . Photos are for inventory evidence only in case of dispute. You should also take your own, with dates for the same reason. Oh we also had one charmer who sublet a two bedroom house to 6 totally innocent polish seasonal workers and stopped paying the rent. He threatened to come round to my house with some heavies if we didnt give him his deposit back

Good grief, if you are not prepared to allow this perfectly reasonable and routine inspection, that you have signed a contract and agreed to, then you should either not be renting, or challenge it at the first opportunity, BEFORE signing the contract. Just put it in your diary and don’t waste any more energy on it?

Because you are judged on how you keep your home, often they comment on the tidiness of your house which is nothing to do with them at all, but the agents like to feel all powerful

As a l/l I don't give a damn how tidy or not, the house is; I am concerned with the fabric of my house, and what maintenance needs to be planned for. As a tenant, I am untidy, but look after the fabric of the building.

Inspections are necessary, my friend let out her flat and it was turned into a cannabis farm!

However that letter is Bullshit. They would not be letting themselves in while you weren’t there and they can’t charge you £25!

Write back with some times that suit YOU and get them to pick one that they can attend.

I work in property management and we carry out quarterly inspections. We give the tenants a week's notice of the inspection. If it is inconvenient, they can ask for an alternative date - as stated in your letter.
Most of our tenants are happy for our property inspector to enter with the key we hold without them being there. The appointment takes about 15-20 mins and is really to check the the property. We don't care if you are messy, we care if doors have holes in them or if a leak has caused damage but has not been reported.

As a tenant you a quote within your rights to request a change of date should you wish to be there. You can also ask for the inspection report/photos to be sent to you too following the inspection. (This can also help your case to claim your deposit back at the end of tenancy, should there be discrepancies)

Your letting agent obviously charges £25 if their inspector travels to the property and is unable to gain access, but has not been advised prior to arriving - I don't think this is unreasonable, as you have had months to rearrange the appointment if it is inconvenient

What do you have to hide to want to refuse access in the first place?

I don't mind our agents letting themselves in as long as we know they're coming. Which on our last inspection we discovered we had missed the previous one as the letter hadn't arrived. It arrived the day before the next inspection request. I'd rung up to query the date to be told it didn't look like we were aware so they came away and were sending us a letter to rebook.

No such worries about not letting them in as ours have a key and the contract is 24 hours notice of inspection or work. Ie as long as they have taken reasonable steps to inform us, they will inspect even if we don't reply - their assumption being the date/time is convenient.

They only realised we weren't aware as the house was a tip due to us sorting a lot of stuff out. We had boxes and piles everywhere.

If you don't want them in on that day and want to be there when they come, write back or ring and give them some dates which are convenient. They can't argue you are being obstructive if you're just saying "that's not convenient but here's some dates and times which are".

Dear LA/LL

Further to your letter regarding property inspections, weekdays do not work for me. Should you want to come and inspect the property please book an appointment between 10am and 2pm Saturdays or Sundays.

As a tenant, I am legally entitled to quiet enjoyment of the property and no contract clause can over rule this. The only legal obligation I have as a tenant with regards to allowing LA/LL access is for emergencies only and inspections are not classed as emergencies.

I look forward go hearing from you soon.

@MsSquiz

As a tenant you a quote within your rights to request a change of date should you wish to be there

As a tenant you're within your rights to refuse inspections full stop.

It's a routine inspection with over a months notice. It'd be okay to ask to rearrange but silly to refuse. You'll get off on a bad foot with them, which won't help when you need them to sort something. You're going to end up dealing with these people every time you have a problem with the property or want to renew the tenancy, why would you want to start that off on a bad foot just for the sake of 'but I've got rights as a tenant'. I've been renting now for 6 years and as a tenant it is better if you can co-operate with the landlord or estate agents, they're much more likely to get things fixed asap, or let you renew for longer periods.

Inspections are necessary but you should be able to arrange them when you can be present. Estate agents are open in saturdays, arrange for a Saturday.
I’ve never had any photos take ln of any property I was a tenant in but my friends had - yes to photographing walls, no to photographing your bed with PJs!