Landlord’s Right Of Entry Explained

Hi I'm seeking advice on my landlords behaviour and the fact she has refused repairs, faulty boiler won't turn on when pressed, eg won't start and 75% o time won't give hot water. I have two very young daughters so it is vital. This has been for two months. My landlord when contacted replied please not to contact her on small matters and as she is landlord with several business this was a small matter. She has given no receipts of money 550 deposit and has now text for a months rent we have withheld the rent on request of boiler and other repairs such as black sudden mold in bathroom and single pain windows that are not air tight. Her reply was now we have four week to move out and this was written notice, as she is now selling house it was a text message on mobile is that legal and can u help me please. Me and my partner do not receive housing benefit he is in full time work and we pay our way in life. She has today arrived I opened door as she said it was to inspection for damages, she arrived with partner and entered, on entering spoke high toned and aggressive were is her money and I replies when were the repairs getting done she said your havin a fucking laff, i then replied can you calm Down and stop shouting your scaring my children she then said I don't fucking give a shit as my two daughter and my brother and his partner was present in regards for my brother and partner also the landlords partner was all witness she then proceded with telling him to tak the blinds down off my front and top floor of house . An then left she was screaming I want you out by Friday enphasise screaming also she only text me with regards to message about she selling and we have four week we only received that Friday 3days ago. We are now unsure and feel threatened and also are fearful about our daughters future place of residence eg family home. Thanks and this has left me feeling intimidated and unsure of what is now to happen and our best plan of action please please please help thank u x

Laura - Let's cut to the chase! If your landlord has acted in the way you describe there are several problems (for her). The principal problem for you seems to be that you have a landlord who is either an amateur, an idiot or both, and one who themselves may be acting unreasonably because of financial pressures.

That said take some responsibility yourself to find out your own rights so you know when to tell you landlord to do their job properly. If you take the trouble to read the posts above and this website more widely then then most of your questions are likely to be answered here.

Here are the basics you need to know:

Your landlord cannot just tell you to leave they must serve you written notice - either using a Section 21 or Section 8 notice.

If your landlord does not serve notice correctly the notice is void.

If your landlord has not placed your deposit in the DPS then the notice is void.

The notice period to terminate a tenancy is 2 months. This period starts from when the landlord issues correct notice - not the first notice date (if that notice was incorrect or the deposit wasn't in the DPS)

Your landlord must give you 24 hrs notice to enter your home - you can refuse entry if you wish.

Her selling the house has no bearing on your rights as a tenant.

Do not let her into your home again until she has calmed down and is acting and speaking reasonably and lawfully. There are plenty of posts in this forum alone that can tell you about the law and reasonableness.

If she tries to forcibly evict you (she won't if she has a brain) call the police.

Hi there. Some good advice here, but am looking for just a bit more!

My tenancy agreement stipulates access for "inspections" as long as they give me 24 hours notice. I've seen this clause in previous tenancies and it has never been even referenced during the tenancy. I now come to understand that the agent intends to absolutely use this as they have contacted me to "inspect" 1 month after I've moved in! This is my first time living in Manchester and I don't know if it's commonplace here.

After reading up, this is a new build property in perfect condition and my reading of the law indicates that a right of access to repair or investigate to repair has to be based in reality. It can't just be for the sake of it. They also want to take photo and video and they couch it as being, "there to protect me."

This to me is such an invasion of privacy and I've refused them access. Am I within my rights? Will they evict me??

@Sarah Hunter - So long as they give you 24 hours notice and it's in your contract, it's probably lawful BUT if they intend on doing it every month it's excessive.

That's not a legal standpoint (necessarily, though it's a bit of a difficult argument) but a common sense one. Personally, I'd let them in the first month, and once they've finished poking around and seeing everything is fine, I'd ask them as to the number of inspections they intended.

If they said it was going to be every month I'd be having a firm talk and suggesting that they only come every quarter or half year, reducing over time as they saw that the property was in a reasonable condition.

I wouldn't like allowing agents (ugh) into my home either, but if you can put up with them once and they see everything is fine, it might be beneficial.

