Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Child-safe in minutes.

Meet the Other Phone.
Child-safe in minutes.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
Property/DIY

Join our Property forum for renovation, DIY, and house selling advice.

Original poster

Tenant has changed locks, gone away and left lights on.

263 replies

Brightonhome · 08/02/2017 12:59

New tenant is two months in to a six month let (to be extended after 6 months) No issues before, although he does have a weird habit of leaving all the lights on all the time (the property we let to him is visible from our house). He has a regular job, and it's his electricity bill, but I still find it a bit odd. He has been away for at least a couple of weeks now with all the lights still on. I sent him a nice text asking him if he would mind me going in and turning the lights off (concerned about overheating / electrical problem) I waited for two days with no answer. I then went over there, thinking he may be ill, to discover he has changed the locks (as is his right) but without telling me. As the owner of the property, I feel a bit uneasy about this. Don't I have the right to a set of keys? I would never enter the property without the tenant's consent, but in the case of an emergency, there is nothing I can do without keys. Not sure what to do now re lights. Am I being overly cautious and worried over nothing? I've been letting this property for six years (two different tenants in that time) with absolutely no problems whatsoever. I have always had keys.

OP posts:
HerOtherHalf · 08/02/2017 14:34

What a peach of a thread. I didn't realise that leaving your lights on or closing curtains during the day was a dead cert indicator of cannabis farming. My neighborhood must be responsible for half the UK's supply.

Anyway, cannabis is so last year for illicit indoor cultivation. I heard from a friend of a friend that the real money is in iceberg lettuce now.

Notwhatiexpected · 08/02/2017 14:35

(Second the cannabis bit because I knew folk when I was at Uni who did exactly that, in a rented loft).

Sunnyshores · 08/02/2017 14:36

OP your tenants behaviour does sound odd, not responding to your texts or calls potentially indicates a problem. It could however indicate he has gone on a foreign holiday. BUT YOU CAN NOT ENTER THE PROPERTY. If he is dodgy he will know the law inside out, you are putting your self in a whole heap of trouble.

What references have you got? Next of kin? After 3 weeks of trying to reach him (ie not a 2 week foreign holiday), I would call them and say you're concerned as he has disappeared. YOu cant be threatening, just concerned for his welfare.

Also join NLA (£100) and use their free advice line. While there, train yourself how to be a ll with their free online courses.

HirplesWithHaggis · 08/02/2017 14:36

Grin @ growing iceberg lettuce! And courgettes too, maybe?

DoItTooJulia · 08/02/2017 14:37

And this why I hated being a tenant. Landlords that have ideas about when one can leave lights on and trying to get into ones home when on holiday.

Thank god the mortgage company doesn't give a fuck which lights I leave on.

Notwhatiexpected · 08/02/2017 14:37

and tenants cannot just change locks without the consent of the property owner.

ChuffMuffin · 08/02/2017 14:38

If all the lights are on in the house and he's been away for 2 weeks, I'd assume he's gone abroad and doesn't want anyone to think no-one's home.

But I agree that a tenant changing the locks on a rental house without letting the landlord know isn't on at all. You need to have words with him about that when he gets back.

cuphat · 08/02/2017 14:38

Thank you Hirples, he is antisocial so hopefully it's just that. We can't smell anything from outside. It's very, very odd though. The windows haven't been opened once in all the years we've lived here! He's also built a flimsy fence around his back door as though he's keeping something in (or out!) but he doesn't have a dog, unless it's kept inside 24/7. The mystery continues!

ArcheryAnnie · 08/02/2017 14:40

I thought it was a pretty standard clause that if you go away leaving the property empty for more than a specified time you have to notify the landlord?

Marcipex · 08/02/2017 14:42

I thought cannabis only smelt when it flowered, or is that a myth?

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 08/02/2017 14:43

DoItTooJulia

That's exactly what I thought. I rent and go out of my way to be a good tenant and look after the property but I'd be incredibly upset if my landlord was spying on me and felt they could enter my home because they disagreed with my use of the lights.

Proudmummytodc2 · 08/02/2017 14:44

I haven't RTFT

On my last rental property (I'm in Scotland I know sometimes that can make a difference).

