Landlord has breached contract, what can we do?

boardjunky

It is stated in my contract with a landlord that 24 hours notice should be given before any work or viewings of the house.
This has been borken numerour times with people turing up to view the house, and at eight o'clock this morning the landlord came in with work men to install cavity wall insulation and loft insuation.

This is appreciated due to the cold weather at the moment, but no notice was given. Due to the weather the university has also been closed so with exams in a weeks time we have no-where else to work.
Can we withhold our rent, or demand financial compensation?

Jowo_2

Send a polite letter reminding the landlord of your right to quiet enjoyment of the property and his obligation to give notice AND gain consent before access by him or his representatives. Keep a copy.

If it continues, change the lock barrel and change it back at the end of your tenancy - I assume that your mention of viewings means that you are leaving the property soon?

clutton_2

""demand financial compensation""

what has been your financial loss ?

""Can we withhold our rent" - no - if you do you can be evicted..

you need to talk to your landlord, not "demand" things, and explain that you have exams and need peace and quiet..

however, installing energy-saving devices is a great thing to do for you in this weather..

cavity wall work is nearly always done from the outside of the property and loft insulation only takes a couple of hours.....

princeofpounds

No. You have suffered no loss as a consequence of the landlord's actions, and so in British law there is no remedy for you. Even if there were, you cannot stop paying rent and would have to sue.

Write a letter to the landlord, remind him of his statutory obligations to give 24hrs notice and not to enter if denied permission (except in emergency situations). Point out that you would be very happy to facilitate access as required, but the unannounced vists are making you uncomfortable.

Then (or after another breach if you prefer) change the lock barrel (retain the old one to hand back at the end of the tenancy). This is perfectly allowable no matter what it says in your contract about giving landlords keys (such terms are not enforceable).

boardjunky

The Landlord has used our electricity to drill into our house and other houses, which is why we thought financial compensation might be possible.

The landlord blamed the letting agency for not giving us notice and vise-versa. After talking to he he seemed as though he would give 24 hours notice in future, but it just a frustration that I will have lost a day of work to this.

Alex_LS

Ultimate responsibility lies with the landlord, not his agent.

clutton_2

""it just a frustration that I will have lost a day of work to this.""

i think everyone is suffering in this weather.... extra insulation will reduce your fuel bills