Landlord’s Right Of Entry

I’m always saying it, and I’ll say it again, “tenants have way too many rights” And I’m not just saying that because I’m a landlord. I’m going through the whole ‘evicting tenant’ process and the fact a landlord has to go through a struggle to kick out a non-paying bitch of a tenant is ridiculous.

I want to go into my property and check that it’s in acceptable condition because a soon-to-be-evicted tenant is like a pit-bull terrier after it’s been kicked in the face- angry, messy and dangerous. There’s no telling what my tenant will do to my baby (my property) in attempt to gain her revenge.

A landlord cannot enter his or her property without giving at least 24 hours notice to the tenant, which the tenant must agree to. Requiring permission to enter your own property when a tenant is in breach of contract is ridiculous. Why should a non-paying tenant have laws to protect them like that? Outrageous.

It is in fact illegal for a landlord to enter his or her property without agreement from the tenant. The office of fair trading document oft356 reads as follows:

3.32 We would object to a provision giving the landlord an excessive right to enter the rented property. Under any kind of lease or tenancy, a landlord is required by common law to allow his tenants ‘exclusive possession’ and ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the premises during the tenancy. In other words, tenants must be free from unwarranted intrusion by anyone, including the landlord. Landlords are unfairly disregarding that basic obligation if they reserve a right to enter the property without giving reasonable notice or getting the tenant’s consent, except for good reason.

Irrespective of what maybe written in the agreed contract between a landlord and a tenant e.g. a clause that states the landlord is allowed to enter the property without permission; the law will ultimately overrule the clause. Not even a contract will help a landlord in court if he/she steps into their property thinking they can do so because of what is agreed in a contract.

A landlord does have the right to ‘reasonable’ access to carry out repairs for which they are responsible, but they still always need to ask for the tenant’s permission, and give at least 24 hours notice. I can agree to that. A tenant should be left in peace if they aren’t breaching any clauses in the contract. BUt, if they’re in breach of contract and aren’t paying the bills…

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