Is My Landlord Allowed To Go Through My Underwear Drawer?

Landlord Underwear

Earlier today I was reading a very serious blog post by Renter Girl. She shared a few of the distressed phrases tenants had typed into a search engine to land onto her website.

Here are some of the searched phrases:

  • “I’m afraid of my landlord.”
  • “… my landlord comes round unannounced.”
  • “My landlord threatens me.”
  • “Is my landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer.”
  • Yes. You read correctly.

    Is my landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer

    Anyone else find that fucking hilarious? The tenant actually believes there might be a possibility that the landlord is entitled to sniff through her pants.

    Fuck, that’s funny shit.

    Don’t get it twisted, it’s totally messed up for any landlord to do that, but the fact that someone thinks it might be part of the tenancy terms and/or Housing Act is just profoundly wonderful.

    Is My Landlord Entitled To Go Through My Underwear Drawer?

    Unfortunately, I don’t think my sense of humour was shared amongst Renter Girl or her fanbase, as they were all sympathising with the criticalness of the issue. To me, that one search query was like a kid farting during Sunday prayer.

    Irrespective of whether it’s fucking hilarious or not (I’m pretty certain IT IS), if I’m forced to put on my “serious” hat, I would say both parties have reason to reside on the naughty step. In my fair defence, I did *try* to make that point in the comments section of her blog post, but I don’t think I was successful. Shame.

    My point is…

    1. The tenant should have known her rights before becoming a tenant. If someone has to Google, “Is my landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer”, then they clearly don’t know their most basic of statutory rights. That’s lazy and ignorant.
    2. By the same token, the landlord should be aware of his tenant’s rights. Again, lazy and ignorant. Moreover, and above all, the landlord shouldn’t be such a creepy parasite.

    Locking horns with Renter Girl

    Unfortunately, Renter Girl was adamant that the tenant is never at fault in that situation, only the landlord and/or letting agent!

    I swear, this classic battle between Landlord Vs Tenant which you’re about to witness wasn’t intentional, it was out of my hands, and I believe God wanted it this way! This is how the conversation went:

    If anything, this just highlights how blindly people will sign contracts (Tenancy Agreements), without actually knowing their rights. I’m not sure who’s worse, the landlords or the tenants.

    No – when you are sitting in Letting Agency and have no home as you had to move and are awaiting your deposit refund and are told: pay up and sign or you don’t get the flat/house, then it’s absolutely the tenant I feel sorry for. But never the letting Agents. Never.

    (I have no idea what she’s talking about there!!!)

    Yeah, that’s both irrelevant and a contradiction.

    It’s irrelevant because the tenant’s right to live in peace is a statutory right. So “paying up and signing” doesn’t affect their rights.

    It’s a contradiction because if the tenant is waiting for a refund, they already have rental experience, therefore should know their rights even moreso.

    I guess we have one thing in common though- never feeling sorry for letting agents.

    landlord – you don’t get the flat if you don’t sign the agreement! It’s not irrelevant – especially if you are new to this and scared, or homeless.

    I think you’re missing the point.

    My initial point was that tenants are becoming tenants without knowing their rights. That’s the tenants’ fault.

    Your counter response was that tenants are often forced to sign an agreement. But irrespective of whether someone signs a contract or not, the tenant’s statutory rights won’t change regardless of what is written in the Tenancy Agreement! So it is irrelevant!

    Moreover, being “scared” doesn’t justify entering a legal agreement without understanding it. Again, that’s the tenant’s fault.

    Anyways, I feel as though I’m banging my head against a brick wall. You don’t seem to understand that tenant’s have statutory rights, which has nothing to do with a tenancy agreement.

    On a side note, nice blog :)

    Rights mean nothing when they are ignored. or when – if you stand up for yourself, you can be given notice on a whim, with no reason. And – I do understand. That’s because I am clever, not stupid.

    At this point I was throwing up over my keyboard, horridly watching my Nando’s being regurgitated, as I read the words, “That’s because I am clever, not stupid

    Conversation simplified

    When you dumb the conversation down, this is what really happened:

    Tenants have statutory rights which they should be aware of.

    Yeah, but tenants need to sign a tenancy agreement

    Yeah, but that doesn’t matter. Statutory rights have nothing to do with tenancy agreements

    Yeah, but tenants have to sign because some times they’re homeless and scared!