But my landlord was allowed to enter along as he gave me 24hr notice he was doing so.

He was allowed to enter immediately if he was concerned about anything. E.g. Electrical faults ect and I was not there to deal with them or they suspected suspicious activity.

I was not allowed to change locks and they had a set of keys to the house too.

I don't really have any useful advice but I know this was allowed on my last rental.

DixieNormas · 08/02/2017 14:44

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

tribpot · 08/02/2017 14:45

Did you live in the flat before you rented it, OP? There is a particular breed of landlord who finds it very difficult to 'let go' when renting out a former home. However, you absolutely need to - it's a business asset now. And your tenant, whilst weird, has done nothing wrong.

That is unless your tenancy agreement states he must give you a set of keys if he changes the locks. What does it actually say?

You can't turn up even if you have given him notice.

OneWithTheForce · 08/02/2017 14:48

Grin MN is hilarious sometimes.

He is on holiday. He has left the lights on to deter burglars. He'll think you're nuts and probably won't renew after 6 months. I wouldn't

gillybeanz · 08/02/2017 14:49

Maybe he's cultivated it now and taken it away to sell it Grin
I would still call the Police with your concerns.
If you are way of the mark or they think you ridiculous for suggesting it, they will tell you in no uncertain terms.

Garnethair · 08/02/2017 14:49

I worked in housing for many years. I'd be asking the police to do a welfare check. However, with regards to the lock changes, I'd have no problem with that. If there was an urgent repair needed, for example a leak, I would get the door forced.

HirplesWithHaggis · 08/02/2017 14:49

Marcipex cannabis smells throughout the growth and flowering cycle, but you're right that it gets much stronger when in flower, particularly heavily resinous varieties. And then while drying, before sale.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 08/02/2017 14:49

What you need is some snow over the next few days to see how quickly it melts off the roof. If your property is the only one where the snow melts then you have problem cannabis /iceberg lettuce factory in your loft.

OneWithTheForce · 08/02/2017 14:49

I thought it was a pretty standard clause that if you go away leaving the property empty for more than a specified time you have to notify the landlord?

Mine is 30 days. Not sure if that is a standard time frame.

Atenco · 08/02/2017 14:50

But as always on here you will get all sorts of comments automatically hating the fact that you are a landlord, because we are all evil money-grabbing bastards

Nobody has mentioned the money. What is horrible is the idea of someone entering my home when I am not there and then feeling they have a right to tell how to live there.

myfavouritecolourispurple · 08/02/2017 14:51

I think it's reasonable to go and check on a tenant if they leave their lights on 24 hours a day and you've not heard from them when contacting them.

As for trying the key in the lock, if you went round and saw that the lock looked different, you would have to have an enormous lack of curiosity not to try your key in the lock, to see if it has, in fact, been changed.

I think it's better to use a key in a door than break it down.

What possible emergency could leaving a light on cause?

Electrical problem? And yes, they can happen even if you've had your wiring checked. Lights are not supposed to be on 24 hours a day. I routinely switch off a lot of things when I go away, unplug plugs. If something doesn't have to be on while I am away, it does not stay on. My wiring has been checked and is safe as far as I know but things can change. It's only sensible to unplug things. As for burglars, well you usually have the lights on a timer, leaving all the lights in all the rooms on 24 hours a day is generally a bit of a giveaway that you're not there. Lights go on and off in different rooms when you are home.

I don't think the OP has been unreasonable.

loobyloo1234 · 08/02/2017 14:54

I agree with all PP saying you can't and should not be trying to enter

BUT - what if he is ill? Or dead Confused MN is obviously making me paranoid

TheHodgeoftheHedge · 08/02/2017 14:55

But how do you know they haven't been there for weeks, unless you've literally been spying on them 24 hours a day?!

OneWithTheForce · 08/02/2017 14:55

As for trying the key in the lock, if you went round and saw that the lock looked different, you would have to have an enormous lack of curiosity not to try your key in the lock, to see if it has, in fact, been changed.

It really all boils down to what OP would have done if her key had worked. Locked the door again and gone home? It's not the impression I am getting from her TBH which is worrying.