Like I say, I wouldn't like it either, but if they think you're being difficult they might recommend to the landlord that you get given your notice.

If you have told them that they can't come in, they shouldn't - if they do they MIGHT be committing trespass, but a judge would have to take a stance on that after looking at the contract and specific circumstances. And that's probably not a fuss you want to bother with?

Hi Sarah,

Have to say I disagree with Matt there. Sounds like they're very much overstepping their bounds. I get that Landlords and Agents love to poke around and document things, but whether that jives with the law is another matter entirely.

From my experience, you have to be pretty horrible with rent arrears or being a real nuisance to your neighbours to ever be evicted. And yes, any clause that grants them automatic access by giving notice to you wouldn't stand up in court.

However I agree with Matt on one principle, that being if you let them in once and they see all is well, that would go a long way to showing you were cooperative and that there's nothing for them to worry about. Definitely wouldn't let them take photos/video though!

Sarah

If you have told the agent (or anyone) that they may not enter your home, it is not that they 'might' be trespassing - by definition they WILL be trespassing. Note however, that trespass is a civil not criminal offence so how useful/relevant this fact is for a single violation is questionable.

Since you've only been in the property for a short time it is likely you are within your fixed term (6 months or 1 year?) and this means that the only way an agent/landlord can seek possession is through a Section 8 notice. As Will suggests, you would need to be in serious arrears or a real problem tennant for a court to grant a possession order to your Landlord - once outside your fixed term though your tenancy can be ended for no reason using a Section 21.

Ultimately I would say an inspection after a month is an annoyance rather than abusive and as Matt and Will suggest - for the sake of good will and cooperation it would likely be better for all concerned if you don't deny access just because you can. That said, I would point blank refuse permission for them to photograph or video where you live. Not only do they have no right to do this but had they wished to photographically document the property, they should have completed this prior to you moving in and will also be able to do the same once you have moved out. It is the condition of the property, not how you wish to live in it (within reason!) that is relevant. Do not allow them to persuade you otherwise.

I am a great tenant I pay on time I keep the place clean and in good condition and I allow any reasonable access . However my landlord ( which is a company) justs lets itself in without my permission as it likes. They send me ( and the other tenant in the development) a letter saying something like "we need ongoing access over the next three weeks" then they just let themselves and their contractors in whenever they want to. I have asked for 24hrs notice and they say yes of course but then they just carry on. Yesterday I came home and the front room was open with rain pouring in the wide open windows and my things were on the floor -they had been in again. I don't want to be a problem but can I change the door locks? I would still let them in but I could chose to be there also.

Joe
Firstly remember it is your home not theirs! That is a starting point. Secondly they are failing in their obligation to provide you correct notice. They have ignored your request (hopefully you made this in writing?) to do so. Based on your reasons I would say you could justifiably change the locks, but to make your case more strongly I would write to the landlord again stating their requirement to provide correct notice and listing the occasions when they have not done so.

If following that letter they continue to ignore their obligation then for sure consider changing the locks. Note however, it will likely cause significant ill feeling and you will have to return the door and locks to it's original condition when you depart. Changing the locks is really a last resort but justifiable if it would be viewed by others as a 'reasonable' course of action.

Hi, I have been in my flat for three months and the agency wants to do an inspection, this is fine by me but if they see something they don't like whatever I may be, can they kick me out. Thanks.

Hi Chris,

No, they can't. If the landlord wants you out they need to follow proper procedures. And if you have a fixed-term tenancy they likely can't ask you to leave before that's over.

It's not in their interests to do that anyway, as finding tenants can take time. And if you've just moved in, they're unlikely to want to do it all over again.

You probably shouldn't worry - they'll likely step inside for less than a minute, if they bother to come at all! Vast majority of agents in properties I've lived in have been incredibly lazy. If they did actually turn up, they stepped into the hallway, peeked into each room and left.

