Absolutely correct Colin, in regards to trust.
Also, if the tenants valuables goes missing whilst the contractors are in the property and the tenant isn’t there, how does this impact any insurance claim the tenant may try to make for the ‘stolen’ items?
And conversely, how do landlords know that if their contractors are on site, without the tenant present, that the tenant won’t make any claims that the contractors are a 'bunch of thieves’and produce a list of allegedly ‘stolen’ items?
Jacqueline8, Everyone has been at pains to say that wherever possible a tenants right to be present should be respected and dates adjusted accordingly and I, and I’m sure other good landlords do this routinely. However, that’s not what was asked. The tenant wanted to know the law in this situation and whether he had the scope to refuse.
Well excuse me for my total lack of understanding!
Understanding such things as a tenant is important. A landlord who has to seek a court injunction because a tenant has refused access will inevitably ask the court to award his legal costs to the tenant.
This is happening a lot at the moment as tenants are refusing access for EICR inspections due to Covid. The Government has made it clear that this will not be considered a reasonable excuse. Landlords and tenants should understand the legal position on this or they are likely to get into hot water.
Double check with a lawyer but my understanding is that tenants can change the locks. It would solve the issue.
There is also a limit to how much maintenance is reasonable. Frankly I’ve never had to let people into my property more than once or twice a year. It sounds like this is happening too frequently.
I would suggest making an appointment with a lawyer about your rights and how best to move forward right now.
@David122 - Make sure you undetstand that a lease does not override a tenant’s statutory rights. Signing a lease that says “xyz” won’t hold up in court if it’s a violation.
Not feeling secure in your home because if you go on a reasonable vacation, your home could be intruded on without your knowledge or consent? That won’t look good in court.
I have tenants and they know my contractors as well as me as their landlady.
Some of my tenant lived with me for 2-4 years and they never had any problems to let the contractors to come and do the work if any work needed for regular electric check.
I have one tenant who has been there for 9 years and not always stayed at home when electrician came to do regular check up every or for any other reason.
I agree with Colin the trust is important and when private landlords have been renting properties for many years and they have trustworthy contractors to do the work. I also would say try to respect others too who have been in trade for a long time and giving a regular service and work with their landlords.
Tenants can of course change the locks, although it is recommended that they keep the old lock and change it back at the end. If this action restricts the landlords right to inspect and maintain then they will be in breach of contract and the legislation. I think you are also confusing maintenance with improvement Ryan42. If a property needs maintenance then neither a landlord nor a tenant can simply leave it no matter how much has already been done. It would place the landlord in breach of their repairing obligations and potentially in breach of HHSRS/Fitness for Human Habitation. Large number of section 8 possession cases also fail because of disrepair due to landlords not keeping up with maintenance.
I think I’ve also been very clear about a tenants statutory rights Ryan and as repair clauses have been around for many years in most tenancy agreements, I think we can safety say that they are not unfair contract clauses. Its probably a different situation for clauses giving landlords access rights for viewings, mortgage surveys or other reasons. These probably are unenforceable if the landlord seeks to ignore a tenants right to refuse access.
Tenants going on vacation does not alter the statutory rights of their landlord and while I think everyone here accepts that inspections should always take account of the tenants circumstances, that is a very different thing to advising tenants to refuse because they don’t think its reasonable. This is a common cause of s21 notices for tenants. Larger company landlords often have repairs schedules that its difficult to change or have time limits on when work must be done, (eg gas safety checks) and while those of us who plan further in advance and involve our tenants more may deride their poor customer service, the fact remains that this is how many of them operate and they have a legal right to do so. Tenants beware!
Wow what a topic!!!
So to be clear, if you are unable to be there for any works or permission, you have been served advanced notice of min 24 hours , if it is inconvenient (rather than just being awkward) reschedule, you have right to do so.
If you want to feel more secure, add some cameras to the property whilst away. you must by law display you have cameras/cctv working and according to the legislative requirements. You could also view your home during any works. Alternatively if possible, change your plans and be there, or arrange for a representative to be there on your behalf or lastly rent elsewhere where you feel more comfortable.
If however, you become a ‘barrier to maintenance or emergency work’ relationships will suffer and you could be in breach of your AST. You cannot claim harassment in one hand non compliance to yor AST in the other.
