Landlord's right to entry when on night shift?

pmlindyloo

This is what CAB say about it:

The landlord’s rights of entry

Your landlord has a right to reasonable access to carry out repairs. What ‘reasonable access’ means depends on why your landlord needs to get access. For example, in an emergency, your landlord is entitled to immediate access to carry out any necessary work.

Your landlord also has a right to enter the property to inspect the state of repair or to empty a fuel slot meter, but they should always ask for your permission and should give you at least 24 hours notice.

If you are staying in lodgings where it is agreed that your landlord provides a room-cleaning service or where you share a room with other lodgers, your landlord can enter without permission.

Your landlord does not have a right to enter in any other circumstances unless they have a court order.

There is a huge debate about this and that is why people are urging you to find an amicable solution.

Some will say that the contract allows them to enter after giving you 24 hours notice and others will say that even with 24 hours notice they need your permission.

If you suspect that the LA/LL will enter the premises whatever you say then the usual advice is to change the barrel of the lock. (change it back before you move out)

Put very simply it is your home until the end of your tenancy. Yes, the LL/LA needs access to show around potential new tenants but it being your home implies(to me!) that someone needs your permission to enter.

As with all things simple negotiation is the best path. A late afternoon appointment seems a sensible compromise.

You can make things awkward for your LL/LA and only a court order will allow them to enter without your permission and there's no time for that!

mrginge

19lottie82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter a dot what is in the TA.

What is the point of a TA then?

It's just fundamentally incorrect to to state a massive generalisation like this.

Without looking at the detail of a specific term there can be no assessment of whether it is enforceable or not.

Of course, if the OP wishes to actively breach a contract term on the belief that it is either
A) unenforceable
or
unlikely to be enforced (by the LL taking them to court)
then that is a different matter. There is risk in that the OP may well be liable for damages should they breach that term and the LL successfully acts to enforce it.

In this particular case, the OP needs do decide whether the ultimate sanction of changing the locks and denying access would result in them being taken to court and losing. One suspects that if they are leaving in ten days that would be highly unlikely.

nick12

19lottie82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter a dot what is in the TA.

It could be written that the T's must dance to the Macarena every Wednesday between 3-4am, but that doesn't mean they have to do it!

Just because a LL adds a clause to the TA, doesn't mean it's legal and / or enforceable.

I never suggested a Landlord could stick anything they wanted into a TA and the tenant would be bound by it. I think it's debatable whether or not a clause granting right of access for viewings is enforceable, I am not aware of any case law that covers this. Are you?

I don't actually think it's terribly likely that any such action would be successful but even so I wouldn't want to be the defendant in a test case!

pinkshoes

nottRobin wrote: »

They actually would because they have a key.

Yeah we are of course trying to resolve this amicably, but if they insist, are you sure we legally have the right to refuse access? Does anyone have a reference showing that they're not allowed to access the property without our permission for viewings?

They cannot insist. You are legally entitled to quiet enjoyment, and showing new tenants round is not an urgent need to enter.

Just suggest some times they can show a tenant round, and ask them to choose one.

G_M

The easy bit of the law:

* if the tenancy agreement says the LL has a right of access for viewings, that forms part of the contract. As such, it is a legal right under Contract Law.

* all tenancies are subject to an implied right to 'quiet enjoyment'. As such, it is a legal right under Common Law.

'Quiet enjoyment' is not to do with noise! It is the right to live undisturbed (ie by the LL accessing the property.

The hard bit. The two rights above are both legal rights, but may clash. ie the LL might use his contractual right to arrange a viewing and the tenant might use his common law right to deny access.

Neither of these two rights takes automatic precedence. So, as others have said, where a clash arises, a court will decide, based on the specific circumstances.

There are also a couple of relevant Acts under Statute Law eg The Protection from Eviction Act that protects tenants from harrasment - but a single viewing would not constitute harasment.

Ideally, of course, both sides will be reasonable, and try to find a compromise without resorting to the law.

BitterAndTwisted

There are two conflicting rights: the tenant to"quiet enjoyment" and for the landlord to enter in order to fulfill their statutory repairing obligations. There is no absolute right for a landlord or their agent to enter against the tenant's wishes merely in order to carry out viewings with prospective new tenants. If they think they do have that right then they could chose to go to court in order to enforce it but you're leaving in a number of days, so a court order would be useless.

If you politely state that viewings during X days are not going to be possible because one of you is a doctor on night-shift but Y days between the hours whatever you tell them will be, then they have no justification to start threatening you or being unnecessarily uncooperative. I'd like to bet you a fiver that they do attempt to enter once you done so in any case but the remedy to prevent this is in your hands.

Never forget that you are not the agent's customer, the landlord is, and all the agent is interested in is getting new tenants in asap in order to earn their fees. You are only going to be a hurdle in them earning them if you don't comply with their wishes.

nottRobin

Thanks everyone for your help. It's very comforting that it seems pretty conclusive that we'd be allowed to refuse entry to for a viewing.

The agent eventually got back to us to say she can move the viewing to 5pm, so it was resolved amicably.

Thanks again.

chucknorris

19lottie82 wrote: »

It doesn't matter a dot what is in the TA.

It could be written that the T's must dance to the Macarena every Wednesday between 3-4am, but that doesn't mean they have to do it!

Just because a LL adds a clause to the TA, doesn't mean it's legal and / or enforceable.

I once added into the rental contract that my tenant had to cook me dinner twice a week and cash my car every Sunday, but she just laughed when I pointed this out to her. Although she did wash my car once and cleaned the inside very well as well as cooking me dinner quite a few times.

G_M

nottRobin wrote: »

The agent eventually got back to us to say she can move the viewing to 5pm, so it was resolved amicably.

Thanks again.

Good to hear.

Always the best solution.

Despite the constant horror stories on this forum, actually most tenants rub along quite well with the landlords. And even their agents. And people as a whole generally behave reasonably.