Just clean and tidy before they come. Think you're overthinking it a bit :)

-M

Hi, I've had tenants in my house for 9 months now. My neighbour informed me that there were issues with the property, I alerted my estate agents who spoke to the tenants. I have since found out that they have been sub-letting and have lied about a number of issues, the estate agents seem to be making this process even harder by refusing to send reports of property visits (this is a well established national company), stating that the property is in excellent condition but I have proof otherwise and not getting back to me during all these problems. I have even had issues talking about getting them evicted (they have now been issued with paperwork on eviction). I no longer trust the estate agents or my tenants I was hoping to view the property before they leave. I will be sending a letter giving them at least 48 hours notice, where do I stand from a legal point of view?

I am hoping that there is no damage inside the property and that the agents were telling the truth, but based on the credible information I've had and also viewing the property myself once only from the outside, I am a little worried. I don't want to walk into my property after they have left and find lots of problems that their deposit won't cover and then that I can't find them.

I have to say I'm not an annoying landlord, I don't live close to my property and was happy enough until I was contacted about issues. Things seem to have spiralled, including my neighbour telling me about issues with the tenant and finding out that the person she was speaking to isn't on any contract but has been living there since day 1! I hoped the agents would deal with the issues but that hasn't happened. I have hardly contacted the tenants, leaving it all to the agents but I the eviction will have stirred up problems for the limited relationship I have with the tenants.

The landlord showed up today no notice he entered my property because he said my tv was too loud. This was 11 am on Saturday. He then told me my children's father could not be there to visit the children. I'm on a month to month lease and now has given me a 30 day move out notice. Is this legal? What can I do

Valiree - he has no right to enter, say who can and can't be in the house or give 30 days notice.

You have a legal right to a minimum of 2 months notice.

You also have the right to quiet enjoyment of your rented property and a landlord may not just enter with no notice like you describe. This may be harassment.

Do you live at a different address to the landlord ie you have different postal addresses?

Suggest you call Shelter today (be prepared to wait for a while on hold) and ask for advice on next steps.

My son has been renting for 18 months, he recently complained about the mattress after which an argument started about his dog (which the landlord gave permission for even though there is no clause in the contract about pets) now the landlord has demanded that he get rid of his dog (which he got as a companion as he has Autism) but my son said he can't just dump her in the street and he wants to keep her anyway, the landlord has issued a section 21 even though the contract has a fixed term for another 8 months! The landlord asked to enter to fit new windows because he believes he can get more money for the flat when/if he manages to illegally evicts my son but my son said no because it wasn't essential work. When he got home the other day after a few days away, the landlord had been in the flat with workmen replaced the windows and moved my sons belongings some of which were left dumped on his bed and were expensive camera equipment etc. Now my son feels unsafe in the flat as he doesn't know who is going to have been there when he gets in from work, if they will have let the dog out and if any of his things will have been interfered with. I am wondering if he should just change the locks, he feels totally violated and the landlord has no respect at all, he'll just do what he wants. Thanks for any help you can give! :-)

I intend to leave mid tenancy in Jan 2017 and informed my landlady when she asked me to sign a new one year contract. this effectively put me in a periodic tenancy and she asked me to find another person for the room. having done that, the new person and she made an arrangement to view without feeling the need to notify me. Aren't I entitled to a 24 hour notice at least to let me know that she's planning on showing people the room and I'm not around? I got to know this is happening only because I asked the prospective applicant what they were planning to do. Did she do this because I refused to sign a new contract? what can I do about it? thanks in advance, I just feel so annoyed and faintly violated because I'm not there as its happening.