    Yes, again, a tenant’s statutory rights have nothing to do with tenancy agreements

    Ok, but what about tenancy agreements? Tenants are forced to sign them due to circumstances

    Sugartits, I don’t think you understand what I’m saying…

    I understand, I’m clever! As I was saying… if tenants complain, they get served notice by the landlord.

    URGHHHH!!!

    Both tenant and landlord should know their rights before becoming one or the other, right?

    This actually reminds me of people that blindly get mortgages without understanding the terms and conditions, specifically when the mortgage comes out of its fixed period and onto the variable rate. The borrower typically throws a hissy fit and blames everyone else for being “set up” before taking some actual responsibility and admitting they fucked up by agreeing to something they never understood!

    In any case, she writes well and I like her blog, so check out her life as a tenant. But ya’ll come back, ya’ hear? This is home.

    And yes, I’m still snorting breakfast out of my nose from this timeless classic: “Is My Landlord Entitled To Go Through My Underwear Drawer?”

    The only search query that could top that is, “Is my landlord entitled to cum on my face”. Just as hilarious, just as stupid, and just as creepy.

    Update (five mins after post was published): I just realised that I never actually answered the question.

    The answer is NO, your landlord is not entitled to go through your underwear drawer x

26 Join the Conversation...

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Aunty P 20th August, 2010 @ 09:01

Did you know she used to write for The Guardian under the name Penelope Anderson?

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 20th August, 2010 @ 09:41

Yeah, there's a link on her blog to the articles she wrote for the Guardian.

But I think she used the name Penny Anderson (not sure if that's her actual name): http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/series/rentergirl

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Eric Dickinson 20th August, 2010 @ 09:48

You are correct, that is funny lol.

I read her article and the comments. She seems confused dude. Ironically, shes probably one of those tenants that became tenants without knowing any of her rights. Enjoyable banter :)

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katie 20th August, 2010 @ 11:02

ROFL!!! love the sketch.
i agree, most certainly funny

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jools 20th August, 2010 @ 17:11

You should have seen The Guardian and stopped there!

Jools

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twattybollocks 20th August, 2010 @ 17:11

Does that mean I have to stop or just not get caught?

TB

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GillsMan 23rd August, 2010 @ 10:15

Hey Landlord. Great article as always. There was one point that RenterGirl made that I sorta agreed with. The bit about being in the Letting Agent's office and feeling under pressure to sign the contract (if that's what she said). And I say this as a Landlord myself, albeit I'm a tenant as well.

The LA I'm renting through said the holding deposit was £150. Their website said that this was offset against the first month's rent. In actual fact £187 left my bank account. When I went into their office on the day to pick up my keys, it transpired that this was their admin fees.

Problem 1: They quoted me an EX-VAT price, but didn't tell me it was Ex-VAT and they took an inc-VAT amount from me.

Problem 2: They didn't make clear what the payment was for, and failed to provide me with a written receipt despite a few requests.

I should have walked away but this is the house of my dreams so I didn't feel I had a choice. But I will be telling them to take a walk when they inevitably try to charge me an admin fee to renew the contract.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 23rd August, 2010 @ 11:05

Hey GillsMan,

Thanks, buddy :)

Yeah, I also agree about the feeling under pressure part. But my point is, irrespective of the tenant feeling under pressure, their statutory rights remain the same, regardless of whether or not they read/sign their tenancy agreement!

It's pretty unusual that a UK based company gave you a quote excluding VAT, or at least didn't mention it was exluding VAT. I wouldn't have been happier about that either!!! But if the property was that great, like you, I would have let it fly.

Do they have a renewal fee policy? Did they mention it? It should be in the contract you signed.

Cheers

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 23rd August, 2010 @ 11:06

@twattybollocks

Just don't get caught. I never have!

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GillsMan 23rd August, 2010 @ 11:49

According to some friends who've rented through them, yes they charge £80. As you say though, it should be in the contract. It's not and I therefore won't be paying, and I'll be sure to let the LL know why I'm on a periodic tenancy.

It's just another reason why I manage my own rental property myself and don't use agencies (great article the other day btw, and I'll look out for your e-book).

And yes, you're right about statutory rights, and I think that's the point that RentalGirl missed.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 23rd August, 2010 @ 11:54

Yup, the renewal fee should be "clearly" stated in the contract.

