.. to not allow prospective new tenants viewings while still living here?

[Lola528]

My landlord wants prospective new tenants in tomorrow to view the property we currently rent. We vacate on September 21st, so a good 7 weeks yet. I really don’t want to have anyone in my home right now (have asthma, not shielding level, but still a risk).

Our contract says they can give us 24 hours notice for viewings, but what about our “quiet enjoyment of the property” rights?

WIBU to say we will not accommodate viewings and they can wait till we leave? We will be gone around 14th September but pay/rent legally until 21st. So that gives them a week where we are still paying that it will be empty and ready to view.

"Totally agree with this. Also think it's strange for you to consider it your home when it's a rented property. I've rented several times for long periods of time and I never consider the property "mine" or "my home"..."

I suspect that you are in the minority here, @floralf - I think most people will think of the place where they live as their home, whether it is owned or rented - I think putting down those sorts of roots is a normal thing to do.

Some people will never own their own home - do you really think that they will never feel that they have a home?

I'm not saying you are wrong to feel the way you do - but I do think it is unusual - and I do think that tenants have a right to feel as if the place they are renting is their home. And the law says they have the right to quiet enjoyment.

If the letting agent is being pushy and won't give in, @Lola528, as well as quoting your right to quiet enjoyment, I would quote the government guidelines on moving home during the pandemic that says initial viewings should be by video wherever possible and that the property agent should facilitate that.

www.gov.uk/guidance/government-advice-on-home-moving-during-the-coronavirus-covid-19-outbreak

If the letting agent refuses to follow those guidelines and do video viewings, you could ask for their formal complaint procedure and to which property redress scheme they belong, and make a formal complaint. You could also write to the landlord to explain that you are not allowing viewings because the letting agent is not following the guidelines.

The gas safety certificate is a separate issue, you can't link the two things, ie you can't refuse viewings because they have broken the law and don't have a gas safety record. You can however make a formal complaint about it/report them. It is a criminal offence to let a property without a current gas safety record with a fine of up to £6k or 6 months imprisonment.

If your landlord refuses to do repairs, you can contact the council who can compel them to do repairs. You can also pay for repairs and deduct the cost from the rent. I'm assuming you wont want to do that at this point so I won't go into detail about what to do but I thought it might e useful information for future reference.

[quote Lola528]@HouchinBawbags yes, it expired August 2019 (gas cert). We haven’t even had an inspection in the four years we’ve been here (great from our perspective). He hasn’t been bad at all in terms of fixing things when reported (until we’ve said we’re leaving, and now stated “it’s not worth it”) so no real complaints, but no pro-active gestures for sure.[/quote]
I wouldn't be doing anything to help out a LL who is breaking the law.

LL's who don't bother with fundamental safety things like gas checks give all LL's a bad name.

Please tell me you have a carbon monoxide monitor?

@floralf Totally agree with this. Also think it's strange for you to consider it your home when it's a rented property. I've rented several times for long periods of time and I never consider the property "mine" or "my home"

Of course it's OP's home! Are you saying that all renters are homeless?

I don't think you are unreasonable at all to refuse viewings. You are paying a lot of money for quiet enjoyment of the property and, even in normal times, viewings are incredibly disruptive.

We stupidly allowed viewings in our last rented property, asking that we were given 24 hours notice and it was a total nightmare with agents asking for multiple viewings at different times of the day, often turning up late and sometimes unannounced.

A reasonable landlord should respect your wishes and conduct viewings after you have vacated the property.

YANBU - For all the reasons you have fully explained.
It is appalling that the landlord has not had the gas safety certificate renewed. As another poster has stated I hope you have a working carbon monoxide alarm.
My suggestion would be whilst you are recording your virtual tour of the property zoom in on the expired gas safety certificate / sticker!

Good luck with your move OP and stay safe.

yes, it expired August 2019 (gas cert). We haven’t even had an inspection in the four years we’ve been here (great from our perspective). He hasn’t been bad at all in terms of fixing things when reported (until we’ve said we’re leaving, and now stated “it’s not worth it”)

It’s stuff like this that I think justifies LLs having to supply references too. Stuff like no gas inspection is exactly the kind of thing prospective tenants should know.

floralf - 'Also think it's strange for you to consider it your home when it's a rented property*'
*
I think that's actually a pretty disgusting/ignorant statement to be honest floralf. I've lived in my RENTED (😱) house for over 10 years. IT IS MY HOME! It is my children's HOME. Get over yourself.

This thread is like bingo.

Tenants have to allow access, it's not your home, think of the poor landlord's finances, you are using health concerns as an excuse, you have to allow landlords to ignore your legal rights to get a good reference, contracts which ignore your legal rights trump the law, it's strange to think of your home as your home, if you have left the house at all since February you're BU to feel it is risky to have a stream of strangers in your home, if you won't let your landlord ignore your legal rights (s)he can take money out of your deposit, landlords should not have to have void periods...

I think my favourite in terms of sheer insanity is "it's strange to consider it your home if it is rented".

What is this nonsense with some pp saying its not the renters home. So if they were asked what their home address is what would they say, I don't have a home. Bloody ridiculous, it's may not their house but it is their home.

What has been nice though is seeing reasonable and sensible comments throughout from obviously decent landlords who expect void periods, understand that their properties are their tenant's homes whilst they are renting them and don't think they are above the law. Glad you lot exist and wish you could buy out all the shit landlords who see tenants as scum to be bled dry whilst being grateful for it.

