@Dhalandchips
Hi, and thanks for this. I a nutshell, way is the landlord allowed to do when inspecting the property, and how often are they allowed to come? The back story... (long!) . I'm renting privately. The estate agent is used as a tenant finder by my Landlady, and she manages the property herself. She is so very peculiar. She wanted to make an addendum to the tenancy agreement allowing for monthly inspections but I never actually signed it. However, I thought I'd humour her and have agreed to her coming the 5 times she has requested since December 2018 when I moved in.
I've not had much bother from her but her visit in July was bizarre. She looked in my (fairly) clean oven and told me she wanted it cleaning. ("it makes it easier for me") Then went into the back garden and started tearing up plants shouting that they're weeds THEY'RE WEEDS!! I'm no percy thrower but I just saw them as pretty purple flowers that the bees love, so I've asked my gardener to work around them. I was in tears as she wantonly destroyed the worked the gardener had done. I told her to stop! "You're distressing me"!
After she left, I called the estate agent and cried down the phone at her! She said "that's just her, don't take it personally". It took me some time to calm down.
On Tuesday last week, LL messaged to say that she wanted to come on Thursday teatime to which I agreed. I was dreading it and feeIing stressed. I have children and I was doing normal Thursday teatime things. She came, had a look round and told me
the electrics needed fixing and the guys will be coming next week. Phew, I breathed a sigh of relief, she was calm and was fairly unobtrusive. Then I get an email telling me she wanted to come again in three weeks' time, when there are 'fewer people in the house', 'when it's less hectic'!!
What do you think she's actually looking for? I'm starting to feel harassed! Can I tell her not to come? I can't relax in my own home. Of cotse she holds all the cards, she can give me two months notice whenever she chooses, which will disrupt my family further. Property around here is notoriously expensive and difficult to find.
There is a long, fairly outing backstory but I really don't want to move again!
Where do I stand telling her to leave us alone? (the house is fine BTW! I'm looking after it!)
Hi @Dhalandchips,
Thank you for letting us know about your situation.
I’m sorry to hear about your landlord’s behaviour and how it has distressed you, and I can appreciate why you’re seeking clarification on what may or may not be considered reasonable.
It’s difficult to suggest a motive for your landlord’s actions and how frequently she wishes to inspect the property. Perhaps she has had bad experiences with tenants in the past, or possibly she is finding it difficult to accept that someone else is responsible for the day-to-day running property. Whatever the case is, there isn’t anything in law that would require your landlord to act like this.
Some of your rights will depend on your tenancy type. I’m assuming you have an assured shorthold tenancy, as this is the most common form of tenancy in the private sector when the landlord and tenant don’t live in the same property. If you believe you have a different tenancy type, please let me know in case it changes the advice.
Housing law doesn’t clearly specify what a landlord can or cannot do when it comes to inspections unless they’re directly relating to disrepair issues. In fact, your landlord does not have a right of access for purposes other than dealing with disrepair unless it’s something you’ve agreed on, and in this case much of what the landlord can or cannot do comes from your individual arrangement, usually outlined in your contract. It can also be agreed verbally between the parties.
It’s fairly common for landlords to request regular inspections, but usually these are at something like 6-month or yearly intervals rather than every month. You can agree something more frequent if you’re willing to do so, but it’s usually worth establishing the purpose of visits and what they will involve in advance if possible.
Regardless of what you arrange, your landlord should respect your right to treat the property as your home. All tenants have the right to live in their accommodation without being disturbed. They should be allowed to live there in peace without the landlord unnecessarily interfering with their day-to-day use of the property. This is known as the 'right of quiet enjoyment' and is an implied obligation, meaning that tenants have this right even if it's not in their contracts.
The right of quiet enjoyment can be open to some interpretation, and may also be influenced by personal preference. However, if you’re starting to feel harassed or worried that the landlord may have issues with how you’re maintaining the property even if you’re acting responsibly, it’s possible that you are not being allowed your right of quiet enjoyment.
As you’ve mentioned, situations like this may be difficult to resolve since assured shorthold tenants have relatively limited rights. They can usually be evicted quite easily even if they haven't done anything wrong using a section 21, which gives 2 months’ notice. For this reason it's often a good idea to try to keep things amicable, especially if you want to continue living there.
However, it’s worth bearing in mind that if you arranged a fixed-term tenancy, the landlord cannot use a section 21 to evict you until the end of the fixed term, unless there’s a ‘break clause’ in the agreement that would allow this. Additionally, the eviction process can take several months, and after any written notice expires the landlord must apply to court and follow the correct process.
At this point, it's worth continuing to try to resolve matters informally. The landlord may not be aware of how her actions are affecting you, and explaining that you feel her behaviour is somewhat intrusive, may help. Hopefully you’ll be able to come to an arrangement that works better for you.
If you feel it’s necessary, you could remind the landlord of your right of quiet enjoyment and that her actions could be impacting on this. You could also remind her that you didn’t sign the addendum to the contract allowing monthly inspections, and that allowing her into your home with greater frequency than what is mentioned in your contract is at your discretion.
It may be worth trying to get an impartial third party to informally mediate for you. The agency may be willing or able to do this, or if not if you have any mutual friends or acquaintances they might be able to help.
If these routes fail, you could contact your local council to see if they can help. Many councils have a tenancy relations officer (TRO) who can deal with issues arising between private landlords and tenants. A TRO may help mediate between both parties or help explain a tenant's rights to a landlord, either over the phone or in writing.
Alternatively, there are also professional mediation services you could try. These are likely to cost money, but may be an option if you’re unable to come to an arrangement by other means. You can find out more, and search for mediation services in your area, using the Civil Mediation Council website, here: civilmediation.org/for-the-public/about-mediation/
Hopefully these steps will be enough to resolve matters. However, if you do need any further advice about this, particularly if you are worried that your landlord may consider eviction, please do get back in touch.
Thanks again for your enquiry, and very best wishes to you and your family.
Kind regards,
Andy @ Shelter
Contact Shelter's housing experts online, by telephone, in person or on social media: england.shelter.org.uk/get_help