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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

about landlord popping round all the time?

164 replies

Thesandmanishere · 22/09/2021 16:25

We just rented a lovely place and signed a year's contract. The house was previously lived in by the landlord so has been very well maintained.

I'm sure she's very nice but she keeps popping round unannounced and it's starting to irritate me. It's never ostensibly because she wants to check up on us but it obviously actually is. For example she didn't redirect any of her post so she keeps coming round to collect it. She had a parcel delivered here this morning which she came to collect.

I really don't like it as I want to feel that this is "our home" while we pay rent here - I've lived in rentals before and never seen hide nor hair of the landlord other than when there's been a problem to resolve. But I also don't want to piss her off or be unreasonable.

AIBU or should she not be doing this?

OP posts:
Twofurrycats · 23/09/2021 00:38

I suspect that your landlord I'd deliberately having post sent to you so they can 'check up' on the house. Especially as it's parcels. Mail, unless you've done redirect, can be easy to miss if it's someone who only sends you things infrequently e.g insurance. But a parcel you've ordered you selected the delivery address when you ordered it.

QueenBee52 · 23/09/2021 01:25

@Twofurrycats

I suspect that your landlord I'd deliberately having post sent to you so they can 'check up' on the house. Especially as it's parcels. Mail, unless you've done redirect, can be easy to miss if it's someone who only sends you things infrequently e.g insurance. But a parcel you've ordered you selected the delivery address when you ordered it.
Agreed
Graphista · 23/09/2021 02:23

Aside from the annoyance/inconvenience I wouldn't want her name still associated with MY address unlikely she's doing so for dodgy reasons but you never know.

I think as per pps you do need to get assertive and be clear that this is not how tenants should be treated.

It's harassment. No 2 ways about it and illegal

Check shelter website :

"The right to live in your home without disturbance
During your tenancy, you should be able to enjoy and make use of your home without interference from the landlord or anyone acting on their behalf.
This is called the 'right to quiet enjoyment'.
You have this right even you never had a written agreement, or if your fixed term assured shorthold tenancy has ended.
Examples of behaviour that could breach the right to quiet enjoyment include:
coming into your home without permission
refusing to carry out repairs or safety checks
interfering with gas, electricity or water supply

	frequent visits without notice, appointment or agreement

	threats or overly persistent communications about any issue"

Personally this sounds like yet another clueless accidental landlord the practice should be banned. Being a landlord should be a regulated and monitored profession as it is in many other countries would avoid crap like this.

It's stuff like "I heard you had a party last weekend"

We didn't have a party, we had our in laws round for afternoon tea in the garden. And we weren't even remotely loud. My son has selective mutism. He is not a loud child. We didn't play music or anything. And we were all indoors by 6pm.

Don't fall into the trap of justifying and defending yourselves at every turn! Barring actual antisocial or criminal behaviour it's absolutely none of her business!

The last address I was in the landlord was ok but the neighbour was an arse and kept trying to "get me into trouble" with the landlord just constant moaning! Neighbour knew landlord personally (he was her cousins ex) and he took against me from the off literally simply as I wasn't born here! Thankfully as the landlord KNEW what he was like she just said to ignore him she only would mention to me in the way of checking I was ok and I wasn't getting major grief off him. It was all fairly petty until indyref at which point he turned quite nasty and eventually I had to get police involved to get him to wind his neck in! I'm fairly thick skinned but my then primary aged dd was not and he'd banned his kids from speaking to her! Dick! He was also making nasty comments every time we crossed paths (flats shared main door) which again water off a ducks back to me but it was stressing dd out hearing her mum being constantly called a traitor, bitch, incomer, slut etc and then there was an incident where he blocked my car in once and I was urgently needing to get to the hospital as my mum was desperately ill. I'll admit I lost the head that time! Thankfully police officer that attended knew this dick of old, quickly surmised what the situation was and told him to "shift that car now!!" and then checked if I was ok to drive, turned back to him as I made my way to my car and said "u pull this rubbish again I'm lifting ye!" Things calmed down for a while at that point and it also meant other neighbours became aware of what had been going on and again they knew what he was like and I think there was like an unspoken thing they were gonna keep an eye out for me and he was aware of that.

I did feel constantly under "surveillance" because of him at that address but I wasn't in a position to move easily.

My bet is that she hasn't got her post redirected because she has got a domestic mortgage not a more expensive landlord's one.

Entirely possible

Which also makes it possible it's not properly insured and other regs are not up to scratch - more reasons why accidental landlording should be banned

@TemptedToSleepInTheShed you are completely wrong! Tenants have rights! Landlords cannot trample over them

having an agent doesn’t guarantee anything as most of them are crap.

