Landlord entered property without permission HELP

silvercar

superfran_uk wrote: »

The breach of contract - i.e. the landlord entering the property is a civil matter. The theft is not, and the police should take this seriously. As said above, insist on speaking to someone above seargent level and they should be helpful.

Spot on.

Don't muddy the waters at the police station with a long story.

You are reporting a theft.

You actually don't have proof it was the landlord. You know the landlord entered the property. You don't know if he was the thief; he may not have secured the property on exit. Let the police investigate.

googler

"I have come home to find All my paperwork was rifled through, my passport has gone, the £500 is missing and my Nintendo Wii is gone. My bank statements have also been rifled through."

You go down to your nearest police station, phone them up, whatever, and you say you "want to report a theft". Don't tell them you suspect your landlord until you have to. With no sign of forced entry, they have to conclude (surely) that the theft was carried out by someone with keyed access to the property, and if/when they realise that's just you and the landlord.......

This is serious stuff, and if the police constables don't take it seriously, then escalate it to more senior officers; insist that you speak to someone higher up, as earlier posters suggested.

It's tempting to suggest speaking to the local press, but I'm not necessarily promoting this as a course of action.... what does the group think?

silvercar

It's tempting to suggest speaking to the local press, but I'm not necessarily promoting this as a course of action.... what does the group think?

No. Let the police investigate first.

If it was on the Bill:

You report the theft. The police ask who has keys and decide to search the landlords premises. Where they disturb the landlord in the middle of a game of wii sports and make an arrest.

clutton_2

""If it was on the Bill:

""You report the theft. The police ask who has keys and decide to search the landlords premises. Where they disturb the landlord in the middle of a game of wii sports and make an arrest.""

oh that life were that simple in reality

BitterAndTwisted

OP was told by the LL that they would be coming round and presumably has kept that text message. Neighbour witnessed the LL entering the premises. OP arrived back home to discover possessions rifled and items missing. Ergo: it was the LL. No CID training necessary. Report the theft and don't muddy the waters with any back-story other than the above. Don't take "no" for an answer from the cops. I suspect the LL intends to hold the items and cash to ransom rather than making off with them but it ain't right and he needs a (legal) kick up the backside and/or a visit from the rozzers/

ETA: And change the locks as soon as you can after the police have called round

foxxymynx

The fact that he has stolen is theft and a police matter (bleeding idiots saying it's not!) it's also a police matter that he entered without permission. (according to the tenant relations officer who advised me and the police who chased things up for me)

You need to get intouch with the tennant relations people at your local council - and the police again. Sorry hun, this one has me furious as we've been down a similar route.

theartfullodger

Re.

Contact the police and insist on speaking to the duty inspector. Your property has been stolen which is a crime. It is not a civil matter.

If the Polis won't play ball write (keep a copy) a brief, calm, polite letter outlining what happened and say you are reporting a crime & wish for a crime number...

The landlord is absolutely not allowed to do this: What a crook and an unprintable.. what'sit...

Sorry to hear your story....

Cheers!

Lodger (Landlord since 2000)

PS Does the agent or an earlier tenant have keys??

mynameisdave

If the police won't do anything you need to speak to somebody superior to them. Chase it up until somebody acknowledges that taking your property is theft.

It shouldn't cost too much to get a new lock. Change it to stop the landlord letting himslef in again. Keep the original to replace if/when you leave the property.

foxy-roxy

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

OP was told by the LL that they would be coming round and presumably has kept that text message. Neighbour witnessed the LL entering the premises. OP arrived back home to discover possessions rifled and items missing. Ergo: it was the LL. No CID training necessary. Report the theft and don't muddy the waters with any back-story other than the above. Don't take "no" for an answer from the cops. I suspect the LL intends to hold the items and cash to ransom rather than making off with them but it ain't right and he needs a (legal) kick up the backside and/or a visit from the rozzers/

ETA: And change the locks as soon as you can after the police have called round

You have a witness also, have you spoken to the LL about any of this yet?

I can't believe how many threads i have read recently about LL's entering properties without permission, time to get the locks changed i think:eek:

bitsandpieces

Theft is a criminal matter, and you have a witness. Report this to the police as a theft. Assuming you've got home insurance, it's probably also worth reporting this honestly to them (I don't imagine that they'll pay out easily, if at all, but it's worth telling them about this as you may be able to claim something, and sometimes if you leave it too long you'll get nothing). Keep any text messages, and keep a record of any contact with your landlord.

If the police insist it's not a crime, ask to speak to a higher up. If they still won't, speak to CAB/your local councillor/council housing officer/MP in order to put pressure on them to do so.

By the way - was it definitely your landlord? Or could he have been stupid enough to leave the door unlocked?