to not want to show prospective buyers around my rented home?

[SoonToBeHomeless]

When the agents (they are selling it as well as renting it to me) call to arrange a viewing they keep asking if I will be able to show the buyers round .

When they rang again yesterday to arrange a viewing, I said it would be fine but that I would be out. The woman said 'oh so you won't be there to show them round' and I said it is hardly of benefit to me to show people round when the outcome will be that I will get kicked out if they decide to buy it . Why should I spend my time doing the agents job??

AIBU to be cross or is this the done thing?

I don't want to move (again!!) and am a single mother with 3 kids (recently made redundant so on benefits) and now have the headache of trying to find a new place that will take HB, not having a deposit (as it could take up to 2 weeks for them to return the one I paid on this house) and am also bankrupt so I am unlikely to pass any credit scoring!!

Expat gives you some very good advice there

I would cancel the viewings because, if you've let them in once it sets a precedent and you may appear inconsistent and somehow more unreasonable.

Sorry its such a horrible situation and hope you get it sorted soon

expatinscotland - the door just opened and I was sat with DW eating lunch.

I was surprisingly calm and said hello in a 'step over that threshold and you may regret it' sort of way. The visitors had no idea we were there and fled in horror after mumbed apologies.

There was another time a woman came to peer through the windows of the house were livng in as she had seen the agent sign. We could see her but she could not see us as we had venetian blinds .

I said to DW that I should have dropped my pants and then DW could have quickly flicked the blinds open and closed again. That would have shocked the snooper.

We didn't though.

I'd have been horrified if the agents gave me keys and I came in and found someone in there minding their own business!

What gits those agents are.

Not to mention that showing people round is, well, their job, not anyone else's.

They're hired and paid to do that.

Yes, given the tenancy agreement, it is unreasonable to expect anyone to be shown around without having been given notice.

I'd cancel the arrangements that have been made - it's clear that neither the landlord nor agent are going about this properly. Explain that under the terms of the tenancy, no visitors are expected at this time.

(Can clarify if speaking to agents and they are dumb, about it not being in tenancy agreement for people to come round without notice from the landlord - that makes agent responsible for contact with landlord, meanwhile having to apologetically cancel arrangements made with those who were meant to view.)

Not sure I'd go so far as to "provoke" notice being given with something like the suggested "Please give me my notice and then ..." if it is unclear as to what might be available from the Council as an alternative, and having to move at this time of year...

Can only wish the OP 'good luck' and hope all gets sorted out for you, with least upheaval.

Agree with ex Pat....dont even allow the viewings at weekend. It will set a precedent.

Are you a lone parent with a child under 7? If so claim Income Support...redundancy rules are different now.
As for deposit...see if your local council has a tenancy deposit scheme. As you are BR you are unlikely to be able to use an agent for rented and will need to find a good private landlord.

Sign up for your local housing scheme.

Define with council homeless officer what you will need to do re section 21. Do you need to go to court for eviction?

Speak to shelter.

Good Luck xx

Ah....just reread...you are claiming. Glad thats sorted.

Social fund may be able to help with a loan for rent in advance but not a deposit.

A person on even JSA would qualify for rent deposit scheme.

You need to be FIRM about getting your notice.

Then you go online, find out about your council's homeless or threatened homeless service.

Make an appointment.

GO!

Bring all the kids if need be. I did! My husband was at work and so I had all three in tow.

We've just been through the process ourselves and I won't lie, it's not pleasant. It's a hard road but there is support, including here (I won't be here from Sat. but I'll be back in about a fortnight and will put this thread on 'Watch').

We were going to buy a caravan and at the last minute, with support from our MP and MSP, the HA offered a suitable place.

Don't be ashamed about being firm or even about being on benefits after being made redundant!

Don't think you have to change your name or that.

I'm about to renew my subscription here so feel free to CAT me although I'll have no net access for about a fortnight as am moving from Sat.

Email me at kaperkaillie AT gmail DOT COM before Sat. midnight if need be.

We've just been through the process and signed a tenancy agreement on a 4-bed maisonette HA place.

We're in Scotland, but it's still not an entirely different process and I'm willing to share our experience.

It's not your responsibility to show them round, but for goodness's sake, don't sabotage the place - how long might you have to live there, in this economic climate (mortgages falling through, prices falling and putting buyers off asking prices, etc.)!

I was present for many of the viewings at my last flat, but the landlady had become a good friend (she lived there with my former flatmate, before I moved in instead of the landlady, and we invited her to our wedding), so it was not a problem. It was, however, an imposition, even being fond of her.