@Lola528 do you believe that there is any chance that the LL or Estate Agent will attempt to gain access without your consent? This is NOT allowed. After I found that a LL had been snooping inside my home when I was out I always made sure to change my locks to my own in each new rental. As long as you put the locks back then it's not just sensible, it's a bloody safety and security requirement!

When I take out home contents insurance one of the stipulations usually is that only persons known to me have access to a key to my house and many of us don't actually know our landlords personally and have no idea about all the various people in and out of an estate agents who could gain access to our homes.

If you believe they might try to enter your home unlawfully, change the locks. Many locks are around £9-£15 and take 10 minutes to fit using a YouTube video and a screwdriver.

I think the people still saying the OP can't/shouldn't really say no, despite the law stating she can, mean that morally, they personally wouldn't feel right in refusing, knowing the effect it would have on somebody's income.
I'd certainly be in that camp usually (assuming the LL had been a fair one until now) and would give one afternoon a week for the agents to fix viewings in order to minimise disruption.

However, with Covid, I feel differently and think you should say no to people coming in if you aren't comfortable with it.

Also think it's strange for you to consider it your home when it's a rented property

That’s because you’re a cold hearted bitch .

I hope my tenants never feel like that...

I am a landlord and own several properties. I would never allow viewings of a house when a tenant is still living in the property. A tenant should be able to enjoy their home in peace without having strangers traipsing all over the place.
The fact that we are in the throes of a pandemic makes it impractical for normal viewings to proceed and therefore the Op is well within her rights to refuse the request.
Furthermore, one would have thought that the landlord would need to do some ‘touch ups’( painting , checking appliances) before conducting any viewings.
After a tenant has left one of my properties, I give myself six weeks to make it ready for viewings.
As others have said LL should expect voids when renting property.

Hello

I have not read all of the thread after my post but you asked me a question and thought I should reply.

If your LL has not completed repairs after being advised then I think he/she is on the back foot to demand viewings because they have broken the agreement first. I would state that in my conversations. I would never ignore repair requests because it breaks the contact and I wouldn’t want a tenant to think badly of me. However, neither of you are going to court over your problems/issues though. Hence you cannot enforce the law.

Guess you’re have to make a call over the prospect reference situation. I don’t think either of you can claim compensation from the deposit which is one avenue to sort out problems. I don’t think this is applicable here. But the reference can be important. Unfortunately once a tenant leaves and deposit is sorted then the LL does not need any relationship with the former tenant but the tenant can need a reference and you need to decide if you want one. Just to warn I’ve been asked up to 3 years later. I give references to those who have honoured the contracts and been good tenants.

Good luck.

@84wood OP has said that she doesn't need a reference.

Fair enough. As I said I didn’t read the whole thread. Just wanted to answer the op question to me and also flag that reference requests can be made a good few years later. Apparently some companies have recently been requesting a full rental history. This shocked me.

In any case it sounds like a completely unpleasant situation all round!

7 weeks could mean a lot of viewings! I'd refuse any until the last 2 weeks & be strict on times & notice even then. Ignore the idiots saying its not your house, it is, you're paying rent to occupy it! You are within your rights to refuse any & all viewings but if you have no issues with landlord or agent & you can allow the odd one it doesn't hurt to be accommodating.

I never understand the people who say 'it's not your home' about rental homes. So the person in question is what, homeless? Of course it's their bloody home. That's what they pay your mortgage for. To have a home.

@Handsoffisback

So now prospective tenants are disease riddled thieves?! 🤦🏽‍♀️ Goodness me I’ve heard it all. How on earth do people think those that own their home are managing during this pandemic? The OP is being difficult because she doesn’t want people going into the house. Agree with others, the reference from me would not be good.

Well speaking as a homeowner, I've managed quite well not allowing any prospective tenants into my home. Exactly the same as I didn't pre-pandemic, in fact. And I'm going to stick my neck out and say the majority of owner occupiers are in the same position. It really is surprisingly simple.

This is a massive thing between landlords and tenants and when I rented I used to hate it and always refused. I used to feel so resentful at someone who wouldn’t come and sort out damp but you had to dance to their tune when they wanted to sell. I was like err, NOPE! So glad to own now. Stand your ground @Lola528

It's the pandemic that makes the difference too. I never minded viewings when I rented privately but now is an entirely different kettle of fish.

Fair enough. As I said I didn’t read the whole thread. Just wanted to answer the op question to me and also flag that reference requests can be made a good few years later. Apparently some companies have recently been requesting a full rental history. This shocked me.

How will they know that the reference is genuine anyway? What is to stop people putting down a friend's name for example. Who would know whether they had really been the landlord?

what I’ve read suggests the law supersedes the contract in these circumstances

That is very often the case. Such as nurseries trying to impose fees on parents during lockdown, for example. Probably wasn;t in the contract anyway,but even if it were, it wouldn't be enforceable.

Unfair terms are not (necessarily) enforceable. Some unfair terms are always enforceable (eg trying to charge for a service you are not providing). Some might be enforceable (eg the perennial is it ok to ban pets if you are a landlord - hasn't got to court yet as far as I know).

Allowing viewings is in the tenant's gift and cannot be required by the landlord. I don't think 24 hours notice is fine in any event - far too short. If you know someone is coming in you may want to lock away certain items or tidy up a bit (I know you don't need to tidy up for the landlord's benefit but you might for your own). You may even be away and not want people just going in. It should be 7 days in my view.