I was just looking for some advice regarding an email I had been sent by the landlord today. To add some backstory we’ve been having issues with the landlord for some months now, the property is in disrepair and he has been issued with an improvement notice. We’ve also had to log incidents with police and he was given a warning due to the harassment and threats towards us. I have no problem with him coming to the house to complete work but the last time he came for an “inspection” he came in pointing a phone in my partners face telling him he was recording and tried his best to cause an argument. I’ve included the email below but wanted to know if i have any rights in regards to him filming? Can I refuse? I’m happy for the tiler to attend to complete the work but would rather the landlord not attend as it’s also having negative impact on our mental health. The furniture mention also belongs to the landlord who will definitely try to blame us for any issues if we move it. Any advice appreciated thank you
Email
I’m just letting you no I have a tiler going to the house on Sunday 10th August about 9 am to sort out tiles in living room so all furniture needs moved out before he gets there as this is the only available day he has if not it will put it back at least a month
I will meet him there and as I’ve said I will be videoing all so please let your partner no
Also please keep all pets away as this may result in the tiler walking off the job as he may be allergic to animals so all appropriate safety precautions must be in place
I’m not an expert on this because I’m a nice LL, but I would suspect that your right of “quiet enjoyment” does not allow for him to video you in your own property.
Others will no doubt let you know if I’m correct.
However, if you refuse him videoing, it may be that he takes it badly and therefore cancels the work you want doing. If you’re not going to be in the room while the work is done anyway then it seems pointless to argue for him not to video a tiler putting tiles in an empty living room.
Edited to add that you could also ask him if it’s OK to video him and see how he responds to that.
You can refuse for him to video, as it infringes upon your right o ‘quiet enjoyment ‘, but as above, what would be the point? Your relationship has obviously broken down, what is the point in making it worse? The landlord is prepared to carry out the work, so meet him halfway. He might want to video to prove that the work has been done properly or to prove that he hasn’t harassed you. It’s all too easy for a landlord to be accused of harassment, so if you afford him his request, your request is also going to be fulfilled. If the videoing bothers you, simply don’t remain in the room. As long as he keeps the videoing in the room where the work is being carried out, I really can’t see the problem.
Take photos of the furniture before and after you move it- simple.
Once that notice has been removed I’d be expecting a Section 21 off him.
Thank you, I wouldn’t mind him videoing but the previous time he did this I also found out that he had sent the video to several of his family members (No idea for what purpose) I obviously have personal things in the house such as pictures of my daughter so this was a concern.
He has 100% been harassing us, we’ve had drunken abusive calls as late as 11:30pm. We’ve had threats of violence against us and he has had an official police warning over it. I’m happy to be in another room while the work is completed but the last time he videoed he followed us around the property to tell us about rent increases and tried to blame us for damages to the property. For more context when moving into the property we couldn’t even lock front or back doors, radiators not attached to the walls, exposes pipes and electrics and even a live wire exposed in the garden. I’ll definitely take photos before and after, thank you. We’ve asked him to follow the route of a section 21 for months now after receiving letter stating if we don’t agree to a rent increase we have two months to leave but he still hasn’t provided us with this.
maybe because he’s never issued one and he knows that if he attempts to, it won’t be valid because he’s not followed all the correct procedures. Do you need a S21 to be issued so that you can get social housing?
Yes that’s correct, we’re on property pool and have involvement from housing solutions. He hasn’t followed any of the correct procedures since moving in. There was also no gas safety certificate when moving in and no smoke alarms.
Just so you can see some of the issues we’ve had. He’s tried to claim the pipes were boxed in which they weren’t luckily I’ve had photos to prove this. So you can see why I’m quite anxious over his visits, thank you for all your advice though. At this point if we were in a position to rent privately we would but unfortunately we’re having to rely on property pool.
As the LL hasn’t followed procedures, he’s never going to issue a S21 unless he knows why you need it and is willing to just give you a bit of paper that will make it easier for you to move on. But if he’s refused even though he knows you need it, then he’s never going to give you one and is probably harassing you simply so that you will leave. What have your housing association said when you told them that your current LL won’t give you a S21 and is harassing you?
So I’ve sent them all the evidence of it but they haven’t responded to it directly. I was advised to report it to the police who did give him a warning. They’ve also moved us up to band B due to the improvement notice and we’ve now got a doctor’s letter of support. I don’t think he wants to pay out for the section 21. He’s got until 5th September for the notice and is pulling in favours from friends to complete small jobs and is leaving the bigger jobs like the broken window panes. This is the back door as well that’s not actually attached properly.
I hope that you haven’t put anything in writing, email, text, WhatsApp ect asking for a s21. If he were to provide any evidence to the council that you have asked him to evict you, they would be within their rights to discharge any duty they have to house you, as they would consider that you had made yourself intentionally homeless.
No we haven’t asked him for this. We’ve stated that if he would like us to leave the property then he needs to follow the correct procedures. I’ll be mindful of this though, thank you.
Same situation more or less. You don’t have to personally let him in, but you can give access to contractors or neutral third party. I was advised by Shelter and union. Protect your mental health and safety.
