Access to rented property

[AveryJessup]

We live abroad and rent out a house in the UK. Recently we've been contacted by the letting agent about a repair issue that is not urgent but could become worse if not seen to. We have had a repairman come out to the property twice and he has done some work but also suggested further work that is not obligatory in his eyes but could help to ensure no further damage occurs. There is also another repair issue that we have asked the letting agent to assess but they have still to come back with a quote for us.

The letting agents have not been very helpful in giving us a sense of the severity of the issue so we thought since we will be in the UK for a visit soon it would be good to go and have a look ourselves to see what the problem is. We asked the letting agent if they could facilitate this. Tenants have said no as they are away on the weekend we are there and don't want us accessing the property when they're not there.

We are hardly ever in the UK, once a year at most, so this seemed like a good chance to assess the house and repairs situation. Equally I don't want to push this if it is unreasonable of us. I just do remember from renting myself that access was expected as long as notice was given and it was for a genuine reason, not harassment or intrusion. What's the general view on this?

You own the house. You have every right to have access to it. I thought 48 hours notice was what tenants needed - although I am happy to be corrected on this.

24 hours notice - I would have thought this was a reasonable request

I don't think you're allowed to access the property at all unless they agree to it regardless of the length of notice.

Yeah I didn't think you could even if enough notice has been given.

I get it's frustrating but I also understand from their point of view.

Legally you can't enter without their permission, no matter how much notice (the contract might say different but this doesn't trump the law).

If I were you I would write yourself to the tenants to explain the situation. If you show you are sensitive to their feelings it might go a long way. But it is their home and if they say no, then you can't enforce it.

OK, thanks for the feedback. That's what I wasn't sure of, ItMustBe, whether we have the legal right to access the property without their permission or not. Anything I can find online via Shelter etc is vague. It encourages tenants to allow access and implies the law requires them to allow access but is vague on the details.

I guess it is a question of courtesy so the landlord is not pushing for access inconveniently and tenant at the same time tries to be as helpful as they can be to allow access for repairs.

It annoys me though that I am being hassled by the letting agent about repairs and yet not being given access to the property to assess the need for those repairs when I ask. It's as if they expect me to just fork over the cash without question. Kind of cementing in my mind that we should just sell to be rid of all this hassle!

Again, legally you can't enter with their refusal regardless of how much notice you've given. Except in the event of an emergency. As another poster said, it doesn't matter if it's in the contract, you still can't as that part of the contact is invalid. Hopefully if you explain the context they will be accommodating.

Hmm... now I'm confused because this website here says that tenants have a responsibility to allow access to the property to inspect it or for repairs as long as proper notice is given. Is this incorrect, ItMustBe?

Link

"Your responsibilities
You must give your landlord access to the property to inspect it or carry out repairs. Your landlord has to give you at least 24 hours’ notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it’s an emergency and they need immediate access."

Honestly try explaining it to them directly. Ime agents aren't very good at getting tenants on side (understatement of the year...).

Well, the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment is protected by law, and since they have explicitly refused permission, I think you would be treading on very dodgy ground indeed to go in anyway.

In our contract it says landlord must give at least 24 hours notice to access the property. Tbh he gives usually more and it's often stuff he wants to do to the garden or maintenance etc.
I'm pretty sure you can insist? It's your house.

That was my understanding of things when I rented too, rebecca. Wish I'd been more bolshy now with letting agents and landlords when I rented

Where did I say I would enter the property anyway without their permission, ItMustBe? I doubt the letting agents would let me do that if it wasn't legal anyway so not sure why you're suggesting I plan to do that.

You cant enter without permission regardless of what upur contract says. Tenants do not have to permit access.

it's not vague. You CANNOT go in without their permission unless an emergency. However much notice you give.

as they are away on the weekend concerned, and don't want you there without them, you can't go in.

you need to kick your agent, who you are paying, to tell you what you need to know. If they are useless (there are lot of hair-flickers in letting agencies), change to one that is less so.

Why not ask your agent or tenant to photograph the areas that they say need repaired then you can see without having to be given access.

You didn't, I was just running over the possible scenarios. Not accusing you of anything.

As a tenant I wouldn't want an inspection when I wasn't there.

How long are you actually in the UK for?

Can you say what the repair issue is to give us more of an idea?

Our current tenants are a bit of a PITA. They don't want anyone to enter the property without them being present and initially said this would have to be outside of normal business hours (FFS!).

So our agent visited during the evening to do a rental inspection.....

OTOH they are not looking after the garden properly (their responsibility according to the contract so they either have to do it or pay via deposit on leaving to have the garden returned to its original state). I have offered to send in a gardener and suddenly tenant can be available 2 days next week and pretty much whenever after that for the work to be done - funny that ;) I am hoping there is nothing I want doing that they won't facilitate but tbh if they are disruptive over appropriate visiting then we won't renew their contract.

We in turn are currently renting our home and I have facilitated a number of visits by various tradespeople. I am generally available as a SAHM but when I haven't been I am more than happy for the agent to be here and let the relevant person in / supervise while they are here. I kind of think that's a benefit of renting - if I was living in my own house I would have to rearrange my life if I wanted people in my house to be supervised; there aren't a plethora of tradespeople who will realistically work out of normal business hours

Mutley77 - well we must be PITA tenants as well then as we won't allow anyone to enter our home while we are not there (and I make them take their shoes off when I do allow them in)

Gintonoca

Gintonica that's all very well if you can be there to facilitate visits during working hours but would you really expect all working people to come and work at your home evenings or weekends? Personally I don't see how that's reasonable.

Also I personally don't ask tradespeople to remove shoes whether I'm in an owned or rented property as I am worried about safety with tools, barefoot...