That's exactly why Foxtons lost their case with renewal fees. The case was well publicized! The judge said that because the renewal fee wasn't clearly written in the contract, the fees couldn't be enforced.

Just for reference, http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/law/article6681340.ece

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GillsMan 23rd August, 2010 @ 13:26

Nice one - cheers for the link!! Now bookmarked.

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Jools 23rd August, 2010 @ 14:49

I left a comment on Rentergirls site questioning her ability to comment on the subject in a bipartisan way. It has not passed moderation yet (not holding my breath) so it just goes to show how lucky we are to have this site to say what we want.

Rentergirl only wants to publish what she wants you to see.

Jools

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 23rd August, 2010 @ 15:03

WTF! I just realised she deleted my comments!! That's not nice! =/

But oddly enough, she didn't delete her own comments, so it looks like she is talking to herself ha!

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carol 23rd August, 2010 @ 15:11

I read both blogs regularly but must admit that i find yours more informative because its more "real" if that makes sense, not to mention more entertaining lol. You also seem to get a mixed bag of great responses from the readers. Without wanting to take sides i think shes just not as clued up about the law and thats why she got confused

Carol

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Paul Mercy 23rd August, 2010 @ 15:16

hahaha highly entertaining stuff. Good job!
It's really kicking off in here. I also noticed she deleted your comments. What ever happened to freedom of speech? Seems like she has something stuck up her arse :)

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Jools 23rd August, 2010 @ 15:55

The problem with Rentergirl is that she seems to be using her site as her "look at me I am a published journalist, self appreciation and I am sooooooo talented" blog when it should infact be her " I will only publish replies if they make me look good and arn't too critical of my crappy over indulgent writing" blog.

That Carol, is why it is so dangerous! She is writing about stuff of which she has no or little knowledge and some people will be foolish enough to take as gospel!

Sad thing is that The Guardian thought it good enough to publish in the past. Mind you - nuff said...............

Jools

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Twattybollocks 23rd August, 2010 @ 16:09

I would go as far to say it's my human right to go through their underwear drawer just to make sure they arn't hiding Osama bin Laden in there. Note to self: alter AST to include clause banning all "large pant" underwear and anything that says "feed the beaver" and "mind the teeth".

Obviously this only applies to the female gender - not too interested in some minging old rugby jockstrap or anything looking like it has an elephants trunk, but each to their own! Not knocking it, it does not however float my boat!!

Hey Landlord - can't you get some sponsorship from Agent Provocateur or Ann Summers so we can get a knicker amnesty for winter?

TB

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 23rd August, 2010 @ 20:37

Twattybollocks, I like your thinking. As long as you put that all in the tenancy agreement, it should be fine. And as Renter Girl stated, a lot of prospective tenants sign the documents without even reading them, so they prob won't even realise the rights you're going to hold over their underwear drawer!!

Email to Ann summers has been sent.

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GillsMan 1st September, 2010 @ 09:53

Heh, checking on my blog, I noticed that someone had googled "footballers wags spit roast sex" to get to my site. Brilliant. Admittedly, it's a football blog, and admittedly I blogged about the footballer who had the secret injunction recently, but still, it's great what some people type into Google. http://halftimewhistle.wordpress.com/2010/08/22/super-injunctions-and-belly-buttons/

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Ralph Hardwick 24th January, 2011 @ 11:14

I stumbled upon this page looking for something else. Whoever wrote this page is even stupider than the landlord and tenant. You have to finesse Google to get the results you want out of it. She probably tried a lot of more obvious searches before finding one that gave her the results she wanted. After that, the moron in charge of this website then wasted a lot of time belittling her for having a serious problem. Who is this dickhead?

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Ralph Hardwick 24th January, 2011 @ 11:18

After reading the article again and realising what a low IQ I'm dealing with I thought it best to clarify... She would have been looking for advice on how to deal with a problem landlord and it just so happens that the phrase "Is my landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer" gave her a good result. Only someone as stupid as the creator of this page would consider the option that it was actually acceptable.

Here is an example...at the moment I have a problem with my landlord going through my stuff when I'm out of the building (every weekend as I live somewhere else and lodge with him during the working week). In order to find advice on how to deal with the situation I've had to google "can my landlord look through my stuff". Of course I'm not stupid enough to think that he can, but it's the phrase that returns information on the subject.

