To refuse viewings during tenancy

[Folle]

I gave a month's notice to end the current tenancy. I just received an email from the estate agent saying 'I have booked a viewing for 6pm tomorrow - will you be there to facilitate access or should we bring keys?"
This is a hugely stressful time for me and I simply cannot deal with strangers traipsing through the house.
Can I refuse to have viewings during the rest of my tenancy?

@SheruMoo of course you can put it into a contract but that doesn't actually mean it will happen. The tenant can refuse; in which case the landlord's ONLY recourse is to serve them a section 8 notice which is totally pointless if the tenant is already leaving. It won't actually lead to the tenant being forced to allow viewings.
If the landlord thinks that clause means they can let themselves in without gaining consent then they are incorrect and they risk being sued for harassment and trespass. Unwise.

Quaffy - yes indeed. Not practically enforceable. As with any clause in a tenancy agreement - for example a clause saying you can't conduct a business from the premises. If you find out your tenant is doing that, that doesn't give you the right to enter the premises and throw away all their business equipment, it only gives you the right to seek eviction on the grounds that they have broken a clause in the agreement.

Check your tenancy agreement. Some have a clause to say the tenant cannot unreasonably deny access for viewings during the last month of the tenancy.

This ^ myth needs to be publicly debunked once and for all.

You do not EVER need to allow anyone into your home unless you expressly give permission

No tenancy contract can ever take the right to quiet enjoyment

It is NOT “shitty” to educate viewings, it’s absolutely fine and your right to do so.

Please contact shelter for confirmation of this, they may have this info on their website

Yes you can refuse viewings. If you are an assured short hold tenant you have exclusive possession of your home and it is up to you to decide who enters your property. Unless it is for an emergency or a landlords repairing obligation under s11 of landlord and tenant act. HOWEVER, most contracts will have a clause to say that the tenant should allow viewings in the last month. This clause while not affecting your statutory housing rights under the housing act ,1988 does allow a landlord to make a money claim against a tenant if they lose revenue due to not being able to market effectively. You will have to weigh up the risk of whether your landlord would be likely to do this. Refusing a couple of viewings when not convenient for you would probably not prompt the landlord to take court action. If they do then they would have to show how your actions have caused them to suffer financial loss.

Does it specify in your tenancy agreement that the landlord or agent are permitted by you to hold a set of keys?

Landlords and agents are absoloutley not allowed to hold a set of keys to your home unless your permission has been given by signing a tenancy agreement saying they can.

MzHz - have just debunked it

his clause while not affecting your statutory housing rights under the housing act ,1988 does allow a landlord to make a money claim against a tenant if they lose revenue due to not being able to market effectively.

That's interesting. I was wondering if that might be possible (although, again, practically it's so difficult to actually get money out of tenants you take to court that it would have to be a huge loss to make it worthwhile trying.)

Have you got links about that?

@Baktic where does that say the law overrides an agreement for viewings made between the landlord and the tenant?

The rights laid down by law always override those which are stated in a written or oral agreement.

I’ve never refused and actually have been so nice a few times to prospective tenants that I’ve virtually ‘let’ the place myself for the agent. However I did have one that took the piss in a house that took its time to let and after15 appointments in 5 days, I requested a week off viewings . It was overpriced to be honest and I could have told the agent exactly why it wasn’t letting, as the one we moved too was wAy nicer and same money . I never let them view when I’m not there

We allowed viewings at the end of our tenancy, but only at a time convenient to us.

We had several groups of people stomping around the house in shoes, then the Agent tried to deduct some of our deposit for wear and tear of carpets . We went straight round there and pointed out that for the 9 months of our tenancy nobody had worn shoes in the house, and that any wear and tear was caused by prospective tenants and the Agent during the viewings. Agent had to back down on that, but would put me off allowing viewings another time.

In OP's case it's the arrogance of them having made a booking and telling her they were coming round tomorrow. That attitude needs knocking on the head. The agent needs to ask OP if and when would be convenient.

MzHz - have just debunked it

Yeah @Sargass0, but the most important thing in all this is...

That you’re WRONG.

An unfair clause in an agreement, one that infringes the RIGHT to quiet enjoyment (which is sacrosanct) is unfair, illegal and unenforceable

@MzHZ you HAVE given express permission, in a tenancy agreement you signed!

I'm sure it's not illegal to put that clause in an agreement. It's in the standard agreement issued by the National Landlords Association, and I'm sure they wouldn't have any illegal clauses in their agreements.

Whether it's unfair is obviously a matter of opinion.

It is though, as we've said above, practically unenforceable.

@MzHz to be determined unfair, there needs to be case law, so please cite the case law

the housing act ,1988 does allow a landlord to make a money claim against a tenant if they lose revenue due to not being able to market effectively

Can you cite an example of a landlord successfully doing this? Because I'm pretty sure this would just be a way for landlords to flush money down the toilet and none of them would consider bothering to try this. It's simply built in to the industry of renting properties that there are void periods between tenants. Round my way houses get rented within a couple of days of being vacant so no landlord would ever be able to claim loss of rental income. If they struggle to fill a property after the tenant leaves there is likely something wrong with the property or it's a depressed market neither of which are the responsibility of the departing tenant.

No... that’s absolutely not the case and you know it.

Each and every entry into your home MUST by law be with the express permission of th tenant, and a clause in a contract does not remove the tenants rights to control who accessed their home.

@Baktic you clearly have absolutely no legal training whatsoever

Baktic- wrong I'm afraid. For instance you don't need anything in writing at all to have a tenancy. The agreements that tenants usually have is the contractual terms. Some terms can be unenforceable but to state that the law overrides some terms is not correct. Wish posters would stop spouting shit when they don't know the difference between housing and contract law

@MzHz that would be the express permission, given by the tenant in the tenancy agreement...

Wow this thread is full of doormats.

YA absolutely NBU to decline the viewing outright at that time. The agent is being a complete cheeky fucker arranging viewings before asking you if it's OK, and implying that you have no choice about it. (You do!). Theywill quite probably use the "it's already arranged" line to pressure you into allowing the viewing.

Considering the agent's behaviour already, do not be surprised if they unlawfully let themselves and viewers in.

Codename - l agree it is probably not in the landlords financial interests to make claim for those reasons- hence why the OP should assess the risk of their landlord doing this. I just stated that this is why the clause is there. Still doesn't affect the statutory protection of exclusive possession so they can refuse viewings.

MzHz - I did not say that the OP had to allow viewings. I meant debunked as in explaining why the clause is in the contract.