Can my landlord do this? please help!

Wee_Willy_Harris

franklee wrote: »

In your narrow interpretation of her own words resulting in your huffing of her upsetting the landlord causing bond and references problems. Good god what would she have done wrong, serve proper notice and answer viewer's questions honestly (implying she'd allow viewings).

Let's be clear facing viewings is a right pain, having to move to a LL's timetable is a pain, losing your home due a a LL selling is pain. No matter how you dress it up there is nowt wrong with a tenant facing a sale looking for a new home pronto and serving notice as soon as they can. I'd do exactly that regardless of the amount of cobblers you think it is and regardless of the amount of huffing you throw about it mucking up a tenant's bond return or references. Frankly I'm surprised any landlord putting the property up for sale would not expect a tenant to start looking for a new home asap.

I can see the headlines now: "Tenant from hell allows viewings but serves correct notice and leaves. Landlord out of pocket due to not getting rental income right up to the point of exchange".

Complements the headline: "Tenant from hell won't leave on exchange day".

What a shame they can't invent little plastic dolls who are prepared to pay 800pcm and get put back in the box the moment they're not wanted

My narrow interpretation?

Let me quote from YOUR interpretation above

"Let's be clear facing viewings is a right pain"
"having to move to a LL's timetable is a pain"
"losing your home due a a LL selling is pain"

All very true, but those are YOUR interpretations. To see the posters stated intensions, we just read what she stated...

"On a purely personal note, I would be looking for another place pronto(after notice of course), so that I could leave the LL with no income while he tries to find a buyer! And there are always the questions that viewers ask, about damp..........."

The poster mentions nothing about inconvenience, or even how her actions would best benefit HER. All she said was that her actions were directed specifically AT the landlord. Nowhere does she mention how her actions are intended to cause HER minimum disruption, just that she intends to cause the LL MAXIMUM disruption.

I have no issue with a tenant deciding that they, personally, find viewings too disturbing, or too inconvenient, or too intrusive. If a tenant decides that they just don't want the hassle, they are perfectly entitled to mitigate that hassle by refusing viewings. If a tenant feels that way, that is their legitimate right and I would always defend it.

But to refuse viewings purely on the basis of how that will impact on the LANDLORD is serving the tenant no useful purpose. As another poster on here has stated, for personal reasons she decided she could not entertain viewings as it caused her too much distress. Despite not allowing viewings, she was able to remain in the property for 18 months, giving her ample time to find a property that was right for her and her family. But she refused viewings because of the impact they had on her, not because of the impact it would have on her landlord.

And that, as I'm sure even you will agree, goes back to my original question "What purpose would that serve YOU?".

I'm not suggesting that when a landlord says "jump" a tenant should ask "How high?" I'm just saying that it is wise to look at ones own self interest first, instead of ignoring that self interest and seeking ways of hurting others.

Wee_Willy_Harris

dopester wrote: »

Renting a house or flat, if you think I should put up with telephone calls from the Landlord telling me they are selling, then the EA telling me they'll be needing a key cut so as to have access to show tenants around... and not feel aggrieved about it.. well you must be a landlord or something.

I'd refuse viewings - because it's my home during the tenancy - not a showhouse, and my priority would be finding somewhere else to live quickly. Not my life disturbed having strangers coming and going around my home on viewings - whether I'm at home or not.

Also for a landlord who asks that of me - or demands it, it would be natural I'd hope to find a better home to move to quickly, and leave the landlord kissing voids whilst they try to sell. Would you like to live your life on standby due to demand from another person they want to have unrestricted access to show viewers around your home - at unknown dates and times - and even whether you're in or out. You landlord gods can't have it all ways for your glory.

But you are just looking at 2 extremes. Either completely unfettered access 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or no access/contact at all. In many cases (but maybe not all) there is a HUGE amount of ground between those extremes where a mutually agreeable compromise could exist.

If that compromise is something that you cannot work to for personal reasons, that's the way it is. But to refuse to even consider a compromise NOT because of it's impact on YOU, but because it will cause disruption to OTHERS is a very shortsighted way to look at life.