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?

The landlord can also take a while to return your deposit.

They can take the time specified by law.

Depends what’s in your tenancy and if you need a LL reference

It doesn't matter what it says in the tenancy, the law says you can. What I did was to give them an evening once a week and often a weekend slot too if we weren't home.

But I did make it clear that there would be boxes in one room and while I am clean and tidy by nature, it wouldn't be show home standard. They were happy with this.

I'd refuse all viewings based on cheekiness of estate agent. No asking if viewings were okay, just straight into we're having one and you don't have to be there.

You can and it isn't shitty to exercise a legal right in order to make yourself feel safe. Any landlord who can't cope with a void period due to a tenant exercising their legal rights is in the wrong business.

That said, is it in your best interests? If a reference might be useful to you, I'd consider allowing viewings at a specific time.

@Folle

You are quite within your rights to say no.

We lived in a private let house, in the early 2010s for several years. We allowed 9 or 10 sets of people in over 5 or 6 weeks, (who were looking to rent it, as we were leaving.) We spent about half an hour - to an hour - with each set.

We told them the area is nice, the house is snug in winter, and the neighbours are pleasant, and basically 'sold' the house for the landlady. We gave them coffee and biscuits, and entertained the kids while they looked.

We also left nets and curtains, a couple of curtain poles, carpets in 3 rooms (where there was none before, only a concrete floor,) new toilet seats on both toilets, a stand-alone bathroom cabinet, and some patio furniture.

We also spent some 25-30 'man hours' scrubbing the place from top to bottom... both when we moved in (as it had been left a shithole by the previous tenants,) and also just before we left, we spent another 25-30 man hours cleaning it.

We replaced curtain poles and toilet seats etc, etc, etc, because the others were broke/hanging off. We must have spent £700-800 in the 3 years we were there on making the place look nice. Including painting and putting carpets down in several rooms. We also kept the garden nice (back AND front.) And, as I said, we were very friendly and helpful with prospective tenants.

For all our trouble and effort and always paying the rent 3-5 days EARLY, the landlady (who was as nice as pie to our face for the whole 3 years,) took £450 out of our £700 deposit, for 'rubbish removal, tidying the 'messy' garden, and for the 'broken' worktop in the kitchen, and 'broken' downstairs loo door (both which were broken/cracked when we moved in!)

We couldn't prove her wrong/that she was bullshitting because we stupidly took no photos when we moved in, OR just before we left. And we were so worn out at the time (with work, and the move, and other issues,) we couldn't muster up the energy to fight it.

But after that I swore if we ever rented privately again, that hell will freeze over before I do a THING for a private landlord or landlady again. I will never ever spend any money on the place for sure. We weren't expecting to get a medal for it (as she never asked us to do anything,) but it would have been nice to have got the whole £700 deposit back!

It was utter bollocks that the garden was a mess and that we left rubbish! The house - and garden too - was WAY more appealing and tidy when we left, than when we moved in!

AND I will certainly never let anyone look around while we still living there. Wasting my time and effort and coffee, milk, and biscuits etc... Next time, (if there IS a next time) I will say a big fat loud NO.

Alls I could suggest is you ask the landlord to rearrange to a more suitable time for you and do it on your terms not theirs
Pointless trying to say no an causing an argument the month prior to leaving incase you don't get ur bond back? X

The landlord can also take a while to return your deposit.

And actually it’s the deposit scheme who return the deposit. The landlord can disagree with returning the full amount and give reasons but the deposit scheme decides. If deposit isn’t protected in a scheme then tenant can sue LL for up to 3 times the amount of deposit.

I'd refuse all viewings based on cheekiness of estate agent. No asking if viewings were okay, just straight into we're having one and you don't have to be there.

Well I have to say I sort of agree with that. It does seem a shame to penalise the LL for the cheek of the agent though.

Pointless trying to say no an causing an argument the month prior to leaving incase you don't get ur bond back?

The landlord cannot withhold a deposit for refusing to allow viewings. The landlord shouldn’t even have the deposit.