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Aunty P 24th January, 2011 @ 14:29

SOME PEOPLE NEED TO GET A SENSE OF HUMOUR!!!

:-)

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Hoob 25th May, 2013 @ 09:20

I have to say I think you're a prick.

Your arrogant attack is based on a complete lack of knowledge.

Lets expand, Dick..

If you actually *knew* anything about the human condition, you'd be aware that people respond differently when they feel threatened. There are two parts to the unconscious that clearly explain - when a person is feeling ok in life, they feel secure and safe, and they function from the intellectual part of the unconscious mind. When they feel threatened, THIS CHANGES and THEY OPERATE FROM A PRIMITIVE PART OF THE MIND.

This "Primitive Mind" can ONLY respond from Anger or Anxiety and is commonly referred to as the "fight or flight" response. Even a DOUCHE-BAG such as yourself may have heard as such!

Imagine someone that isn't in the high and mighty position that you are so lucky to have, perhaps they'd been ABUSED by SHITHEADS (not unlike yourself) for much of their upbringing, which leaves them in a position of being VULNERABLE to ABUSE.

They then FUNCTION DIFFERENTLY.

It works in exactly the same way as someone with a spider phobia. Once the spider phobia is created, all RATIONAL, CONSCIOUS operations go by the wayside. Show a person a PICTURE of a spider and they'll still freak. Even when consciously then know its a PICTURE, they still freak. THEY HAVE NO CONTROL.

Put that person into a room full of spiders that are free and roaming about and they're going to be IN TERROR, and not in a position to be reading fucking contracts. Even if they could pull themselves together long enough to read the damned thing, IT WOULDN'T GO IN BECAUSE THEY'RE IN THE FIGHT OR FLIGHT RESPONSE and the part of the mind that can make sense of the gibberish of contracts isn't available.

In short, you have demonstrated yourself to be a gormless fuck-wit, with little appreciation of human beings. I hope someone saws off your cock, if only to stop you procreating, but also to drop a legal document off at the same time, and then belittle you for not comprehending it when you're in terror.

Though fair point my colleague makes, you probably wouldn't notice the difference as your lil 'old nubbin is nipped off, for you surely are a cockless bastard!

Oh, and by the way - its just a sense of humour! Its easy to belittle people and then claim "get a sense of humour".

You are, without doubt, the biggest twat we've had the misfortune to come across. A bully... an ABUSER, and as we all know, "bullies" only do so in order to hide their own horrific inadequacies. Aww.. ickle didums feelin so inferior.. does ickle didums have to hide behind abusing others? Aww poor ickle didums!

Even the most basic single-celled moron could look up Maslow's hierarchy of needs and realise shelter is one of the most core needs to be met - and if a person is feeling threatened, and in survival mode (especially if there are dependents, especially if they've had a life of abuse through no fault of their own) trying to process rules ain't gonna happen.

Enjoy sitting there in your golden throne of self-importance, you stupid fuck. I do so hope your life becomes threatened, that all you have is taken away from you and that you find yourself in fear for your life/livelihood and everything you hold dear - if only to get a 'taste' of how a person that's been abused all their life feels when presented with further abusive people that hold the reins on whether shelter is available.

And hey, lets face it, you eat cock and sperm sandwiches! Says a a great deal about ya!

Ralph.. love your comments.. ;)

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Ems 3rd March, 2022 @ 13:45

This article is horrendous. Came here looking for legal advice and was instead subject to nothing but a mindless rant about the stupidity of people for simply asking questions?!

You seem to have seen this question googled and jumped straight to the conclusion they have no idea whether or not the landlords allowed to do that… the likelihood is they know the landlord isn’t allowed to do that but they’re looking for LEGAL ADVICE that they can then show to their landlord or letting agent as proof. Believe it or not, landlords going through your personal items doesn’t actually come up in that many contracts, I know it doesn’t in mine. Just says they need to give us 24 hours notice for a visit or inspection.

Next time, if someone asks a question you’re simply that offended by them even asking, just choose to not answer it and let someone who actually knows what they’re talking about do it. No one really cares how upset you are that people have the nerve to ask questions online.

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The Landlord Avatar
The Landlord 3rd March, 2022 @ 13:48

Gosh, it's like you're under the impression that it's completely unfeasible that someone can actually ask a stupid question, and then be called out on it.

If you're looking for legal advice, you should seek advice from a legal professional.

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