AIBU to wonder how often other tenants see their landlord?

[Specksofwhiteallaround]

I am absolutely sick of the sight of mine but Dh insists it’s the same for all people who rent and I’m curious if he’s right as it’s not my experience of renting. So as not to drip feed we do have cats, but they knew this and agreed to rent to us. The cats have caused damage to the bottom of the stair carpet and a radiator but I have absolutely no problem paying to rectify this when/if we leave.

My annoyance is that in the three years since we’ve lived here we’ve had almost 3 monthly house inspections. Every time she comes she finds fault with something and I just don’t think any of it is that big a deal. Some examples are that a tree in the garden wasn’t pruned to her satisfaction so we had to buy a lot of expensive equipment to make that better, we don’t get to the weeds quickly enough, she wants us to have a window cleaner come every week and insisted I buy a rug to put under our computer chair which makes it unusable...
She has another house around the corner and checks how often and how long my bathroom window is open and it’s never enough.

The last straw for me is that we informed her about a plumping issue at the last inspection in mid December which has been steadily getting worse while she organised a plumber. Yesterday she turned up unannounced at the door to lecture me about what the problem was (she was wrong, it emerged yesterday that the problem has been caused by a pretty major leak in one of the outside pipes not us.) and let me know a plumber would be there the next morning. While at the door she also took me to task for not cleaning the gas cupboard in the porch. Not five minutes later she’s back with a man from the water board in tow and wants access to the house, apparently the fact it was 11am and I hadn’t washed up dishes from that morning didn’t escape her notice and today she’s messaged informing me of a house inspection this Wednesday. Oh and will I go out and inform the people from the water board that she wants them to come and fit new taps in the kitchen they’re outside fixing the leak...

I have terrible social anxiety anyway but lately It’s getting so bad I don’t feel I can leave the house some days and I’m just so anxious about everything all the time and it’s draining, I feel like I’m constantly waiting for her to turn up at the door or text or ring about more cleaning issues. I’ve not had this level of landlord interference before in my life, it’s like she expects us to keep this a show home and it’s just not feasible.
Sorry this is so long, I guess I needed a good rant I really hope my dh is wrong and this isn’t the norm because I wouldn’t wish this stress on anyone.

Not normal at all!
Even when I lived with my landlady she didn’t inspect or control anything like this!!

Never met the landlord of my current flat (lived there 4 years). Everything is done through an agency. I have six monthly inspections but I’ve only been there for one and never had any issues raised at them. I only really see anyone when there’s been a problem I’ve reported and they send someone to fix it.

Been here 3 years. She came round at 6 months for an informal chat to see if we were happy. Otherwise only in touch with her if she needs to sort something. They bought us a bottle of champagne round at Christmas, so we're obviously ok in their books!

I've never met my tenants but I use a letting
agency who do 6monthly inspections.
My tenants message me directly for issues like broken washing machine and I organise repair/ replacement.

I would not expect my tenants to sort out any pipes or electrics.
There are fruit trees that need pruning and I will organise and pay for this.

She has NO right to just turn up on your doorstep.

It’s NONE of her business whether you’ve washed up or not!

Some of the other things I can understand her concern about if it’s causing damage (mat under the computer chair - they really do ruin floors/carpet and so unless you’re prepared to pay to have them replaced when you move out then I can see her point.

But your DH is wrong and this level of inspection/nit picking is NOT normal.

Unless she wants to pay for the window cleaning or tree pruning then she needs to back off.

Personally when I had properties I rented out, I scheduled & paid for some services to maintain the property (window cleaning/any tree maintenance and some gardening. Tenants were welcome to change the days/times etc or do the jobs themselves if they wanted to, but they were all happy with me paying for it 🤣).

I can understand her worrying about mould etc if the bathroom window isn’t opened, but unless there’s mould in her (annual) inspection it’s just something she needs to leave to you, or she can have a fan put in 🤷🏻‍♀️The feeling of being spied on is really horrible though! But I guess if her friend lives there it’s going to happen
Things like the gas cupboard not being cleaned, she probably feels it’s damaging it not being kept clean OR maybe she’s feeling she’s letting the neighbours down renting it out & especially to someone who isn’t ‘keeping up the appearance to the same standard!’ 🙄 (Does she come from the ‘polishing the doorstep daily’ school of thinking?!)

OTOH if she’s sorting out a plumbing problem for you then I suppose you have to expect her to be in touch about it.

I’m sorry it’s making you so (understandably) anxious.

Do you think you can bring yourself to talk to her about how it’s making you feel?

That's not normal, we haven't inspected our place for ages. Most I expect would be yearly, but our tenant has been there for around 7 years and we trust him. He is messy mind you, but that's his issue not mine. We used to live over the road from the flat and we didn't inspect any more frequently then either.

Another landlord here. I'd say she's not unreasonable to check up that your cats aren't damaging the property. Particularly now that deposits are capped and your cats could do more damage than your deposit covers.

The rest of it however is batshit. The only instance when she can turn up unannounced is in an emergency, fire, gas flood and so on, so unless you had water gushing out of the house, it's a no from me.

