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Change Locks so Landlord-Agent cannot enter

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  • our landlord agents just sent a letter 3 weeks ago asking if they can inspect for damage on april 30th so plenty of notice bu we changed the barrel of the front and rear door on move in date but kept old locks and keys on top of kitchen cupboards in a box labeled whats inside and not to throw,agent said i was fine to change locks as long as either they are changed back on leaving or they have the new lock keys..
  • Callie22
    Callie22 Posts: 3,444 Forumite
    Tenth Anniversary 1,000 Posts
    G_M wrote: »
    The problem is that most tenants believe 'inspections' are about checking how the tenant lives; whether they are clean, tidy etc.

    When I inspect, I'm looking for damage that I need to repair, either to ensure the tenant has a well-repaired home or just to maintain my property

    The problem is that most inspections, when carried out by young, inexperienced, often quite arrogant letting agents, do end up being nothing more than checking how the tenant lives. I've never, ever had an agent address maintenance issues following an inspection. I have had agents open my furniture (drawers, wardrobes), open my fridge (and I do mean 'my' fridge, not the LLs), open kitchen cupboards and comment on things like bookshelves or their opinion on where I have my furniture. I've had an agent stand on my bed in his outdoor shoes to 'look for mould' so he could see if I was ventilating the property - and this whilst ignoring quite obvious maintenance issues.

    I've been renting for a few years and I've seen the frequency of inspections increase, whilst the general state of rented property has got worse. Whilst I appreciate that an inspection is supposed to be about a LL checking the state of their property, in 90% of cases nowadays it's generally just a power-trip for the inspector. I suspect that in most cases nothing even gets fed back to the LL, it's just a 'service' they're charged for.
  • martindow
    martindow Posts: 10,568 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper
    Aren't inspections opportunities for the agent to charge the LL each time? There is an incentive for the agent to make them as frequent as possible.
  • SnooksNJ
    SnooksNJ Posts: 829 Forumite
    jaylee3 wrote: »
    What; it's normal to take 80 to 90 photos inside YOUR HOME every 3 months? What a load of absolute rubbish. What the hell would they need to do that for? They would have got in and taken that many again over our dead bodies.

    And if your last landlord came in three times a week, then more fool you for tolerating it. That is beyond unreasonable, and nobody, but nobody that I know would tolerate that; nor should they have to. Sounds a bit odd to me.

    I also do not think that ANYone would be happy to allow a landlord to come every single day. Why should anybody be expected to tolerate that? And if he did attempt that; that would be nothing short of extreme harassment. He would get a short shrift if he tried that with us.

    And you say

    Oh, and the landlord can come every single day and let himself in if he wants to. My current one doesn't but my last landlord came in two or three times a week.

    To be frank, I don't believe what you're saying. NOBODY would tolerate the landlord coming EVERY DAY
    If you are living in the US you probably have to tolerate it because the American's have this really strange habit of viewing homes before they buy.
  • rpc
    rpc Posts: 2,353 Forumite
    G_M wrote: »
    The problem is that most tenants believe 'inspections' are about checking how the tenant lives; whether they are clean, tidy etc.

    So do most letting agents :-)
  • jjlandlord
    jjlandlord Posts: 5,099 Forumite
    Callie22 wrote: »
    young, inexperienced, often quite arrogant letting agents

    Isn't that the very definition of any lettings agency employee up to at least the very grand title of "assistant manager" (always be wary of a manager who needs to be 'assisted'...)?
  • kinger101
    kinger101 Posts: 6,572 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Name Dropper
    SnooksNJ wrote: »
    If you are living in the US you probably have to tolerate it because the American's have this really strange habit of viewing homes before they buy.

    I the UK, we have this strange habit of reading and understanding what the post is about before we comment.
    "Real knowledge is to know the extent of one's ignorance" - Confucius
  • Billie-S
    Billie-S Posts: 495 Forumite
    Callie22 wrote: »
    The problem is that most inspections, when carried out by young, inexperienced, often quite arrogant letting agents, do end up being nothing more than checking how the tenant lives. I've never, ever had an agent address maintenance issues following an inspection. I have had agents open my furniture (drawers, wardrobes), open my fridge (and I do mean 'my' fridge, not the LLs), open kitchen cupboards and comment on things like bookshelves or their opinion on where I have my furniture. I've had an agent stand on my bed in his outdoor shoes to 'look for mould' so he could see if I was ventilating the property - and this whilst ignoring quite obvious maintenance issues.

    I've been renting for a few years and I've seen the frequency of inspections increase, whilst the general state of rented property has got worse. Whilst I appreciate that an inspection is supposed to be about a LL checking the state of their property, in 90% of cases nowadays it's generally just a power-trip for the inspector. I suspect that in most cases nothing even gets fed back to the LL, it's just a 'service' they're charged for.

    :T:T:T

    Completely agree. The last inspector we had was a real little arrogant git, and kept picking so many flaws and faults on our check out inspection, that were either a: nothing to do with us or b: incredibly trivial.
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