We've been renting a 3 bed semi for the past 2 years (from the estate agents). the Landlord's dad does most of the repairs. When we moved in, the garden was overgrown, carpets were well worn out with marks on them and the ceiling plaster was peeling. the estate agents said that the landlord would have this fixed before we moved in but the garden wasn't cut back for months and the roof wasn't fixed for another year.
during this period, the landlord's dad would just show up, ask to come in (we tried to be nice in the beginning and used to agree) and look at the ceiling. His son, who is in the US, would show up same way. I can tell that they keep comparing the house to what it looked like when he used to live here. At some point he showed up every fortnight!
What has now really annoyed me is that the estate agent has contacted us to say that there have been complaints about things in the garden (childrens toys, sand etc), scuff marks on the wall and that the carpet was dirty (I had asked the landlord if I could change it when I moved in because it was really worn out but covered it up with a new rug instead). We have a quarterly inspection and everything was certified ok.
I feel like they are passing judgement on my lifestyle and have no right to do so and am livid. I now know that the landlord's dad has been making excuses to come in and keep an eye in what he feels is his son's house. The owner of the estate agents came round to inspect what she said were 'grave concerns' of the landlord and seemed shocked to find that some parts were in 'showhome condition' and that others showed some wear and tear. I have two children (1 with special needs) so I expect the wear and tear to be a lot more than if they had tenants with no children. She promised to talk to the landlord and get them to stop showing up. I am starting to suspect that they want the house back in a better state than they let it.
The estate agent has asked me to prove that the house was in a worse state and was trying to dispute things like 'some marks on carpet' which was stated in the original list ("it wasn't those marks and couldn't have been those ones- they look more recent"). She started to allude to using our deposit to carry out re-decoration work which I am prepared to fight tooth and nail.
The tenancy comes to an end next month and when I said that I was going to move, the landlord promised to leave the rent unchanged for the next 12 months so we agreed to extend it. It's a lovely area and we would ideally like to stay but the landlord's dad showed up again this morning at 10am asking if he could come back later to fix the felt roof in the shed. i mumbled something about having somewhere to go nd slammed the door in his face. I am upset and feel like he's invading my space and trying to assert himself in my home. i don't trust the estate agents and need to tackle it myself. He is not the landlord and he is harassing us. He doesn't act like an arms length builder.
I really need to find a way to inform him that this is not his house and he can't come knocking at will. I'd rather refuse to sign the new tenancy and move house tbh. Can anyone please advice?