Letting Agent and house inspections

thestrayed

Last month our letting agents advised that we were due a house inspection. We arranged a date and i made sure i would be home to keep an eye on the dog. An hour into the time the letting agent was due by she cancelled and re-arranged for the next day.
I rearranged to work from home again the next day and she again cancelled an hour before she was due!!

Again this was rearranged for a week later and lo and behold another cancellation on the day.

This the 3rd time i have now had to rearrange work and i dont want to have to do this again, can i refuse any more requests for inspections?

tunnel

Not sure you can refuse inspections but you can re-arrange a day and time to best suit you. Don't be an a** with them though or you may end up with a S21.

chris_m

If they cannot be courteous enough to turn up for an agreed day/time, not once but three times, then I'd tell them exactly where to stick their inspection.

Yorkie1

You have three options:

1. Allow them to come in without you - they'll have a key, won't they?

2. Re-arrange another time (possibly only at a time which is otherwise convenient to you and your employer) and write a strongly worded letter explaining the inconvenience and cost you have been put to as a result of their continued cancellations.

3. Write stating that you are not prepared to arrange a further viewing at all given their repeated cancellations and the impact on your life, and that you do not consent to their entering the property in your absence to do an unaccompanied inspection. Change the locks if you think they will defy you.

Option 3 is the highest risk if they no longer want you as a tenant as a consequence - you risk receiving a s.21 notice in return.

How is your relationship with the LA generally?

cooltt

Lots of stupid advice here, s21? Don't make me laugh they want your rent and ain't gonna kick you out over a house inspection. This has happened to me loads of times, I just tell them if you can't be bothered to turn up when you say then don't turn up at all, so they don't and I've never had a problem.

G_M

cooltt wrote: »

Lots of stupid advice here, s21? Don't make me laugh they want your rent and ain't gonna kick you out over a house inspection. This has happened to me loads of times, I just tell them if you can't be bothered to turn up when you say then don't turn up at all, so they don't and I've never had a problem.

An agent might if, for example, they have been delegated full responsibility/control.

In fact it is in their interests to 'kick out' a tenant. They can then charge the landlord another fat fee for remarketing/re-letting AND carge a whole load of prospective tenants fees for 'admin', reservation', vetting etc etc.

But you are right it is not in the landlord's interests to serve notice on a tenant for this.

So is this an overseas/absent/'hands-off' landlord, or one who is in control?

Yorkie outlined the three options open to the OP, and rightly also mentioned the risk which may or may not exist in relation to option 3.

ognum

OP do you know your landlord because I am sure they would be interested to know of your disruption, often they don't know so don't change agents!

thestrayed

Thanks for the advice so far.

I am on a fixed AST until 1/09/13 and only have my landlords addres, havent met him or had anything other contact.

I wouldnt normally mind letting them let themselves in, but we have a dog who isnt always good with strangers and to be honest i dont really trust the LAs to take care with not letting him escape.

So tempted to tell them to stick it, they are just lucky i run my own businessand can wfh when i like

thestrayed

Letting agent has been a pain in the !!!! from the start. House was not cleaned professionally as per pre contract agreement, poo in toilets, mould in fridge etc. Then i had a further complaint with the gas safety certificate being a year out of date!

So they have not been in my good books from the start

sandsni

Write to the LL direct and tell them exactly what has happened (as politely as possible), in case the LA is giving the LL the impression that it's you who is delaying the inspections. You have been courteous enough to rearrange your work to accommodate them 3 times, but they haven't been courteous enough to turn up or even give you reasonable notice of the change. Then give the LA a list of times that suit YOU and ask them to arrange their next appointment for one of those times.