Hi this is a long story cut short any information and help will be muchly appreciated......
right myself and my fiance moved from our rented house to his nans house which she said we could rent for £400 and then go on to buy for £140000 the house is worth a bit more but needed a lot of updates and refurbishment,
this happened because my partners mother literally forced us out our house she clearly had some sort of plan/sceme in her head to get us to do all the work because she knew her mother in law was ill and would pass away so she made lots of comments what we could and couldn't do to the house bla bla....sadly his nan passed away and as soon as the house got inherited by his mom and step dad, they put the house up to £150000 and said you can rent it until you can buy you have a year.
we couldn't get the mortgage in the mean time cut a long story short a lot of family issues went on (they are both very nasty cold hearted and manipulating people) there's no reasoning or even normal talking you can't get a word in edge ways...anyway without going into all that...they said they were going to get the house valued and put the rent up,
nothing was ever agreeed and the house hadn't been valued.
bearing in mind the house would of been worth approx £160000/170000 when we moved and after all the work we've done (as we thought we would be able to buy) it's most likely pushing £225000 now.also they said if you ever move out we will give you some money for doing the house so you can put a deposit down on something else.
Now they are beeing utterly ridiculous and just plain vile they ignore us and their grandchildren I'm guessing they just want the money out the house their not giving any money back for the work and just want us out,we have 3 children and have spent thousands on the house aswel as wasted time.although looking back very silly as we should have sorted mortgage first but their not waiting any longer and want the inheritance money which is fair enough but why get us in that house in the first place? Just because they knew the work would get done for free and they could sell the house for a lot more money, and just use us for free labour the house is done up to exceptional standard.
anyway there is no tenancy agreement and they just served us a notice of section 48. Just wondered if anyone had any advice on where we stand legally in this mess? Thank you for reading there's s lot cut out due to it already being long winded but I think I got everything in there thats a main point

Kelly
Indeed a bit of a mess! I suspect that the lack of tenancy agreement is likely to be of little significant consequence. You are tenants and your partner's mother is landlord (as the Section 48 notice now confirms) You have the same rights as any other tenant and in terms of the tenancy, everything else you describe regarding inheritance or intention to buy or works you have undertaken at the property etc etc. is of little/no relevance.
In terms of legal standing and based on what you've described; you are both tenants plain and simple.
If you have increased the value of the property out of your own pocket and you think your partners parents won't repay you what you've expended then I suspect you are going to need to go to court. The success of your case is likely to depend on what records you've kept over the time you undertook the work. Because you never held the title of the property I strongly suspect that even if you can successfully prove a claim I think your compensation would be limited to the time/money spent which I'm guessing is likely to be significantly less than the rise in capital value of the property.
You probably need some proper legal advice - the above is largely my gut feel!

Thank you for taking the time to get back to me we've just received a section 8 and 21 today through the post, which was predictable.
I will go to a solicitor and ask their advice

A Section 8 AND a Section 21 - How lucky are you! What are the grounds for the Section 8? Have you ever paid a deposit? It may now be to your advantage if you have!

Sorry got that wrong it's just a section 21 but we have never paid a deposit or have we got a tenancy agreement

In my opinion and to make things fairer for Landlords there should be a national bad tenants register that all landlords can access to gain the information required to make an informed decision whether to rent or not. Debate

@Andrew - Ha. How about a bad landlord register?

There isn't a 'bad tenants register' for many reasons, the main probably being subjectivity, relationship breakdowns where neither party is 'in the wrong' legally but still hate each others' guts, data protection laws, potential libel cases... I could go on.

Also, credit checks, background checks, etc, already exist. Pay attention and vet thoroughly and you'll minimise your problem(s).

My landlady comes in shouting her head of and demands money from us she allows her brother in law to use our back yard for scrapping. she also sells dogs from my house they wanted me to claim housing benefit but i choose to work. i am still paying the rent for the house but we had to move away because of being bullied and they are in our house at this minuet

I'm renting a property I have signed an agreement with the agencies. I was told the agency has to have a key from the property.
I text the agencies and let them know that the roof is damaged and it needs some repairs they keep sending people to have a look and nothing has been done.
A couple days a go I text them again let them know that im not paying the rent if they don't take action.
Yesterday around 2pm I received a text message telling me that the roofer is coming to do the repair. I text them back telling not to come which they didn't they come with a wrong key and locked the house. Are the agencies entitle to send someone to your property with a key and give you a short notice.
thanks

Hi I'm a landlord my tenant has failed to pay her again & is 6 weeks behind, the tenant is now refusing to answer my calls or texts message I now want to inspect the property can I legally enter the property if I give her 24hrs notice?