ABetaDad - that's a shocker about "just giving the key to a viewer for a 'quick look round' on their own. That happened to me once as well." . I hope the viewer was ashamed as well!

shame,tough position to be in.not your responsibility to show strangers your home.your landlord is being unreasonable

expat, just butting in to say thank god you guys got housed! We were going through a similar experience at the same time (think I was under a different username) and often have thought of you and wondered if you got housed. Hope the move goes well

OP - I went through the council process here in the SE recently (private landlord served notice due to us claiming benefits) so can also help if you need any info.

TOTALLY AGREE WITH FLUFFLES ,IT ISN'T YOUR JOB TO SHOW THEM ROUND BUT WHY SABOTAGE/ I JOINED MUMSNET TODAY AND AM HORRIFIED AT SOME OF THE THINGS OTHER WOMEN SAY HOW CAN YOU BE SO PUERILE AND BITCHY. MAYBE THE LANDLORD HAS TO SELL BUT IF YOU OWNED THE FLAT WOULD YOU LIKE SOMEONE TO SABOTAGE A VIEWING IN THIS WAY? YOU ARE NOT OBLIGED TO SHOW VIEWERS BUT YOU DO HAVE TO ALLOW ACCESS AND NOT BEHAVE UNREASONABL.Y IAM GLAD I AM NOT A LAND LORD RENTING TO VALHALA AND CRACKFOX . YOU ARE JUST BITCHES THERE WILL BE A LOT OF BAD KARMA COMING YOUR WAY I GUESS!!

Users can you turn your caps lok off please as this is known as shouting online.

Actually she doesn't ahve to allow it in certain circumstances

Re: sabotage -- I think it's a breach of your tenancy agreement and you could lose your deposit.

Usually there's a clause that in the last month/two months a. people have to be allowed to view and b. you have to maintain a reasonable condition.

when we last rented, the agreement said that we had to allow viewings in the last 30 days of the tenancy.

i never allowed anyone without the agent being present- i was on my own with 2 small children- would you open your door and invite a stranger in normally?

i also made no extra effort to tidy etc- largely just ignored the people who came to look round and didn't answer any questions- more i;m sorry i;m busy looking after the kids.

tough situation all round- really hope it gets much better for you soon.

No, YANBU. It is not your job to show prospective buyers around, that's what the agents are paid for.

This happened to us in our last property (although it was our choice to move). The agents expected us to show people round, and they also felt it was ok to call & give me less than an hours notice of a viewing, when I was first time Mum with a very young baby, so it was not always convenient as baby was either asleep, or the place was a tip. They didn't like it when I said no either.

In the end I called my landlord direct who was brilliant. He told me that I didn't even have to agree to let people view, I could have made him wait to let people view until I had moved out. He called the agent & asked them to do their job properly !!

Is there any way you could speak to your landlord yourself ??

YANBU to be cross with the agents, but you would be being very unreasonable to trash the place on purpose...and you'd have to live with the mess/smell?

I've had a shocking time with renting, have had this 3 times.
I was lucky to get any notice at all, or they'd tell me an hour before, and act like I was being unreasonable to refuse. Once got surprised in my hallway in a tiny towel on a saturday morning - I think that's a bollocking none of them are likely to forget. Hell hath no fury like a semi naked tenant...

Won't there be something in the contract you signed about allowing access to potential buyers?

I agree you shouldn't have to do any showing around though - and any estate agent worth their salt wouldn't ask you, as a tenant who doesn't want to move, is unlikely to give a positive sales pitch!

I really wouldn't consider trashing the place in any way at all. You know you're going to have to move - the landlord will just give you notice anyway if you're being obstructive about viewings, and if you trash the place, you'll be looking at possible criminal charges, and some hefty compensation as well as trying to find a new home that'll take you on benefits.

OK, YANBU to refuse viewings until notice has been given and in accordance with your agreement. Sabotaging viewings won't help obviously if you have been served notice already.

There is something called the 'deposit guarantee scheme' in some areas and all you need is to be imminently homeless and have no savings. The council will tell you which letting agents accept the scheme and you will have to identify a flat and get the first month's rent together, then save the deposit over time. It takes time though so you need to make an appointment on the first available day after the section 21 is served. You can then try that route as well as applying for LA housing, although if you are accepted for the deposit scheme you will not likely get LA housing, but that's not necessarily a bad thing.

I woke up once with a terrible hangover to hear the key in my lock (tiny studio flat) I headed them off at the pass and needless to say didn't let them in. They claimed they had left me a message but no message was left. Idiots.