UK Landlord Forum / Life

We have been renting a property for 6 months our lease ended last week. We have been in America for the last 3 months as my husband dad passed so we have had to sort his estate. I've been in constant contact with her and have always paid rent on time. She has now said she is selling the property and hasn't as yet given us 2 months notice but she has sent me an email giving me 24 hr notice she will be entering to inspect. She knows we are still away and I do not want her entering whilst we are not there. Can we deny access?

You can certainly try. Although only with words. It's not as if you could change the locks or anything from where you are. This will really come down to the type of Landlord you have.

As far as I know, she's breaking the law if she enters the property without your consent. However, you might want to consider that if you deny her access, she might try and get her own back in another covert way (by finding a reason not to return the deposit etc). But you are well within your rights to refuse. Check your contract to see what it says about the matter.

Quote from: jameso on February 08, 2017, 05:11:41 PM
As far as I know, she's breaking the law if she enters the property without your consent. However, you might want to consider that if you deny her access, she might try and get her own back in another covert way (by finding a reason not to return the deposit etc). But you are well within your rights to refuse. Check your contract to see what it says about the matter.

I'm not sure it matters. The tenant can refuse, but the landlord can enter the flat after 24 hours written notice is given.
I think the landlord is being an ass to do this when people are away, but I don't think any action can be taken against the landlord, if they enter the property, after giving the notice.

[/quote]

I'm not sure it matters. The tenant can refuse, but the landlord can enter the flat after 24 hours written notice is given.
I think the landlord is being an ass to do this when people are away, but I don't think any action can be taken against the landlord, if they enter the property, after giving the notice.
[/quote]

It does matter - I think legally the only way the landlord can access the property without consent is if there's a genuine emergency or the flat is in danger (gas leak etc). As far as I know the consent has to be mutual - otherwise the landlord could just enter every day if they felt like it!

Well they cant enter every day as that would affect the tenants right to "quiet enjoyment".

However, the landlord does have access to a property during reasonable times of the day for the purpose to make any repairs.
the law also mentions giving 24 hours notice.
So I feel more clarity should be placed on this.

To my understanding, a landlord can access the property for inspections, but would be formally required to give 24 hours notice if an informal request was refused.
However, trying to do this 5-6 times per week would be considered harassment. but that's not what is being asked here.

However, I refer to this article which technically means I am wrong... http://www.landlordlawblog.co.uk/2014/09/09/all-about-landlords-rights-to-go-into-their-tenants-property/

4. If the tenant gets in touch and says that he does not want the landlord to go in

Here the landlord should not enter. He should try to re-arrange the appointment. If the tenant is persistently obstructive he can:

    Write to the tenant and point out that he (i.e. the tenant) will be liable for any deterioration in the property due to the landlord being unable to carry out repairs and
    That if the tenant is injured by something damaged in the property, he will not be able to bring a claim against the landlord, as it is his fault the landlord was not able to get the damaged item repaired
    The landlord may also want to consider threatening to apply to the court for an injunction and/or serving a section 21 notice and evicting the tenant in due course


This seems a bit of a grey area to be honest, but it would be far better to wait for Hippogriff's answer as he is far more experienced than me..

Unless you have serious concerns about the landlord's honesty,and/or are  worried that you are going to be embarrassed by the state you left the place in,why not just let her inspect?

The Landlord / Tenant relationship is often a strange one, littered with little nuances that can easily offend both sides. A Landlord should be able to inspect the state of their property / their asset just like any other person or company who is renting something out should be able to... however, the asset is some other person's home. People generally don't like people going around their home. Odd, aren't they? I take the pragmatic view in nearly everything I do... or I try. I give Tenants a thorough Check-In and leave them with all documentation, plus all my properties have a URL they can go to where every manual is stored in PDF format. Then I try to leave them be. I don't conduct 6 monthly inspections or anything like that. I aim to visit, usually, once per year for the GSC and, possibly, boiler service. When I am there I do not get annoyed about the state of the property, or I try not to, because I understand that it's how the property is handed back that matters, not how the Tenant lives their life. Often it's hard, but I found it was easier with properties I'd never lived in myself (I let out 3 previous homes - although 1 was for over a decade and the others much less) and properties I've just purchased to let out. It's a minefield for Landlords but they absolutely must disengage emotion. I realise this is not wholly on-topic, but I wanted to let others benefit from my musings. I have no more experience in all this than many, that's for sure... I just try my best to do things a) by the book and b) in a timely manner. Out of all the Tenants I've had a relationship with over the years, I've only ever had 1 truly bad experience (and that was recently).

When I managed the properties myself I rarely did routine inspections.There is still one in that category,and apart from arranging appliances to be replaced/repaired I leave well alone.My agents visit every 4/6 months,and send photos.This is by no means foolproof,people get plenty of notice.Thus it happened that a small terraced house was home to up to a dozen illegal immigrants,coming and going at all hours,with a ladder up to the open bedroom windows.A neighbour contacted the council who wrote threatening me with prosecution.
I really don't think letting out a previous home of one's own is for the faint hearted,I don't think I could do that
In the case of this tenant/landlord,I think the tenant also has to be reasonable.The landlord could be in dire straits,needing to sell quickly.They have only lived there for 6 months,which is not long enough to become territorially attached to the place. It is not the landlord's fault they are overseas.Surely they could ask someone to be present  on their behalf if they are that bothered.     

Quote from: Janeth8711 on December 06, 2016, 06:58:46 PMWe have been in America for the last 3 months as my husband dad passed so we have had to sort his estate.

My AST has a clause in there that would forbid (strong word, right?) the property being unoccupied for more than 30 consecutive days. Many Insurance policies also have clauses like this in them - hence the effectively mirrored clause in the AST. Your situation appears unavoidable, but I merely note it's likely a breach of something - tenancy agreement, insurance policy (for the Landlord).