Go to the private housing department at your local council and ask them to assist you in stopping the harassment. They are used to kissing or offering helpful suggestions for you to sort your own issues

Good luck

Your husband is wrong - that is absolutely not normal and she has no right to say anything about it your washing up or anything like that. She sounds an absolute nightmare and is breaking the terms of any tenancy agreement I've ever seen about which should speak about a resonance expectation of privacy. I think most tenant inspections are yearly unless there is any concerns that the landlord has which would warrant it to be more regular (what you've said isn't covered by that - if you rent to someone with cats then you expect some plucking to the carpets and it should be covered by your security deposit). I couldn't stand having to live how you do - my landlady hasn't ever inspected our house in 4 years there and only pops round to feed our cats if we go away overnight so I may have a more relaxed view of how things should be. The problem you have though is that private tenants have pretty much no protection and can be evicted for anything so if you complain she could be spiteful and kick you out :-(.

Oh and I generally did a 3 month, then if all ok, one after another 6 months and if all ok annually after that. Any boiler maintenance etc organised via email

I’d deal with any of their issues immediately, either myself or with a tradesman.

A ‘my house, your home’ approach always worked well

Mine sends me a gift at Christmas. We've never met. The letting agent came round once about 3 years back, and I see the gas safe guy once a year. Bliss!

I've not seen mine in 5 years. She rang and asked for directions as she had forgotten where the house was!

Yours sounds mental! Do you have an agent you can complain to?

My annoyance is that in the three years since we’ve lived here we’ve had almost 3 monthly house inspections

You know you don't have to agree right? Even if it's in your contract/lease?

I used to be a landlord. The contract specified 6 monthly inspections. I inspected after the first 6 months of a new tenancy - thereafter played it by ear and it usually worked out as about once a year unless the tenants wanted me round for something.

Her first name doesn't start with J does it? Although yours is possibly even worse...

I’m glad it’s not me who thinks she’s being intrusive. Unfortunately we do rent directly from her although we do have a rental agreement. We had to move to this area urgently for dh’s job and with having the cats we had to take the first place that was big enough and would accept pets. My social anxiety makes it incredibly hard for me to broach it with her and to be honest I’m already terrified about being given notice as we don’t have the spare money for a new deposit and the cats are such an issue.
I’m actually quite worried she’s going to try insisting we rehome them as she made a ‘joke’ this Christmas saying can’t you just get them put down
I think the fact I don’t work doesn’t help as in her eyes I’m home all day so the house and garden should be pristine but for the first two years we lived here I was home with our son who has severe autism which meant I spent a lot of time with him and just keeping on top of the mess he would create. He’s in school now so I have more time and I’m making a lot more effort with the garden and outside the house but my moods so low it’s just a struggle. And to be honest I’m not sure it’s ever going to be enough.
With previous landlords I only saw them if there was a problem so this has really surprised me. She honestly treats me like young person in their first home and not a 35 year old wife and mother who’s managed not to destroy five other rented homes

When we rented I dont think I ever had an inspection. We did have a landlord once who complained we hadn't pruned a tree once tho, told him to get bent - pretty sure he didn't really want me hacking away at his apple tree with kitchen scissors really and was just looking for an excuse to retain some deposit. I also had one once who wanted us to adopt his cat. Landlords can be weird creatures who struggle to understand that they have tenants not housekeepers who happen to pay for the privilege.

It’s as if the landlady thinks it’s her house and you are house sitting, rather than this is your rental house and not her business now

Maybe once a year if that. Last time he was here he said “oh are you still here? I thought you moved out ages ago.” 🤣 to be fair were good tenants and the rents always on time, so never really needed to be involved.

My tenants give me chocolates and wine so I think they have a good opinion of me!

I manage the tenancy myself, no lettings agents involved at all.

I see them every six months for an inspection and they can WhatsApp me for anything they need, anytime of day/night.

I keep their rent low, repair anything ASAP, and generally treat them like I'd want to be treated (like a human!) I've rented and had shit LL in the past so I try my best.

I really, really feel for good tenants who are treated badly.

Is it an indication that we moved in in February 2016, and when he knocked (unannounced 🤔) in November last year, my DH had no clue who he was and had to ask.

Inspections were every 6 months for the first 2 years but after that I only ever see him when something needs fixing. Only seen him once in the last 4 years and that's when the kitchen ceiling fell through because of a leak in the flat above me. I also have 3 cats so I doubt that makes a difference.

Sounds very intrusive, and she sounds like a nosy old bat with nothing better to do. Could you put something in writing? Say that you have taken advice from Shelter (do this first!), and she needs to give formal notice, minimum 24 hours I think, to come to your home. If she turns up unexpectedly you don't have to let her in, you can say quite politely that it's not convenient and could she give notice to come back another time. This is your RIGHT! Things like the chair on the carpet, well, they can cause damage, so maybe worth buying one of those plastic mats for it if you are worried about having to pay for a new carpet, but I would really say it's wear and tear as well. Re tree pruning I would add in the letter that as you are no expert in this matter she might want to have a gardener do it once a year etc if she expects it to be well kept and thriving. Good luck!

She is out of order, your tenancy agreement states that you are entitled to peaceful enjoyment.
Did she honestly ask you to ask the water board to nip in and change the taps?
That indicates how out of touch with reality she is!

We own now but I have rented a few houses and never had an inspection, never really even saw the landlord tbh. This really isn’t normal, not one bit. I’d move out if I were you.