Unlawful entry?

[Bringonthegin]

Hello,
A mum at our school is having a nightmare & I've promised to try to find some help for her.
She currently rents a flat from a private landlord, and one of the many issues she's having is that the LL keeps letting herself into the flat unannounced, without notice or invitation. There is no reason for her to do this other than sheer nosiness & (I think) intimidation: the mum is a foreign national, with a 6yo DD, she works & pays her bills on time, the flats' immaculate etc. The question is: can the LL legally do this? I haven't rented for 20 years so have no idea what current legislation is. If so, what can be done? She's making the mum's life a misery (she's already receiving counselling for other matters, so is under a lot of stress anyway). Moving would be incredibly hard, as she's on HB (no-one seems to take it round here), rents are v high (£900++) for a tiny 2 bed, and her DD needs obviously to stay in school. Any advice please, wise ones? Thanks.

Tell her to check her contract. There should be a clause in there stating that the LL/ property manager is not to enter premises without prior warning (minimum 24 hours) or explicit invite. Bring it to the LLs attention in writing (email?). Hopefully the LL will take the hint and leave it at that.

To answer your question I'm almost positive that it is illegal for LL to just walk in whenever she feels like it. But to be honest if it was me I would look at moving if possible when her lease is up. What a nightmare! Bless you for helping her, think we all need a friend like you. Hope this helps a bit.

Tenants have the right to "quiet enjoyment" of their homes, no matter what any contract, LL or agent says. A LL dropping in willy-nilly is a breach of that right!

Have a look at www.shelter.org.uk for fact sheets on tenant vs LL rights and responsibilities.

The tenant should change the lock barrels and keep the old ones to put back at the end of the tenancy. The LL has no right to enter.

Landlords have to give 24 hours notice of a visit and even that needs to be reasonable, i.e. Not just for a nosy.

No - a LL only has the right to enter in an emergency. The tenant's right to the quiet enjoyment of the property trumps anything else re: LL access in a tenancy agreement.