landlord saying I cant ebay from flat?? help!

franklee

Mouseman wrote: »

Good explanations guys. I was of course referring to the clause sometimes seen along the lines of "The landlord has right of entry in case of maintenance and in case of emergency" - water and gas leaks were those that sprang to mind immediately but obviously fireman sam would quickly gain entry. I guess it's more just a stupid damn clause in the first place so should be near enough ignored! Was just wondering, hypothetically like

I spose it all changes when LL has to come round for repairs when you're not in, then you have to replace the original lock for a day or two! :rotfl:

Cheers for the comprehensive replies

PS - far more of a PITA to replace locks in a UPVC door methinks? :eek:

You can't have your cake and eat it so if you change the locks then you would have to wait in for repair men but that would be by mutually agreed appointment. You can of course change the locks back temporarily, the ones here take a few minutes to exchange lock barrels, a simple job which just involves doing a couple of screws (always retain the old ones to put back at the end of the tenancy). I wouldn't want anyone unsupervised in here, but YMMV. Do consider if any thefts or damage would not be insured if it's done by someone you allow in unsurprised with their own keys.

Oh and that's an unfair term, any non-emergency access should be with notice given and with the tenant's agreement or at least not go ahead if the tenant refuses the appointment.

LoopyLuna_2

Your LA sounds like cowboys. My personal experience my LA doesn't have a copy of the keys to the house but Im assuming my LO does, but still in case of a emergency I would always call me LA. They are amazing and my LO often isn't in the country. We had a suspected gas leak and they just sent someone round to check but no one entered without our verbal consent (our contract is very balance) =] hope that helps

casper_g

Mouseman wrote: »

PS - far more of a PITA to replace locks in a UPVC door methinks? :eek:

No, usually easier. With any modern UPVC door set-up you'd be wanting some of these, and they can be fitted in a few minutes.

poppysarah

LoopyLuna wrote: »

We had a suspected gas leak and they just sent someone round to check but no one entered without our verbal consent (our contract is very balance) =] hope that helps

You had a suspected gas leak and didn't get straight onto the gas emergency service yourself?
0800 111 999

tbs624

clutton wrote: »

""The question of whether a tenant is running a business from a rental property is a valid one with financial implications for the LL.""

what type of financial implications ?

Many standard LL insurance policies will not provide cover when the T is operating a business from the property.

LLs of residential properties also tend to observe the " no business from the premises" rule because if the LL consents there may be implications under the LL&T Act 1954: the T may acquire specific protection under a commercial /business tenancy, including the right to assign/renew etc. BTL mortgages will also usually require that the property is used only for residential purposes and LLs also want to avoid the property becoming subject to UBR

However, OP - you really do not have to get into showing these LAs the personal info from your ebay account. You say that you think they are being retaliatory, but quite why the LA should be so upset about the Council insisiting on works being done isn't clear, since its the LL who'd get the bills for the work, not them.

Simply write, thanking them for their letter/phone call. Remind them that you are a reliable tenant who pays rent on time & observes the terms of the tenancy. Then confirm that you are not running a business from the property, and tell them that you are happy for them to have prearranged mutually convenient inspection visits so that they can comply with their S11 repairing obligations but that you do not consent to them letting themselves into the property in your absence.Ask them to note this on your tenancy records. Send it recorded delivery with cc: Tenancy Relations Officer at the bottom of the letter, and keep a copy for your own records.

Keep it simple, don't over-explain/justify and don't start twaddling on about what you may or may not do with the locks. That's not to say that you shouldn't consider changing the barrels and/or setting up a camera linked to a PC;-)

The sad fact is that, as you are presumably on a periodic tenancy, they *can* bring the tenancy to an end if they and the LL wish to do so.

On the related issue of tax & ebay etc you may find this article from the Independent helpful.