Also remember if any damage, repair, leak is not reported and allowed to be fixed, you - under most AST’s will be responsible for the resulting damage beyond when the repair could have been initially done
Changing of locks - read your AST, many state you cannot without advanced permission.
So lots of options for a harmonious tenancy - it’s up to you to chose which one you wish to use at different times.
One day if you are ever a landlord , perhaps you’ll view it differently from your experiences
this person will never be a landlord. and have a different view. Trolls do not change their spots. No more needs to be said by me on this subject . I am off for my fish and chips!!
Within reason.
If a landlord tried to say they had to do daily repairs, the court would come down on them.
Landlords are not allowed to use clauses to interfere with reasonable privacy and enjoyment of the property.
I’ve never had a landlord have to either come in or do maintenance more than once a year unless we requested it. (In which case, I do agree the onus is on the tenant to facilitate it in a timely manner and disclose scheduling issues) I’ve rented from large companies (my preference) to private landlords to letting agent managed properties.
None of these have ever caused maintenance to be an issue that interfered with my ability to live comfortably.
The op makes it sound like this is an ongoing and extensive issue that is causing distress.
That is not reasonable and is absolutely actionable under the law.
I would run a large rental firm that handled thousands of tenancies. I’m considering it.
You couldn’t pay me enough to take on the hassle of being a private landlord who directly manages their own properties. The hassle and headache and risk isn’t worth it.
suppose it depends on your disposition. I am not a young man but a year ago bought my first industrial unit. Shortly I plan to move home and am looking for another smallholding, I love a new venture , a new challenge and will work till I drop. Tenants are not a hassle for me …Its all ok ,I will never hand over to an agent
Its always open to a tenant to bring a harassment case against a landlord who is abusing their access rights. I think the recommended frequency of inspections in most properties is quarterly, although it may depend on the property. Clearly any inspection regime requiring more than monthly visits would be hard for a landlord to justify and tenants would be within their rights to question it.
A basic problem is that when inexperienced landlords grant a tenancy, they often still regard the property as theirs to do as they wish. This is particularly the case with properties that were their former home. It is of course not theirs for the duration of the tenancy, although they still have some obligations, particularly if they are a leaseholder.
A proper and regular inspection regime is vital, not only to maintain the property, but also to meet their legal obligations and ensure the validity of their insurance policies. My own inspection visits check for signs of:
For me it’s the numbers.
Most tenants are decent. A small percentage are house destroyingly awful.
If you own 100 properties, then odds are most are held by good people and the income makes up for the house destroying few. You can weather nightmare tenants more easily.
When you’ve got 1-3 properties, if one of those gets a nightmare then it’s a major financial stress.
I also have spent too much time in one to one services so I’ve got no patience for being the only go to anymore. I’m much happier having a team to delegate it out to.
24 hours is a minimum designed so landlords in a bad situation can resolve it without unnecessary delay.
It is not acceptable for a landlord to presume access to someone’s home any time they please without regard to the person’s well-being or life.
You can imagine how traumatic it could be for a woman to have a group of strange men barge in as she’s undressing for a shower because she missed the “24 hour notice” letter and the landlord let them in because he had the key.
This landlord is practicing a very shitty precedent and it is particularly disgusting that you can’t see a person’s right to feel safe in their own home as little more than a debate over the letter of the law.
In practice, the landlord’s first priority is the tenant’s home. Part of that includes regular inspections, sure, but not in a way that violates the tenant’s safety and security in their own home
I cant resist this<> I put the bolt on the door when I am going for a shower ,I dont want a group of strange women barging in
I don’t disagree with any of that. However, as I said before, what was asked by the OP was what were their legal rights to refuse. We have to be careful what we advise tenants who raise queries on the forum.
I have a three year old who keeps emptying brand new soap and lotion into the sink or toilet. He’s managed to get into everything we’ve used in the bathroom to try to keep things hidden, so now they’re kept in a closet at the other end of the hallway.
My new shower routine involves cursing and dashing wet and naked across the hallway to the closet because I’ve forgotten something! Helluva view for maintenance to get!
You are not qualified to give legal advice on this situation. Even if you are a lawyer in this field you are not HER lawyer with access to the lease or full view of the situation.
Our job here is to give general advice on how to keep tenant-landlord relationships positive for all parties, when possible, and to point people in the right direction.
I think we have all got into the shower and discovered it needs a new bar of soap, or hair shampoo( in my case hair Restorer). Usually on the cold days… I