House inspection on rented house or 24 hour notice to move out.

Sweet_Potato

Hi there.

Bit of advice needed, we currently rent a house through a letting agency. We have been in the property 4-5 years now and every 3 months or so we have a house inspection.

I dont particular like these inspections so often as I think its an invasion of privacy but always comply with it nevertheless.

The main issue is that when they give the notice of inspection they always say if we are not available they will let them-selfs in with a spare key. I have a problem with this as we have a dog and worried that the dog might get out and run off. I also dont want people in my house without me, we are private people.

In the past they always respected that and rescheduled to a convenient date when I am available etc... However I just received a notice for inspection for Sat the 15th of November.

I called them to say that the weekend will not be possible, it's my wife's birthday and we will most probably be out and ask to reschedule. They said they will but will charge me for it. I said to them I dont believe they can charge me a penalty for rescheduling the house inspection, they then said if I dont want to pay the charge they will give me a 24 hour notice to move out!

So a couple of questions really.

Can they legally charge a penalty for rescheduling, I also believe that because its on a weekend and not normal business hours its not convenient to schedule it on a weekend?

Can they legally enter my property without my consent/permission even tho they gave notice of their intention?

Its me my wife and 8 year old daughter living in the house, can they just give us a 24 hour notice?

What is the legal position with having a pet dog in the house, what if they loose my dog or the dog bites them, its a spaniel so highly unlikely for the dog to bite, perhaps pee all over them tho...

Any advice greatly appreciated, thanks.

DRP

Sweet_Potato wrote: »

Its me my wife and 8 year old daughter living in the house, can they just give us a 24 hour notice?

No they can't.

The fact they have even tried to threaten you with this tells you all you need to know about their own knowledge of the process...

jjlandlord

Sweet_Potato wrote: »

Its me my wife and 8 year old daughter living in the house, can they just give us a 24 hour notice?

For the purpose of inspecting the property, yes.

quidsy

Ignore above, the 245r is only a guideline IF it is convenient to you. They have no right to disregard your wishes & cannot enter the property regardless.

Also change the lock barrel. They have no right to enter the property without your express permission. You have advised you are not available & they need to respect that. You are not refusing access only that it be at a time & date agreeable to you. Contact shelter, they might be interested to know which agency this is, also find out if they are a member of any regulator & ask them to put their threat in writing on headed paper.

stator

24hr notice to move out is unbelievable, are you sure you didn't miss-understand them?

They can give 24hrs notice to access the property, but certainly not to evict you!

ComputeAngel

I would just change the locks and ask them to give you a 24 hours notice to quit in writing. And from now on wards never pick up their calls and ask them to do all the communications in writing (pen and paper).

Only you (tenant) or court can end a tenancy.

lovinituk

ComputeAngel wrote: »

Only you (tenant) or court can end a tenancy.

That's not quite right! It depends on the type of tenancy and how long is left.

jjlandlord

quidsy wrote: »

Ignore above, the 245r is only a guideline IF it is convenient to you. They have no right to disregard your wishes & cannot enter the property regardless.

Not so. Clearly a covenant by law is not a guideline.
The landlord has a clear right of access for the purpose of inspecting the property upon 24 hour notice. What it means is clear enough.

quidsy wrote: »

They have no right to enter the property without your express permission

See above.

Sweet_Potato

Hi there, thanks for all the replies.

Just to clear a few things up. The notice of inspection is fine, its on the 15th and i received the letter today, so plenty of notice but not convenient and hence I asked to reschedule to another date.

They are fine to reschedule the day but will charge me a penalty for it. I said I will not pay a penalty for rescheduling, they then said if we dont pay the penalty or allow them to visit by themselves if we are not in then they will use another section of the contract where they can give us a 24 hour notice to move out.

Basically I just need to know whats legal or not and what evidence I can use to make them see sense.

thanks.

jjlandlord

Sweet_Potato wrote: »

They are fine to reschedule the day but will charge me a penalty for it. I said I will not pay a penalty for rescheduling, they then said if we dont pay the penalty or allow them to visit by themselves if we are not in then they will use another section of the contract where they can give us a 24 hour notice to move out.

The penalty and the threat are indeed completely unacceptable and without legal basis.
In fact the threat may be deemed a criminal offence if they re-iterate it. Acting on it would be a criminal offence.

lovinituk

Sweet_Potato wrote: »

they will use another section of the contract where they can give us a 24 hour notice to move out.

Ask them to show the clause in the tenancy, although its a moot point as its bollox.

You may want to consider if you want to stay living in a property where you will have to deal with animals like this!