After arranging with my tenant to attend the property to carry out some external maintenance , I was horrified to find that the back door to the house had been left unlocked while the tenant had gone to work. The tenant has previously been told about this same issue.
I can’t find anything in the open rent TA about leaving the house secured but wish to make it clear that this is unacceptable practice.
Has anyone experienced this, or does anyone add this specifically to their TA about locking the house when the tenant goes out .?
I have the following clause in my TA:
5.2 The Tenant must take reasonable steps to ensure that the Property is secure whenever the Property is unoccupied.
Do you not have something similar?
Edited to add that when I find a tenant in breach or questioning some aspect of the tenancy, I write a polite email citing the relevant clause and that the consequence of ignoring that clause may put their home at risk due to a breach of the tenancy agreement.
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Thanks for the reply , nothing specific about keeping the property secure in the tenancy agreement, reference is made to an absence of more than 14 days but nothing about making sure the property is secure when tenant is absent.
I’ve never come across this before although with not visiting everyday I just take it for granted that every person locks and secures their home.!
There was a case about 10 years ago where the tenant went out , for the weekend and didn’t secure the window and the boiler was stolen and some copper.
The tenants insurance refused to pay out , so it went to court and the LLs building eventually paid out 15 months later and they went after the tenant for neglect and negligence
Yes, although the tenants belongings are in the house, I am concerned my buildings insurance will be invalidated.
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