To not allow estate agent access

[LoverNotAFighter]

Hello, I posted yesterday for advice following an eviction and court summons.
I cant afford the rent of £950 anymore I'm a single parent on UC, I've built up rent arrears over 4 months because the amount ive been paying is the UC housing element which is £510, I tried to speak with the landlord that my children's dad doesnt contribute financially anymore and I couldn't afford the amount, anyway I've got to attend court 21st September.

This afternoon I've received an email from your move saying my landlord has asked them to come over to the house and value it for sales and rental values. What date and time is convenient for him to come over.

I dont feel comfortable with this as I'm a single parent and dont want my landlord turning up aswell.
Would I be unreasonable to say I dont feel comfortable with this and ask them to wait until I've vacated the property?
I'm trying my best to find alternative living arrangements but it's really not that easy.

The minimum legal EPC is an E. OP said hers is an E and it lasts until 2026. Also OP said she has only paid half rent for 4 months so likely 2 full months in arrears. She will lose her bond to pay towards rent arrears. She will most likely be issued a S8.

If you’re a single parent you don’t only get £800 total per month including the contribution towards rent. UC is more than that, or you must earn a salary on top? I do agree it’s wrong that you need to wait to be evicted before you can get help from the council

Electrics every 5 years x

landlords Also have bills to pay. No one is entitled to a free ride whether that’s ’how the system works’ or not. A landlord may be renting out a second home and have no means to pay the Mortage- hence why they rent it out.

Its not. You never ever have to allow viewings. The estate agent or ll hope you don't know this. You have right to quiet enjoyment of your house or flat. You have to allow ll or ea access for maintenance or inspection but with it was either 24 or 48 hours notice. I'm glad I'm out of the rental trap now.

Most councils tell evicted tenants to wait until the bailiffs actually turn up. Then, they have to help.

This could be weeks away.

If you wait until the actual eviction, your local council should help you. It might be temporary accommodation, but they won't leave you homeless with children.

Or change of occupation, which mist LL conveniently forget.

The law trumps rental contracts. She doesn't have to allow viewings.

No, you are getting confused (May be conveniently?)

the EICR which checks the installation legally needs to checked every 5 years (and NOT at change of tenancy).

the PAT which checks portable appliances like a microwave, should be done annually and advisably at change of tenancy.

1. What do the Electrical Safety Standards in the Private Rented Sector (England) Regulations 2020 require?Landlords of privately rented accommodation must:

• Ensure national standards for electrical safety are met. These are set out in the 18th edition of the ‘Wiring Regulations’, which are published as British Standard 7671.
• Ensure the electrical installations in their rented properties are inspected and tested by a qualified and competent person at an interval of at least every 5 years.

I think that would be pretty out of order. I know that you can't help your situation but you are making your LL pay for what you aren't. You will already have cost him/ her loads - in terms of stress and money, simply for letting you rent his/her house. Don't punish him/her further by refusing to let him/ her sell.

She doesn’t kniw for sure there’s not a gas cert. She stated there wasn’t an epc and suddenly there was.

the repairs/lack of cert was a huge massive drip feed to justify not paying rent (when she realised the thread was going against her).

She should have a copy of the gas certificate. If she doesn’t know whether there’s one or not the landlord hasn’t fulfilled their legal duty. I don’t see any justification. She’s not withholding rent because she doesn’t want to pay, she can’t pay it because she hasn’t got the money. You can’t get blood out of a stone.

Or that the certificate is lost in a drawer somewhere?

if the LL hasn’t got a cert, there is no excuse…. None. I’m a landlord and that is the most basic of checks that must be done.

however, I’m not convinced he doesn’t have one and we shouldn’t assume he doesn’t just because the tenant (justifying her arrears) is saying that she doesn’t ‘think’ he has.

She should have a copy. She should be in absolutely no doubt about it. Landlords are really showing us who they are on this thread.

Its not enforceable, its actually not the law. I have refused before and there was nothing they could do about it.

OP, firstly I am sorry about this. I have skim read the answers and I think you've probably got similar advice to what I would give, I am a longn term renter and had issues with repairs not being done and other things, I successfully took one landlord to court and received half my rent for 6 months back and they had to pay a fine. No lawyer, I represented myself. I never gave that landlord access for viewings. Frankly I am sick of doing that and think its an infringement of my right to quiet enjoyment. We shouldn't be paying full rent while random people walk through our homes so I just stopped allowing it. Nothing they can do. Renting property is a business, they should factor the time to advertise into their budgets and stop expecting tenants to pay full price while they get access for viewings. Its an unfair term and I no longer comply with it.

The amount of times my tenants will swear blind they weren’t sent a lease, weren’t given a second set of keys, weren’t given the certs.

until I forward the emails/signed key receipt.

I doubt it’s malicious, but things get lost and forgotten. Which is why we now email and sign everything out.

The fact that your XDH doesn’t contribute is hardly your landlord’s fault.
Cash in hand? Report him to the tax people.

Harsh, but fair.

Well then simple. Negotiate a time and don't be there.

@fullbloom87 I agree that if she finds alternative accommodation the council won't house her, they will offer to help pay for upfront rent/deposit however, if she phones the council she will not instantly be put into band 1, to be in band 1 there needs to be proof of significant health conditions or domestic related situations (domestic abuse and needing to be protected) there's a good chance OP will be in band 2/3 and once she gets into temporary accommodation she will then be put into a higher band.

I have health problems and I was in band 2, managed to get our council property due to it being a new build and it was through a housing association so the council helped us get this one, reality is alot of people have to stay in temporary accommodation before being housed properly.

So it doesn't instantly mean she'll be put into band 1.

Rents are absolutely ridiculous at the moment, I really feel for you OP. A single parent working full time may be taking home around £1600 a month (and no they can’t always just magic up a better paying job as people on here often seem to think is the case) with rents of £900+. How on earth are they supposed to live? Even topped up with UC it would be a struggle with the rising costs of everything.

There is now a huge divide between rich and poor and also a huge generational divide. I know people in their 50s on normal wages looking at early retirement in their massive house (bought for 1/5 of its current worth), spare cash to get new kitchens, extensions etc while people in their 20s/30s are struggling to afford to keep any sort of roof over their head.

I really hope you are housed somewhere suitable and affordable OP, this kind of thing just shouldn’t be happening. The housing element of UC needs to reflect what private rentals actually cost.

I am a landlord and I would fully expect my Tennant to withhold all of the rent if I was leaving them to live in a property in that state. It isn't safe. I would not be able to sleep at night knowing children were living in a house with electrics like that.

Report to the HMRC he is obviously tax fiddling. Report to the council and environmental health. Do not allow them access to the property he sounds far too dodgy to risk him being there alone

What do you expect if they're not paying rent? Of course they should leave, and it's rather daft they're making everyone's life difficult in the process.

OP, the landlord can chase you for rent when you've left via the courts - even once evicted. Stopping them getting a sale in decent time by not allowing viewings / valuations will just give them more drive to claim back lost money, so you're only shooting yourself in the foot by being stubborn.