Landlord / experienced tenant opinion please!**UPDATE-LL ENTERED HOUSE ILLEGALLY?**

sooz

Kimitatsu wrote: »

As you were not in the property at the time, you dont know how many times he rang the doorbell, banged on the door, rang etc before he let himself in.


It doesn't matter how many times he did this - she was not expecting him & it was NOT an emergency. For all he knows, she could have been in the shower, asleep with earplugs in or having a mass orgy In any of these circumstances she wouldn't have heard the doorbell!

If I were you, I would ring him and say thank you for repairing the toilet, but you are a bit concerned as you are on your own and you felt that you had arranged a time for him to come over. Whilst you have nothing to hide, it would make you feel more comfortable if he would stick to your pre-arranged times, because you could have been in the bath etc and you would have been embarassed. That way you have put your point across without upsetting anyone, and putting your tenancy in danger.

I agree, but I'd put it in writing, & email is less antagonistic than a recorded delivery letter.

Your LL could serve you a section 21 at any time, giving the reason as wanting to sell the house and then changing his mind in 2 months time.

He cannot serve a valid 21 without first protecting the deposit

Em I feel you are being somewhat attacked on here. Yes, you asked him to fix the loo & he did, just 24 hours too early, & without informing you. I doubt it was malicious, just naive, and as you say, you've hardly met the man.

I don't know why you are saying you can't change the locks. You can - just make sure not to make any new holes in/damage the door & put the old ones back when you move out. Despite what it says in your contract, you are allowed to do this - check with Shelter if you don't believe me.

In the extremely unlikely event of a gas or water emergency with a 'problem' or 'professional' tenant (and I'm not saying you are one ) the advice to LL is to get the relevant emergency services to break in, rather than use a key, to avoid accusations of harrassment.

I would drop him & email, & say what Kimi suggested, whilst thanking him for repairing the loo so promptly.

clutton_2

i would classify getting a toilet fixed as bordering on an emergency and if i could fix something of this nature earlier - then i would

i think HUGE mountains h ave been climbed here, when there was but one tiny molehill in the first place

peter999

emsywoo123 wrote: »

which is ridiculous. we had an appointment. he should have stuck to it. or why didnt he call before? he apparently made the journey to sort it particularly, so it was not a spur of the moment thing.
Would I still be over-reacting if I had started this thread with.....
I was in the bath and the LL walked in unannounced?

You had an appointment, he took a liberty.
He shouldn't have done it but landlords often think that way, that you're just someone in their property to milk paying rent.

Now you know how your landlord operates, you are better prepared next time that this cannot happen again, by insisting he keeps to an appointment.

Once a plumber came to visit me to do boiler inspection, he opened front door with set of keys & was coming in through front door.

Now I always lock door from inside.

peter999

guppy

Kimitatsu wrote: »

You cannot change the locks without giving the LL good reason and providing him with a spare set of keys.

This is nonsense. As long as you don't cause any damage, there is nothing in law to prevent you changing the locks.

You don't have to explain yourself, or provide a key to anyone, unless it suits you.

Since the landlord has no right to let himself in to your home, how would he even know you changed the locks?

In practice, it shouldn't really be an issue though, and as others have pointed out, damaging a relationship with the LL unnecessarily is probably counterproductive.

franklee

Hi emsywoo123,

I can understand how you feel having someone go into your home without your permission. You really do need to nip this in the bud now.

So I would write and point out (in a polite way) that you aren't happy and say what you want to happen in future. That is he should only enter as per the appointment made and that if he needs to change an appointment in future he should ring ahead and get your agreement.

Then I'd let him off this once but come down hard if it happened again with your complaint letter as proof you made it crystal clear.

Any landlord should know full well not to enter without the tenant's permission and so he should find out how flexible his current tenant is on this before taking liberties.

For the record I had something similar happened to me, but luckily I was in with the chain on so the unscheduled workman unlocking the door before I could even get to it could not get in. I put in a written complaint stressing that I would not expect it to happen again! I also changed the locks for good measure.