England - yes, you can refuse. Landlord may be able to enforce access via court. Not happening given that you are leaving anyway.

Write (a letter, on paper, not kiddy comms) to the landlord, copy the agent, refusing all viewings. Get proof of posting. Send an email copy too for speed.

Agents aren't regulated and often lie. Landlords are regulated but many don't know the law.

I do know the law and I only do viewings with the full agreement of the tenant. If they were refused (it could happen) then tough, I'd just have to wait until they had gone before I could arrange viewings. It's how it works.

don't worry about a reference, landlords with sense ask the last landlord but one as the current one may want to get rid of a tenant. Also things such as income, pets, smoking are far more important than character refs.

if you are renting again, read the how to rent guide on gov.uk.

If the landlord disputes the deposit with the deposit protection scheme, whatever the reason, I'll take months to get resolved.

" I really don't think it's reasonable to expect the landlord to wait until you've moved out until he shows prospective new tenants. It'll cost him money in lost rent."

As a former LL, I always waited until a flat was vacant before trying to let it.
The tenant has a right to continued enjoyment of their privacy for as long as they are paying rent

It's not their problem what happens to the LL's finances after they move out.

I always assumed periods without rent when calculating the finances of letting

• an LL that doesn't is being rash and amateurish.

and despite the horseshit you read on here and other places, deposits should be protected by a law in place since 2007 and there are very strict reasons for with-holding their return.

if the deposit isn't protected you can take action to enforce penalties and the landlord WILL lose. There's no defence.

"The landlord can also take a while to return your deposit."

That should be held in an in dependent deposit scheme

I never tried to hold on to a deposit,
but from what happened when I had to withhold damages once, it would be very difficult to do for more than a couple of weeks without getting into legal peril.

Legally they only have to give 24 hours notice. But of course you can refuse. I’ve never heard of a camera being installed before. This would be a criminal offence so I wouldn’t concern yourself too much with this. The camera will have been a creepy perv if true.

I am a ll. I’ve only once had tenants refuse to give viewings. Their choice. But unfortunately if this was done on a regular basis, the on costs would just end up being passed on to tenants by landlords so you aren’t doing anyone any favours by refusing. Put some ground rules in.

Thank you all for taking the time to respond.
I understand the point of view of the landlords here - and take the advice of the reasonable people here.
@JacquesHammer - I so agree with you!
@thisneverendingsummer - what an annoying thing to happen - but unfortunately all too common.

As an LL, I knew letting was a business
and didn't expect tenants to do me unpaid favours

Empty periods should be factored in;
useful anyway to get the place back into a pristine, tidy state, which I couldn't reasonably expect from a family actually living there

@mencken - thank you for the very specific advice.

If I was desperate for viewings, I'd have offered reduced rent

Your post has reminded me to write s thank you note to my tenants. They live in my aunt’s house and she requires full time nursing care in a home. I’ve needed access for valuations to find out our full financial position which they accommodated. I’m very grateful for tenants who don’t make needless and expensive difficulties.

Please allow access, it makes things very hard for the landlord when you don’t. They could sue you for access, and this would be tedious and worrying for everyone.

I think YAB a bit U. The LL obviously wants to get new tenants in ASAP if you’ve given your notice in. Viewings don’t take that long I don’t really see what the fuss is about. I think you’re imagining a viewing to be a bigger thing than it really is. I’m sorry to here that for you it causes stress and of course these things are always a bit inconvenient but it’s just one of those things in life you need to accept and deal with IMO.

They could sue you for access They couldn't. But I agree with the rest of your post.

You don’t have to allow it and personally I likely wouldn’t. At most I’d offer something like 7-8pm Wednesday 9-10am Sunday or some such, maybe even ask for reduced rent for the inconvenience of having people traipse though my home.

don't worry about a reference, landlords with sense ask the last landlord but one as the current one may want to get rid of a tenant.

I am regularly asked for references for current tenants. There have been three this month alone.