landlord saying I cant ebay from flat?? help!

sweetnothings

hi wow seems this has started quite a debate, thanks everyone again for your advice and comments. To clear a few points up, I have a rolling tenancy and have lived in my flat for a few years now. The actual landlord uses a letting agency to 'deal' with any issues. My home is not covered in mess and clothes, I do have a fair bit of stuff but its is stored away with the odd few items out probably in the bedroom, its my bedroom so as an adult I can leave a bit of mess ( since it wont stop me getting pocket money anymore haha!). It has also put me in a bit of a pickle as to in order to thin out my clothes (which I did plan on doing to an extent anyway) I am not in a financial position to just give all of them away, a few things have already winged their way to the local charity shop but the rest have a value on ebay, which I now feel that I can no longer use as I dont want to increase sales and their claim to look more valid.
Just to add insult to injury...last night the door lock broke, leaving us trapped inside the building (after landlord/agency opening hours so unable to contact them until 9am today) until a neighbour spent a good 10 minutes with a variety of tools eventually freeing the lock! THEN the firealarm went off from about 8pm by itself (no reason) ALL night (and believe me it was too loud to get any chance of sleep! There is someone (hopefully) fixing it now but still leaves me one tired, stressed out lady! _pale_

Soot2006

shegirl wrote: »

You're meant to keep the property tidy inside and up to standard.Mess is not tidy.If you have clothes chucked all over the place what else is there?Doesn't show any pride or taking care.and if it's blocking entry to things then it can become a hazard.

I find it amazing that you believe anyone should dictate whether or not someone tidies up or not. When my mother rented out her house (not her "home" any more, just a "house" now), I can assure you can piles of clothes from floor to ceiling were the last of her worries. If you have a clothes fetish and own more clothes than wardrobe space, well, so what really? Nothing to do with the LL!

BitterAndTwisted

Angel, just set up a new Ebay account and show them the other one if they need to see it. It sounds to me like they're intent on getting shot of you now that you've been labelled a "troublesome" tenant by making waves about the repair issues. Start saving up for your new deposit and rent in advance right away.

sweetnothings

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

It sounds to me like they're intent on getting shot of you now that you've been labelled a "troublesome" tenant by making waves about the repair issues.

thats the ironic thing :think: I am the ideal tennant as in have always paid full rent on time, never caused any problems and to be honest they see things in desperate disrepair and me pointing them out as me being a problem then theyre just daft and I have put up with a whole load of problems with the flat without much complaint up until now whereas I imagine the majority of people wouldnt have.
To all those wondering why I am reluctant to leave, I have lived here quite a while, it is my home to me not just a rented flat, location wise its perfect for me, spacious rooms, a lovely river view and at a price I can actually afford...(looking at 1 bed flats today online and they were at least £80 a month more than I pay for my 2 bed) and for the price I dont expect them to do it up like the ritz, just address essential repairs.

MissMoneypenny

JA1000 wrote: »

If I was the landlord and I was messed around with locks being changed refusal of inspection then this is a clear admission of guilt. If you have nothing to hide then let them in. If there were still clothes everywhere then this will still look odd so I would issue notice. Once relationships have broken down why waste time fighting, it's not your house so unless you are tidy and are looking after the place and do not change the locks and do let them in for an inspection. Start packing.

This is why this government needs to catch up to the renting laws in EU countries like Germany, France, Austria. Three year tenancies. The tenant can leave if they have a valid reason like job relocation, but the landlords have to keep to the 3 years. Landlords have to keep their house in a good state of repair too. This change would remove the UK amateur landlords from the business and raise the standard of rented housing.

bitsandpieces

sweetnothings wrote: »

My home is not covered in mess and clothes, I do have a fair bit of stuff but its is stored away with the odd few items out probably in the bedroom, its my bedroom so as an adult I can leave a bit of mess ( since it wont stop me getting pocket money anymore haha!).

Even if your home is untidy, that's none of the Landlord's business (assuming you're not attracting vermin, leaving flammable liquids lying around etc. - which I'm sure you're not!) When I'm working to a deadline, you sometimes can't see my desk for the piles of paper :eek: Part of the reason I like having my own place is that - if I want to work messily etc. - it's not bothering anyone else. No Landlord ever complained about this, and I've always returned houses/flats to the Landlord in good condition.

If you don't have savings, though, I'd definitely suggest saving up for moving costs, deposit etc. Sounds quite possible you may be given notice - and you want to be able to afford to move if you have to. Not especially fair, but that's life...

poppysarah

shegirl wrote: »

You're meant to keep the property tidy inside and up to standard.Mess is not tidy.If you have clothes chucked all over the place what else is there?Doesn't show any pride or taking care.and if it's blocking entry to things then it can become a hazard.

omg.

seriously. omg.

PasturesNew

Tenants can be as untidy as they like in a rented property and it's none of the landlord's business, nor the letting agent's. Control freak landlords are in the wrong business when a normal person can't have a few extra clothes ... clothes that probably WOULD fit somewhere if the landlords actually bothered to buy places to rent that had decent storage.

This is a good example of why Brits are so keen to buy ... to stop control freaks having power over stuff that's none of their business.

When you're renting, you can never be 100% sure that you're not being judged, watched ... or even having people let themselves into your house if you're away for a few days, a week or two. It's really not professional at all.

If the rent's being paid and a tenant isn't a nuisance to neighbours etc, then that should be the end of it.

Owners don't have the fear of god hanging over them that the mortgage company might decide to spot check their home every now and again ... and write them a letter telling them to repay the mortgage because they had a lot of stuff...

Geenie

I think various posters have got hung up on the OP's amount of clothes, which isn't an issue, the LL/LA thinking they are running a business from the premisis is......... if the AST states residential letting only and they shouldn't being so. This involves insurance etc on the LL's part, so isn't to be dismissed lightly as them being busy bodies

I can't think why the LA's are getting in a hump over this if there wasn't reason for them to think that something was going on in the property that was contradicting the original agreement? How did they find out and what information do they have to think this?!!!

They have given advance notice of wanting to come and inspect, so agree a time when you are there. Don't change the locks, despite the poor advice on here. If your AST states that locks shouldn't be changed with out notice to the LA/LL then you are breaking the terms of the AST, just as they are by turning up ad hock! Two wrongs do not make a right.

You do have a right to quiet enjoyment of the property, but the LL also has a right to be able to inspect their property at reasonable intervals and with advance notice, to see if the terms agreed are being adhered to.

Rentals work both ways. It is fine to slag off LL's on here not doing their duty by the AST, but tenants also have a duty to do the same. Work together and be honest is the best policy.

BitterAndTwisted

Geenie, you are completely and utterly wrong about the changing of the locks: despite what any rental agreement might say a tenant does have the right to live in a secure environment and having to endure the possibility of strangers letting themselves in when they feel like it when the tenant has not given their permission and when they are not present is not a secure environment.

I accept that changing the locks could be seen as an inflammatory act by the LL or LA but they would have had to have tried to gain access without permission in order to discover that they had been changed in the first place. Who knows how many ex-tenants may still be in possession of a set of keys? Having unknown persons with the ability to gain access might affect a person's contents insurance as well.

I'd always change the locks as soon as I moved into a new rental property without question.