Reasonable access for viewings

us,thecat&thedebt

my ll has notified me (verbally) that he intends to put his house up for sale on 8th april (2 months prior to end of tennancy)

i know this is allowed and am fine with it.. awaiting confirmation in writing...

tbh i dont really know my ll as i deal mainly with the agent even though its not full management but the neighbours seem to hate him as apparantly he is an ar** and can be unreasonable..
the ea seem to have the same view...

i had a run in with him few days ago when he tried to stir things between me and my neighbours (tit for tat now sorted )


he told me he was allowed to have as many veiwings as he wished as long as he gave me 24 hours notice of the viewing...

i work in an ea and am fully aware that purchasers ring up in the morning to veiw a property that afternoon ect ect..

have been told if im not avalible the agent has keys and will do viewings in my absence...
he would also do viewings in my absence...

am i stupid to be concerned its really bothering me...
any people from the debt free board will know i have two young kittens which dont go outside.. sometimes they are by the front door when i come home and i have to be careful not to let them escape past me...
i cant help but think ll or agent wouldnt look and be careful not to let my kittens out..
also as there indoors they use a litter tray if they go crap while im at work (usually do) then it doesnt get cleared up till i get home (no fairies unfortunatly)
obviously this can smell and im sure would put a potential buyer off...
not my problem but i will get hassel from the ll over it...


of course as well i have personal effects in the house..
how long will the ll hang around before and after veiwing...

i often wash breakfast stuff up when i get home do i worry bout this?

sorry for the essay...

its really eating me up...

what does everyone think would you be uncomfortable with it?

HELP

Doozergirl

It depends on whether you want to be nice to your landlord or not. I don't think you owe him anything and breakfast dishes and a bit of cat poo don't sound too bad to me - it's easier to sell a house with abit of cat poo in a tray than it is to sell it without anyone seeing it at all.

Our tenant did a fab job of viewings and I'm eternally grateful to her for selling the place for us without us having to make any effort at all. I told the agent only to send viewers when she was able to take them and she got a bottle of something nice and a card to say thankyou when she left but if you're not going to get anything from him, I wouldn't go over the top.

Why don't you call the agent and find out who's dealing with the sale? If you can give them your number and set up a dialogue, you might be able to work the viewings to suit you a little better?

It seems silly of your LL to be so forceful over it. Must be a man thing. A little gratitude to you for doing it would go a long way, I suspect!

[Deleted User]

I wouldn't worry too much about the kitties poo, as long as the place in a decent state you'll be fine. If anything, I wouldn't be happy about the landlord showing people around. :eek:

Isn't that what ea are for? Do you trust your ll? Who knows, he may find 'problems' around the house in your absence and charge you for it when you leave....

zar

The worst thing about renting... having people traipse round your home and having to tidy up etc. for somebody else's benefit. Only had to do it once but it's encouraged me to be more careful about which landlords I get since! Obviously you might not have the choice, but in the same was as landlords try and pick their tenants for your next property try and find out if the landlord is likely to want to sell or not. A couple of houses we've rented were from retired people who'd used to live there and moved out of the house and used the rent as income - that seems a good bet to me.

In the house which was sold while we were in it, the landlady was nice at first but then started to blame us when it didn't sell in the first couple of weeks. I can understand her frustration at not being able to present the house exactly as she wanted but that's what you have to live with as a landlord. So I hope it'll go OK, and most people who come round will understand your position (and if the landlord is doing the viewings then he'll either do the dishes for you if it bothers him or maybe moan about you to the people looking round. :rolleyes: )

In our case, the landlady's mother (who was local) did some of the viewings, but that stopped when she tried to say next door's shed was part of the property and the EA started doing them. We weren't there for most of them, but got a complaint about us drying our clothes (there was no outside space and no tumble drier and no laundrette in the area, what were we supposed to do wear dirty clothes? :rolleyes: One offer fell through, then a BTLer came round and I sold him how great it was for renting as it was on a bus route etc etc. He asked us if we wanted to stay but we were sick of the house by then so moved out anyway!

Hope it all goes well, and the new house hunt too. Its a pain how hard it is to find places that allow pets. About the cats - I'd definitely discuss it and maybe consider getting a big play pen to put them in on the days when there are viewings for safety if that's practical? Since he's mentioned the 24 hour rule, it will be easy for you to be very firm that its followed even if people do ring up wanting to view that day. You're well within your rights to do so.

p.s. Support the campaign to make this board (or somewhere else) the official place to post renting questions!

claz

state your worrie to your landlord and say that if he would like to show someone round you would prefer it if you could be there, also tell the estate agent this too

the ea sounds like he has already had a running with your landlord so use that to your advantage, speak to him and voice your concerns and state that you would be more than happy to show people round for him at times that suit you (less work for him) eg evenings and weekends with enough notice but to call you anyway at short notice

if you can't make it ask if he will show them round instead, they can only say no, in my opinion start looking for another place now, you could move and leave you landlord in a mess if he hasn't got any money coming in, this way moving out is on your terms not his!!!

smartie1976

I also have experience of this - but the landlord was not in the country and all the work was done by the letting agents.

We made sure that we had 24 hours notice of any viewing, and on most occasions were in when the viewings were made, but this is because we stated we wanted to be there, where possible.

If I had to trust either the EA or the LL for viewings - I'd pick the EA everytime.
They'll be in and out.

Just make sure you keep your valuables hidden!

Poppy9

I didn't think that the landlord was allowed to enter a tenants property without their permission. If they do so they are guilty of harrassment.

Have a look at Shelter site for more info also check out this advice leaflet which asks the same question as you

us,thecat&thedebt

thanks all..

i have a property to move into tomorrow if need be so no issue there

have stressed my concerns but not feeling reassured...

main prob is that i work a 10 hour day 9-7 so doesnt leave much time for viewings...


fingers crossed when it goes up on 8th april it goes to plan...


please keep your ideas coming and i will update when i get more news


thank you

devils_advocate

Poppy9 wrote:

I didn't think that the landlord was allowed to enter a tenants property without their permission. If they do so they are guilty of harrassment.

Have a look at Shelter site for more info also check out this advice leaflet which asks the same question as you

I agree with Poppy9. Basically, the landlord is not entitled to enter the property for viewings, notwithstanding what is in the lease.

do a search on http://www.landlordzone.co.uk/forums/

F_T_Buyer

The one thing that has been missed is contents insurance.

If you let someone into your home and you are not there, you will probably find the insurance (if you have any) won't cover you if something is stolen! Best to only allow viewings when you are present!

us,thecat&thedebt

F_T_Buyer wrote:

The one thing that has been missed is contents insurance.

If you let someone into your home and you are not there, you will probably find the insurance (if you have any) won't cover you if something is stolen! Best to only allow viewings when you are present!

anymore info on how i can check this out?

i pay contents ins...