To refuse to allow the letting agency to do so many visits?

[Maria53]

Hi everyone, recently my bath and toilet broke which was an awful nightmare. I had to work from home while the flat stunk of sewage with plumber coming in and out of the room I am working in. It seemed to be fixed but then it broke again yesterday and they came back. Another day of disruption.

Now they inform me they want to send someone out tomorrow to do a legionella inspection and another person out on Friday to do a flat inspection. These endless inspections are disruptive as I am working in an open plan flat and I hate having so many people in my home at the moment.

To top it off I am just about to hand in my one month notice as I have bought a property and will move out next month. AIBU to not let them do all this until I leave?

They also blamed me for the toilet breaking and said I will have to pay all future call out fees. They found 2 pieces of plastic which looked like they had broken off a machine and had nothing to do with me. The plumber himself said it may have come from the installation before I moved in.

I am really very annoyed.

I think the legionella inspection is probably in your best interest, especially if you’re living there for another month. But yes, an inspection at this stage is pretty unnecessary and they may well agree with you once they know you’re moving out (presumably they don’t yet if you haven’t handed in your notice).

Our letting agents won’t come near us with a barge pole at the moment because of COVID security. I’m not missing the inspections, but there are a few things that need fixing which is a minor annoyance.

I think I’d certainly allow the Legionella inspection. You don’t want to be ill!

If you’re leaving in a month hand your notice in and suggest the inspection isn’t worth doing until you leave? Have you made sure you’re handing it on at the exact right time?

I think I was on your thread about toilet & bath backing up. I’m sure it wasn’t your fault ultimately but IIRC things had been making funny noises and the flush on the toilet had always been not great- always best to complain early as a tenant rather than not reporting faults.

I moved in to this flat on the 15th of January. So does that mean I need to hand my notice in on the 15th of this month?

Legionella yes I agree that is important. But a flat inspection as well, that would mean I had 3 people in my home this week sent by them. All while trying to work.

You need to check your contract for what it says regarding notice period.

If they expect you to pay for the toilet issues ask them to provide irrefutable evidence that you are responsible. Be sure to mention exactly what the plumber said!

If you’re moving out then I wouldn’t bother with the flat inspection

I’d allow the legionella inspection
And yes check your contract, it may be fixed term for a year which would mean you would be liable till January, and notice is usually 2 months anyway. So you would serve notice on the 15th of this month (probably Friday as that’s a Sunday) to leave on the 15th of January.

They should combine the legionella inspection with the flat inspection. That’s what my property manager does and that’s since before Covid.

With the toilet I I replied saying the plumber informed me this was a flawed installation from before I arrived so not my fault. They replied saying "if the situation is fixed then it wont break again so this wont be an issue" - there is every chance it could break again because it was not installed properly. What can I do if they try to make me pay?

I am fairly sure the contract says one month. I will double check.

@lastqueenofscotland why does it matter the 15th is a Sunday? Does notice have to be served on a working day?

When our landlord accused us of breaking something we hadn't citizens advice helped us write a letter refuting it and they backed down; put something in writing denying it. And yes of course they could do this in a month's time. Again put in writing that it's disruptive and see what they say.

This is how the conversation went:

'The owner will not pay any future call put fees should this happen again'

Me: so are you telling me I will be expected to pay it?

Them: if the problem is truly fixed this will not happen again so there is no issue.

The problem is the toilet system just doesnt work properly. I have said all this in writing this week.

I’d invent a recent Covid exposure and tell them you’re quarantining for two weeks. And then again.

Hi again everyone, just looked at the contract and it says that I need to give 28 days notice to move out/or date otherwise agreed between tenant and landlord (but nothing about a specific date - ie. Needing to give notice on the same date I moved in). Thoughts?

Is this the first time you've rented OP? That contract clause means you can give 28 days' notice...or if you and they both agree, you could give a shorter notice period.
Days of the week don't matter at all. You can end the tenancy any day of the week unless the contract says otherwise.

It isnt but until last year I had been living in a different country with different rules - so I have just forgotten.

I see, few posters seem to think my leaving date needs to coincide with the date I moved in. Need to figure it out fast as that date falls this weekend.

It depends how long your contract is for because your notice period will be for after that. Is it 6 or 12 months?

So you should have a AST (Assured Shorthold Tenancy). This is usually for 12 months. Most ASTs have a ‘break clause’ which means you can give notice after e.g. 6 months to leave.

Usually, on an AST, if the ‘break clause’ is at 6 months, you’ll give 2 months’ notice and free to leave at 8 months (so 4 months’ early on a 12-month contract). This usually has to coincide with a ‘rent period’ so if you signed on the 15th you give notice on the 15th to leave 2 months’ later.

If your contract has no minimum term, and you can give 28 days notice any time, you can serve notice when you like. Give yourself some leeway for unexpected delays. I wouldn’t give notice until contracts are exchanged and you have a firm completion date, if I were you.