You can change the locks but if you do that you will probably be in breach of your tenancy agreement but then the landlord is in breach already for entering without your permission. So if you feel it may happen again then I think changing the locks is fine but it may provoke the landlord so you'd need to consider it carefully in case he retaliates e.g. by giving you notice to leave.

You should be able to have peace of mind in your home that you are paying good rent for. Ultimately you have the right to refuse entry to anyone (except a genuine emergency) and if so the landlord would have to get a court order to enter or break the law. You would probably be in breach of your tenancy agreement should it come to this which is why you would need the written complaint to show why you did it.

So write and complain If the landlord is half decent he should take note for next time. If you ring then follow up in writing confirming what was said as the letter is evidence should it happen again! Do not give excuses about being in the bath etc. as that gives him the chance to say he rang the doorbell. Just state that you are not happy with anyone entering your home without your knowledge and agreement.

emsywoo123

Old_Git wrote: »

If I was your landlord and i read what you where posting here I would never do another repair for you again .

then you would be back here to post ,my landlord never does any repairs and I as your landlord would say !!!!!! .

Thank God you're not my LL then.

emsywoo123

clutton wrote: »

i would classify getting a toilet fixed as bordering on an emergencyLL and I discussed the problem in the initial call and established that it was NOT an emergency and if i could fix something of this nature earlier - then i would

i think HUGE mountains h ave been climbed here, when there was but one tiny molehill in the first place

Clutton I often read your posts with interest and acknowledge that you seem to be an experienced LL-but are you telling me that you would have gone in early, without permission, early on a Sunday morning?

emsywoo123

Thank you to everyone who has contributed to this thread.
I think I have a clear idea of what I can/cannot do and what he can/cannot do legally as well now.
Warm regards,
Emsywoo123

neas

Having read the responses on here further... i've just realised how good a tenant I really am.

I'm laid back, pragmatic and friendly with my Landlord/letting agent, I dont start planning how to screw over someone who has been a good landlord,repaired broken items and responded quickly to my requests... I know I have a good landlord and I will do everything in my power to help maintain this relationship. Lifes not always about law... its about people skills.

I will be using this when it comes to negotations... because some of you are way too up on this 'sue you' culture, sure you could change the locks, sure you could report him to police, sure you could start a paper trail of recorded mail.. but is it worth it? Really? I don't care about Section 21.. as a normal tenant a landlord can serve notice... sure he'd loose 3xdeposit but at least he'd be rid of a problem tenant. Why risk conflict and trouble for something minor? Why risk being booted out of your home if you over-react and start aggressive proceedings to something he thought he was doing you a favour for.


Heres what you should do....

1. Do not get angry
2. Do not get paranoid
3. Do not threaten, be forceful, send recorded mails, report him to police... treat him with respect and respect will be returned... keep things friendly... Its a business relationship.
4. Just ring him, explain to him using this excuse "I am very thankful you fixed my toilet promptly and everything is brilliant now, but next time I'd really appreciate it if I had forewarning of your entry because I am embarrassed about my personal affects (insert knickers, bras, other foreign objects that cause embarrassment here)".
5. Do not ring him and use the excuse you have used here "I may be in the bathroom". If you was in the bathroom any normal person would ring doorbell, knock, shout and you could be dressed. There is hardly any risk of embarrassment being caused this way... BUT there is embarrassment from underwear and clothing etc.
6. Remember keep it friendly... 2.5 years business relationship is a long time to spoil, you've prob got a reduced rent compared to the market as well... think of what you do before you start getting 'respect the law' route.
7. Nobody likes a smartass

ClareEmily

emsywoo123 wrote: »

When I spoke to him yesterday, I called. I thought I would send a recorded delivery letter tomorrow.
fab idea about the locks,:D I will certainly change them, as at the mo I feel really uncomfortable in the house. And yes I will keep the originals. Thanks.

I think you will find in your original contract that you are not allowed to change the locks