Just recently when I was out my landlord entered my address without my permission and set about my son.Police are involved but they deny this and said it was an annual inspection to the police which I have already had.We have been served papers to leave the property but have had no luck finding a new address.Landlord is just doing what he wants and being intimidating to get us to leave.Just about a month ago landlord came in without permission and threatened to cut my partners throat in front of my 12 year old daughter and he got away with that.Now we are afraid to go back to our property as he said that all our stuff would be emptied onto the street.Its only been submitted to the first tier of a tribunal and its got to this.Is there anything we can do.Police are involved and nothing is being done.Phoned council and they said they cant do anything.Must be something I can do.The landlord owns the pub we live above and its leaving us powerless and afraid of being even more intimidated of going in our house.Been living with relative the now but have to go back home with our 2 daughters and son.Son is already been set up and we wonder who's next.

Maureen, I'm sorry this has happened. The police and council should be helping you. If they aren't, you need to contact a solicitor straight away, they will help you to stop this. Find a specialist in this area that are local to you as they will be able to work with the police. Make sure you have all of the evidence that the inspection had already taken place, and any other evidence you can find. The court will not be in your landlords side, I can guarantee that. You can sue the landlord for harassment and your solicitor can help you with this. Also contact Shelter, they will be able to advise you of your rights and possibly help you to find a safe place to stay. I hope you are able to resolve this.

Hi, My tenant has not paid rent for 3 months and refuses to communicate in any way. My flat is in the UK and I am in New Zealand. A friend has agreed to inspect my flat. I have sent an inspection notice by email and letter. She has also been served her notice to leave by 15/01/2020. If there is no reply at the door can my friend enter to inspect anyway, on the assumption she will have left as required by her notice?
Thanks :)

Moved in to my dream
Place sep 2019, asked landlady for some repairs , guttering, damp
In kitchen , I wanted to decorate to make it home , reply was on 29 jan
You will be given notice , all bill remain in her name and as the annex joins the house the providers say it’s data protection and they need her
Permission, any way 1/2/20 I get my notice , no work has been carried out and because it’s rural
The place is over run with rats , she is rude, screams abuse at me and threatens me with the police ? Have spoken to members of her family
But they say she’s ill, but I’m
Still entitled to live in peace and have the place maintained surely!? I’ve emailed the local
Council, if they send a private landlords team out and agree with me
That she’s evicting me because I’ve asked for maintenance to be done they can invalidate the sec 21 notice ,
I’m at my wits end , is there anything else I should be doing ???!

Hi my landland let themselves in what can i do

hi i need some Advice please can my landlord send a worker round to do repairs with out any notice ,the man let himself in when I wasn't in the property and me and partner came home to find him standing in the hallway entrance he then got aggressive when I asked him what he was doing there,he swore at me when I asked him to move his tools so I could get my baby inside as he was blocking the way in and my partner told him to leave as he was being rude to me ,he then followed by partner to his car carrying a bit of wood and threatened him with it. I spoke to my landlord but he said he heard a different story from his worker and refused to do anything about it .

@Kimberley:

It's a serious criminal offence on the part of the worker and as such a matter for the police and not the landlord. From your description, charges of assault (as separate from battery or actual bodily harm), and threat to kill (doesn't have to be verbal, in fact non-verbal is more serious).
As well as that there's also the offence of trespass, although that is more controversial as maybe the worker was led to believe by the landlord that you granted access.

And then there's the breach of law and of your tenancy agreement by the landlord, as above described (breach of quiet enjoyment and breach of exclusive access).

Hi,

We moved in our house 4 weeks ago. After 3 days of moving in, we went on a holiday for 2 weeks. On the way back someone from the neighbours called to let us know that 2 people entered to our house. (We haven't served any written notice,which he supposed to do, it is in our contract) We have a CCTV in our living room, so everything was recorded. Turned out our agency did not know about this, the landlord just let 2 people to our house he was not present. We found out that he wants to remortgage the house so the man was a surveyor and he was taking pictures about every single room with our belongings, we could see they were even opened our build in cupboard in our room. Agency is denying their responsibility, but to be honest we have not even met the landlord nor to know his full name or adress. Please anyone some useful advice?

