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Original poster

Landlord access

14 replies

nifaitniafaire · 23/07/2014 14:25

Can my landlord come into my (gated) walled garden as he pleases?

Mine regularly does so and he's even taken it upon himself to brush the place when he knew I was out (not that the place is unkept at all) and he also trimmed all my potted plants when I was in holiday.

It is me or this is not normal?

OP posts:

ShesAStar · 23/07/2014 16:54

I think this is outrageous, he cannot just enter whenever he likes, he must give you notice. I am a landlord and would never do this, he clearly doesn't have enough respect for the fact it is your home.

If I was you I would tell the letting agency and that way you won't have to broach the subject yourself.

mousmous · 23/07/2014 16:57

no he shouldn't.
(assuming you are renting the whole property and have not something about shared garden in contract)

I would write him/her politely about your 'quiet right of enjoyment'.
have a look at shelter.

littlemonkeyface · 23/07/2014 17:10

Have been both tenant and landlord myself and I find this TOTALLY unacceptable.

If you are renting through an agent, complain.

If not, politely ask landlord to respect your privacy as you would otherwise need to consider moving if the situation does not change (and this is what I would personally do as the lack of privacy would make me feel very uncomfortable).

specialsubject · 23/07/2014 18:24

for the 'n'th time...

his house, your home. It is illegal for landlords to enter a tenant's property without prior permission and reasonable notice except in emergency.

if you rent the garden from him, that will be included.

Original poster

nifaitniafaire · 23/07/2014 19:29

Thanks everyone.

When we first moved in we went through an agency but we then realised he was managing the property. He lives next door and is completely OCD, he brushes the street and sometimes I find him brushing my front door in the morning when I'm about to set off for the school run.

He always gives us 24h notice to go inside the house, usually just, so he knows he can't just turn up, however with the garden he seems to treat it differently.

It's very much our garden (access via our drive way or kitchen) and he has his garden. When he cut the plants he was allowed to be in the garden to paint the shed but not to cut the plants I had brought and grown. Also, it's not like it was a jungle, we're talking sunflowers, artichokes and raspberry bushes.

Last week I was hanging the wash and he turned up from the drive. He obviously didn't realise I was in, I asked him in a friendly way what he was doing here (I've always tried to be friendly as I'm trying to get as much as possible of my deposit) and he said a cat had puked on our driveway so he wanted to get some water to clean it. Seems innocent and nice but it's our drive way! Why should he be around to inspect it every day? Why can't we clean it ourselves and why does he have to go in our garden to get the water?

I wish I hadn't been so bloody obliging throughout the years and that I had kept a written records of everything (we often sort things out verbally since he lives next door). I just know he will be a nightmare when we go so having a written record of all those things may have helped.

OP posts:

mousmous · 23/07/2014 19:42

24 hour notice is not enough btw.
you also need to consent and you can just say no if it isn't convenient.

MillyMollyMama · 23/07/2014 19:44

I would want to know if he has put your deposit into an approved scheme. I would also be looking to move. I would think his behaviour will get worse, not better and as there is no agency, you have no-one to complain to. He probably just used the agency to advertise the property. I am a landlord and I would not do any of these things!

specialsubject · 23/07/2014 20:57

you do not have to be friendly to get your deposit back. Please confirm that it is in an approved scheme.

if it isn't, he is breaking the law. If it is, you will get it all back unless you have caused damage and he has shown that you have. The scheme is biased to the tenant (as it should be) and is there for your protection.

BTW his request for access is just that. If it isn't convenient you can refuse.

Original poster

nifaitniafaire · 24/07/2014 18:49

Yes, the deposit is in a safe place thank god.

I was all geared up to send him an email yesterday asking him not to come into our garden as he wishes anymore but then got cold feet, as it daunted on me that he might go mad and tell us to move out. Now I don't particularly want to stay and in fact we have found a place to buy but we can't move in before mid October so I don't want to be in a situation where we're homeless and having to store all our stuff as school starts again. I know it wouldn't be legal for him to do that but I don't put it past him and technically he can serve notice on us at any time. Such a bully.

I'm all prepared to go to arbitration when we move. At our last tenancy report, bearing in mind the place was spotless apart from a few little scuffs here and there, he told us that the property had to be clean and tidy at all times without any damages and that failure to do so would result in part or all the deposit to be retained or worse the tenancy to end. You'd think we were slobs that had wrecked his house!!!

OP posts:

MillyMollyMama · 24/07/2014 19:14

What does your tenanancy agreement actually say? I would have moved way before this. You are being treated unfairly and he must stick to the tenancy agreement. What is the notice period? It is not arbitrary! 2 months is the usual period.

MillyMollyMama · 24/07/2014 19:19

How, exactly is he going to turf you out? Give the required notice when you are ready to do so. It takes months for a landlord to get rid of a tenant so just do not put up with his comments. Do you have an agreed condition survey? He has to accept fair wear and tear but not damage. Are you certain your deposit is held through an approved scheme?

specialsubject · 24/07/2014 20:02

of course he can't turf you out. Minimum notice is 2 months landlord to tenant, even if you have no contract. That is English law.

the notice has to terminate on the day the rent is normally paid. Same for you, only yours to him is only 1 month.

even if you stop paying rent or wreck the place (not suggesting you are planning this) he has to go through the courts to get you out. You are protected, despite the shrieks of the landlord haters who haven't yet spotted this thread. And so you should be.

security of deposit is nothing to do with god. It is to do with one of the three approved schemes. Is it in one of those?

he's talking cobblers about retention of the deposit, the scheme will laugh in his face. If the deposit isn't in a scheme, you can sue him for 3 x its value.

Original poster

nifaitniafaire · 25/07/2014 18:42

Thanks everyone. I've had visitors, hence why I disappeared.

I'm going to check the lease but I'm pretty sure that there's one month notice for each party now - I'll double check though. I know he can't throw us out but he's devious so couldn't he just serve notice on us without "throwing us out"?

OP posts:

specialsubject · 25/07/2014 19:16

if you have a tenancy agreement that is in force, then he can do what it allows and so can you. So if it allows notice to be served , then yes he can do it. (many tenancies specify a fixed period, e.g. a year, and no notice can be served before that unless there is a breach) That's not devious, that's the contract you signed and how tenancies work.

check with Shelter who know these things, but I don't think his notice to you can be any less than two months, less than that is an unenforceable contact term. You said you want to leave in mid October, so that is under 3 months from now anyway.

again not suggesting you would do this, but if you don't leave at the end of the notice, he has to go through the proper channels to get you evicted, which takes about four months and costs a lot.

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