Very true

Id also consider getting a Ring doorbell so that you can prove what she is doing... it might deter her too.

Excellent idea!

I'm not British and almost no one in my home country owns. It's completely normal there to rent. Consequently tenants have more rights.

We have appalling attitudes to renting and tenants in the Uk I agree. I've lived overseas too where renting is very much the norm and owning is for the very wealthy/privileged. Tenants are treated far better, have more rights and are more easily able to get them enforced.

The whole rental system in the Uk needs an overhaul but while we have corrupt politicians and housing market it won't change.

tell your neighbours that as they are such good friends they obviously won’t mind if you divert all Mail and direct all parcels to their house.

Ooh 2 birds one stone!

simitra · 23/09/2021 02:23

Many years ago a male LL called on me without notice at 9pm one dark night. I was a female living alone and I went nuclear. He never did it again.

Goingdriving · 25/09/2021 13:04

Do you pay her directly or through the estate agent. If the latter explain to the estate agent and ask him or her to make clear the responsibilities of the landlord

simitra · 26/09/2021 00:40

I would enclose this in the next bundle of mail you hand over and/or send it by email.

Dear Landlord

This is to inform you that going forward I must insist that you immediately put into effect a formal request for Royal Mail to redirect your mail. It is not acceptable for you to be constantly calling here to collect your post. We have taken advice on this matter and have been informed that as tenants we are entitled to the “quiet enjoyment” of our home without frequent and unnecessary visits from the owner. We are finding these visits inconvenient and excessive and so they must cease.

We are entitled to and will require at least 24 hours notice in writing of any visit which must henceforth be confined to essential purposes only. We will inform you of any issues or repairs which need to be addressed.

In order to assist you for the next 8 weeks we will be forwarding the mail to your new address once weekly. This will give you an opportunity to put the required arrangement into place. However we will refuse all parcel deliveries so please inform your courier accordingly. After the 8 week period all mail will be marked “return to sender” and dropped in the mail or discarded.

We are also concerned to learn that you have been discussing us with neighbours. Ours is a business relationship and not a social one. We therefore consider this unprofessional and verging upon harassment. We will also be making our position to the neighbour clear and trust that there will be no more gossip and tittle-tattle of this nature.

I hope that now we have made these matters clear our relationship will proceed in a more business like and professional manner going forward.

Badlytornfrube · 26/09/2021 10:45

@QueenBee52 I moved house in March and have accidentally sent an M&S and a Boden order to my old address. It is easy to do (for me).

Thehop · 26/09/2021 10:54

I’m a landlord. I rent out my old home that I was really happy in and don’t go unless the tennant needs me to. I don’t go in, I stand at the door. It’s my house, but it’s now her home.

Your ll os being unreasonable.

MzHz · 26/09/2021 12:01

@Thesandmanishere

So the other day when she came round my son had all his toys out in the living room so it was a state (perfectly clean, just messy). She kind of peered over my shoulder and went "oooh, it'll be tidy up time soon". Hmm
THIS is why you act now to stop her
ChargingBuck · 26/09/2021 13:49

@Thesandmanishere

Thanks everyone. This has been pretty unanimous. My husband thinks she is bang out of line and wanted to say something to her ages ago but I always feel like I shouldn't be causing trouble.
But you are being caused trouble. Your DH is right.

The "heard you had a party" SchoolMarming at you is outrageous.

Nocutenamesleft · 30/09/2021 19:31

@TemptedToSleepInTheShed

It’s her house and I’m afraid she can do as she pleases while you’re living in her house. Do you have a plan for buying your own?
Totally 100% legally incorrect!
CSIblonde · 01/10/2021 18:47

I'd put her mail in a rubber band outside the front door , with a note saying 'For pickup by previous occupier ' & not answer when she rings or knocks.

WhatAShilohPitt · 01/10/2021 21:49

Next time she pops round, I think I’d say something along the lines of. ‘Could I just mention something to you that you might not be aware of? We really enjoy living here but we are noticing that you are calling on us without any notice much more than we’d expect and it’s affecting our ability to relax and enjoy feeling at home. Could you please arrange times with us going forward?’

MaeD · 01/10/2021 22:02

Why is there no process of references landlords have to provide for prospective tenants - namely from former tenants (if they exits) about how they treat tenants who rent the homes they are letting?

Seems to me this would by highly useful for people to see before renting somewhere and maybe would give these nightmare landlords something to think about.

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