Inform the information commissioners office.
Write to the agency that you want the adress of the landlord.
Inform the police that 2 persons was breaking into your house.
The landlord has to tell you which company was in your house.
Write to the surveyor that he has to delete all photos and pay a fee to you of 50k.
Inform the ICO about the surveyor making pictures without your consent.

Hi. I need advice regarding forced entry to a hsing assoc converted flat property. There is one tenant and 1 leaseholder within the bldg. We were notified of a lock change for access purposes on a certain date. We notified the H.A we would be at work on the date they specified and gave them the following day , literally 1 day after they had notified, but they came on the day notified and forced entry to the communal door, changed a Yale lock and completely smashed out the 5 lever mortice lock. The door was so badly damaged that they now have to replace it, in the mean time our insurance is null and void as the 5 lever lock is missing until they replace it. They also left our keys at the next door neighbours key safe that they installed the same day and gave us the code to access the keys which also had our neighbours keys in it. I really would like to know if this is legal. We also put 2 phone calls and 2 emails to directly to office to accommadate them which was totally ignored

Hi there. I'd like a little advice please. I've lived in a property for just over 12 years and I was asked to leave with a section 21. I only have 4 weeks left. During the last 2 months my landlord and agent had visited at different times and mentioned that I should do a little maintenence before I leave, I.e Gardens, clean floors etc. I agreed and as the property needed decorating due to raising children and dirty paintwork etc, I offered to repaint and hand it back as a blank slate. With my employment it has taken some time and is almost finished but I'm constantly being harassed that the landlord wants to visit several times before I leave to check the maintenence has been done. I produced photographs via email of current maintenence work I have done because I've had to reschedule visits due to my employment as I work in a frontline job role but now I'm being told that the landlord can gain access WITHOUT my permission with 24 hours notice to see it in person?.
Keep in mind, the visits are only to check and inspect I'm actually cleaning and sprucing up the place. I've explained I have no help and I'm trying to pack as well as maintain alongside work, but, the constant worry and anxiety is too much.
Which way do I turn here? Can the landlord actually enter without me being here for a non emergency?
Can't they wait until I'm gone?
With my personal items on show due to packing, and the threats of entry during the last couple of weeks, I'm really starting to lose the plot!.

My kitchen light has been broken for around a month. Informed the landlord. She had an electrician contact me. We messaged a few times to arrange a day for him to have a look. Then he stopped replying and didn’t answer the phone.
4 weeks later our landlord says her and another electrician will be over sometime next week to take a look and repair it. I explained that I am on holiday so I don’t give them permission whilst I am not here.
I know they need to give 24hrs notice and I’m not denying access whilst I am available. But to come round and let themselves in when I’m not even in the country? Is that allowed?

*my tenancy states 24hrs notice

Thank you all for the good work you’re doing on this platform. I rented my studio apartment on May 27,2021. My main door handle ripped off on 1st June, I think. But because of my travelling prep and the fact that I could still open the door with another handle, I didn’t report it until I got back from my travel.( I travelled on June 6 for 2 weeks out of the country). When I got back, my bathroom drain wasn’t going through anymore, so I informed my agent about the door and the drain which was repaired sometimes around July. August ending, I got a mail from my landlord that I was owing a rent arrear of £90 and that it’s the repair charge. I there and then challenged the invoice and explained the situation to them. They (my landlord) wouldn’t reply my mails but they keep sending me mails that I need to pay that money and the recent mail I got was telling me that they could take a legal action against me if I don’t pay and they can make it impact on my credit score as well.
I understand that maintenance is the landlord’s duty and I explained in my mail that after the drain was cleaned, there was no sign of hair or anything showing my negligence which made the drain clog, as well as the fact that I don’t think the door handle was in a good condition when I moved in because it was just few days after I moved in that it ripped off.
Kindly advise as I don’t know what to do.
Thanks