To think having a workman sent to my home every week is absolutely ridiculous?

[Willow79]

I am fuming.

In the last month and a half my letting agency has sent various people round to do gas checks, legionella checks and to fix multiple breakages caused by a result of faulty installations before my arrival. I am working from home and the kitchen and living room is open plan - every time a workman comes they have several questions for me and I am not able to do my work productively.

Now the oven has broken and a guy is coming to fix it on Thursday. And now, as a result of a gas check, they have emailed to say they are sending someone round to install an additional part to the hob. This is a nice to have so I dont need to use alighter to light the hob, not essential.

I have told them multiple times these endless visits are disrupting my working life. It is actually really starting to affect me. AIBU to refuse?

I got really fucked off after 7 incompetent repair men in 2 weeks and my DD got sent home to isolate so I told the landlord. Havent updated that her isolation got cancelled and have enjoyed two peaceful weeks.

There’s also the weird MN thing about never having visitors, not answering the front door and not letting tradesmen use your toilet.

Felicity, you have a landlord problem.

The consensus on this thread seems to be that tenants should allow reasonable access for maintenance and statutory inspections. However access does not mean that you have to stay in. Keys are sufficient. (Give an single key and don't double lock the door. A good letting agency will have regular, trusted workmen.) It is completely unreasonable for a landlord to demand that you take a day off work. You may agree to do this, but like OP, you had the choice to refuse.

I sometimes have tenants who want to be in, or who offer to be in. It is seriously difficult to find good workmen, and timings usually have to be based on their schedules, not those of the tenant. With the former, I confirm I will pay and then I ask the tenant to organise the appointment. And with the latter, I often bring a small thank you gift the next time I am at the property. My tenants seem to stay a long time, longer than average. As with any other transaction it is about respect. I respect their privacy and the fact that they have lives, and they respect the fact that they live in a property that needs to be maintained and sometimes this is inconvenient.

Im a landlord in Scotland, and there are now 9-12 annual checks required by law (depending on whether the property is an hmo or not and which change in rules they have brought in this year - last year for instance, all hmos in one City had to have the letterboxes replaced).

So if course YABU - landlords face serious criminal penalties for not complying. Complain to your local authority if you don't like these checks.

OP if these things are bothering you that much could you find a local co-working space to use? I know you shouldn't have to pay for it, but it might be better than worrying about tradespeople.

Or your local library might have workspaces, although I don't know if they are currently available with lockdown/tiers etc - even though bookshops are allowed to open they seem to be making a bit of a meal about reopening.

But I wouldn't be complaining about essential work being done, even if you think it's not worth it because you are moving out in a few months.

@mollscroll

There’s also the weird MN thing about never having visitors, not answering the front door and not letting tradesmen use your toilet.

I don't mind people using the loo but I do mind them knocking on the door when they can see I am working and all they want to do is sell me something. Good tradespeople don't need to cold call, they'll get all the work they need from word of mouth.

Lots of people suggesting I find a cafe or working space - I am in Scotland and everything is closed.

As a PP noted, I am not just being awkward. It is interfering with my working life. They have also, as PP also noted, chosen to ignore important repairs like insuring proper insulation in the living room because the owner didnt want to cough up (among other things).

I live in an open plan flat there are and there is no escape from it. This has been a hard situation and people could do with having some empathy.

As it happens the second workman is free at a suitable time this week. That will be 2 workmen on 2 different days this week. I will let him come but the next guy will need to wait until 2021 i'm afraid.

An "appointment" is an arrangement made by TWO parties at a mutually convenient time. It is not your LL texting you that the plumber or the gas fitter will be there tomorrow. They should ask you in advance for a convenient time. You can always text back and say that this week does not work for me, and nominate another date.

I dont open the door to unsolicited visitors so unexpected workmen dont have a hope of getting in here. I have a security camera so anyone unexpected and not holding a package to deliver gets ignored. You are well within your rights to refuse entry to unexpected workpeople, especially as you have given notice. I would just sit tight and keep the door shut.

My relative Chris has a flat in a large block owned by a housing society. A few months back they sent out a strongly worded letter to each tenant informing them that they had an appointment on XX day for an electrician to call and do the EICR check. The letter was very heavy handed and threatened the tenants that in the event of no response they (management) had the power to break in. No choice as to time and date was given for the appointments. As you can imagine some of the residents in an HA are elderly and vulnerable or do not have English as first language. So there was a lot of consternation and upset about this.

Chris arranged a half day off work on the day in question, which entailed a loss of pay. When no workmen had shown up halfway through the afternoon, he went out looking for them. He encountered the caretaker who admitted that there were other worried and anxious tenants seeking the tradesmen. To his knowledge, none were present in the building and there was no liveried van in the car park. It seems that the electricians had not been present on site either that day or the previous one, despite numerous appointments having been made. By the end of the afternoon, no electricians had shown up and so the appointments of over a dozen tenants were broken.

After a bit of door knocking Chris managed to identify a batch of other tenants who had broken appointments for that day and the previous one. They formed an action group, contacted the HA and made a joint complaint using the official grievance procedure. Some, like Chris, had taken time off work and undergone loss of pay. They had to keep pressing the HA for a response and finally got a weak letter of apology. There was no offer to reimburse their "consequential loss" of pay.

The group then got their local councillor involved. He put some pressure on the committee about the unfortunate wording of the letters which he felt constituted undue harassment. The HA had to climb down and send a second letter to each tenant, apologising for the poorly worded threats and correcting the “misunderstanding” that their door would be broken in if they were not at home.

Chris, and those who took time off work, have now sent invoices to the HA for loss of pay, with threats of contacting the Housing Ombudsman. They have now got their local MP involved and he too is putting pressure on the management committee to resolve the matter and compensate the tenants.

I love to see tenants stand up and fight back against arrogant and disorganized landlords in this way.

Guildhall lettings Preston send about 15 tradesmen round a year. Often there are complications as work is not done properly. and new visits need to be made

Its disruptive of my work. i work from home. they also often involve the owner of the property who visits me. And is derogatory about the house. They have terrible reviews online. And i am frightened of being evicted if i complain directly to them. Sometimes there are two tradesmen in one week.

i work publishing books. And the repeated tradesmen visits. Who are typical working class men. Continuously disrupt my work schedules. its been going on for three years. and i'm frightened of being evicted.

@dan131

i work publishing books. And the repeated tradesmen visits. Who are typical working class men. Continuously disrupt my work schedules. its been going on for three years. and i'm frightened of being evicted.

Yabu. typical working class men wtf is that supposed to mean?

You sound like a pain in the neck tenant moaning about people who are there to help you.

If you’re handing your notice in what are you going to do about viewings? The landlord has the right to show the property to prospective tenants. Obviously he will need to pre-arrange with you but it will still mean people wandering in and out.

I guess it’s just something you have to put up with when you live in a place you don’t own.

Zombie thread. The OP has probably moved by now!