Letting Agent let themselves in without permission...

bap98189

There is some terrible advice being given here, much of which is incorrect.

1. The agent had no right to let herself into the property. As a tennant, you have the right to quiet enjoyment of your home. This means the landlord, agent or anyone else may not enter your property without your permission (except in an emergency). I would write to them telling them in no uncertain words that this is not acceptable and they should not do so again.

2. If you feel they will ignore this and may let themselves in again then you can change the barrel of the lock. This is easy to do, and costs less than £10 for most locks. If you do this, you are under no obligation to give the landlord a key. The only thing you must do is replace the original locks when you leave the property.

3. Rather than just a date, I would expect the agent to give you a time when they will be round to carry out any inspection. They don't have to, but they need you to play ball here too as they cannot otherwise carry out the inspection their client is paying them for. In future I would insist they on an approximate time when they are going to turn up.

All this and much more advice is available on the Shelter website here.

OlliesDad

old_fat_biker_bloke wrote: »

We HATE renting but have no choice. We have repeatedly told the letting agent we want to be here when they 'inspect' and do not want them in the house when we are not here - it may not be our house but it is currently our home!!!

An inspection was for arranged today some time ago. Coincidentally my 80 year old mother is visiting. The inspection woman has historically always arrived around lunchtime so at 9.30am my wife was in the shower, my mother in the downstairs toilet and, after a late night, I was still asleep. Both cars were outside.

First I am aware is my wife trembling and in floods of tears holding half a sheet of A4 paper with the words "Called today at 9.30 but not convenient pls call office - Thanks". The woman rang the doorbell once and my kids ignored it as they have been taught to do then she let herself in. My 11 year old daughter encountered her, told her where the adults were and she left. She didn't even call our mobiles to ask where we were!!

We feel invaded and violated - is there anything we can do as she has gone against our clear wishes and instructions? I know we are mere tenants but this seems so wrong!!!

I am sure a quick chat to the estate agent will put a stop to it happening again - I doubt they were being malicious in anyway, more likely they could hear the noises inside and thought you hadn't heard them.

Although your daughter may have been shocked, I doubt she suffered any long term mental trauma. In future maybe it would be better if your daughter was told to fetch you if there is a knock at the door rather than ignore it.

Out of interest, what would you like done?

old_fat_biker_bloke

OlliesDad wrote: »

I am sure a quick chat to the estate agent will put a stop to it happening again - I doubt they were being malicious in anyway, more likely they could hear the noises inside and thought you hadn't heard them.

Although your daughter may have been shocked, I doubt she suffered any long term mental trauma. In future maybe it would be better if your daughter was told to fetch you if there is a knock at the door rather than ignore it.

Out of interest, what would you like done?

Hi - Thanks! I agree not malicious more unthinking/uncaring, we are just a fee paying commodity to them, little thought for our feelings and privacy....

My daughter is a sensitive little soul, I'm not sure what the future holds but she is still very upset... We've always told them (kids) not to answer the door if we aren't around but forgot the fact we are not the sole keyholder.

To be done is an interesting point; I'm not sure - What I would have hoped was our previous requests were followed...

Hintza

You could have saved a lot of hassle if someone had answered the door! (or at least asked who is there)

halibut2209

Or get a deadbolt

keyser666

debbie6899 wrote: »

It certainly is not acceptable to change the locks without the landlords permission and could get them into all sorts of trouble. This condition will more than likely be listed in the tenancy conditions. You can not lock the owners/agents out of their own property. You are however entitled to say wether a specific day is convenient for inspection. If no time was given then the agents were acting as per their right. If a time was specified then they are in the wrong. At least they didn't walk round the whole house and did leave and have contacted you to arrange a different time.

!!!!!!? where did you dream all of this up from?

keyser666

Gavin83 wrote: »

Terrible advice. Changing the locks is likely to end in the termination of their contract and therefore their eviction.

It specifically states in my contract that if I choose to change the locks I am to provide the agent and/or the landlord with a copy of the key. I would strongly imagine that most contracts have a similar clause.

OP, you should probably ask them in the future to let you know roughly what time they will be arriving. However as long as they have given the required notice they are allowed to enter the property, regardless of if you are there or not, there is really nothing you can do about this. They do own the property after all.

And another one

OlliesDad

keyser666 wrote: »

And another one

The second one you quoted is kind of right - I would dispute if termination is "likely" though (i would say it is "possible").

Ultimately if they annoy the landlord/letting agent by breaching the Tenancy Agreement, they could be given the relevant notice to evict (i.e. 2 months notice if it is a rolling contract).

By the sounds of it the letting agents don't even realise they have upset the OP - As previously said, I would just let them know the upset they caused and state in future set times must be agreed upon.

keyser666

OlliesDad wrote: »

The second one you quoted is kind of right - I would dispute if termination is "likely" though (i would say it is "possible").

Ultimately if they annoy the landlord/letting agent by breaching the Tenancy Agreement, they could be given the relevant notice to evict (i.e. 2 months notice if it is a rolling contract).

By the sounds of it the letting agents don't even realise they have upset the OP - As previously said, I would just let them know the upset they caused and state in future set times must be agreed upon.

Yeah but still bad advice though in the grand scheme fo things, as we dont know how long they have lived there it is hard to ascertain when a Sec 21 would lead to the end of a tenancy, as well as other variables like if it has been done correctly, protection of the deposit etc etc

Herbalus

You need to send a complaint to the letting agents to inform them that your wife was in the shower, you were asleep, and your children are extremely upset at seeing a stranger come into their home. You need to tell them that they are not allowed to let themselves in, and that it will not be tolerated again.

There is a lot of misinformation in the first part of this thread (a better place to post is the housing, renting and selling board near the top - there are experts there). It may be the owner's property, but the owner has given up their right of access for money. That is important. That means they and their agents are not allowed into the property unless agreed with the tenant.

It is true that changing the locks is not permitted in many contracts, and many LLs will not like it, but that doesn't necessarily take priority over your security and wellbeing. The shock and horror that one must feel upon seeing a stranger come into your locked home must be immense (and if my EA does it when they come to visit next week I will go ape at them), so if you feel they will continue to come in without your permission, then do it.

Think about it this way - if they find out that you've changed the locks, that means they've tried to get into your home without your permission. Simply change the barrel back when you leave, and they shouldn't know.