Landlady putting house on market

ghostfinder

As the title really,

just wanted to no were i stand with this

AST ends in July, we were expecting a S21 in May.

House is in England.

Had a call from estate agent to say house is going up for sale now, board going up this weekend, and would we work with them to allow viewings?

If this was May and a S21 had been served then i would have no issue with this.

Letting agent trying to assure us that the house will take ages to sell and not to worry

do i have to allow access before May?

any advice would be great

Thanks

dancingfairy

No you don't have to allow viewings. You may wish to do so in terms of maintaining a good relationship with the landlord/letting agent/in the hope of getting a good reference/for a financial incentive etc but you don't have to.
You could ask for a rent reduction in return for doing x number of viewings a week (At times suitable to you of course).
Alternatively you could write to them and explain that it is your house, you are paying rent to live there and you do not welcome people traipsing through your house.
Whatever you decide I would put it in writing to the landlord, the letting agents and keep a copy yourself.
IF you feel they will ignore your letter/play silly then come back and people will go through your rights of privacy vs their right to access for 'emergencies' and what you can do about it.
First step is to decide what you want to happen and to politely put it in a letter.
df

whatmichaelsays

ghostfinder wrote: »

Letting agent trying to assure us that the house will take ages to sell

I wonder if they told the landlord the same thing

pyueck

This sounds like a major inconvenience for you and you should IMHO think carefully about what you agree to. The landlord is effectively wanting you to pay the rent and use your home as a marketing suite.

While I agree that you shouldn't try to annoy the landlord, what they are asking for is well beyond your contract terms. They have no right of access for viewings and selling a house can involve many trips, estate agents, photos, viewers, surveyors, valuers etc..

There is also a good chance that they will follow up this request with a request over how you should present the property.

I would not be afraid of saying no. I am not against a few prospective tenants coming to see a property, but this will IMHO be four months of constant 'visits'.

As the previous poster said you can ask for a rent reduction, which is perfectly reasonable as the landlord is asking for a change to the terms. I think £50 a visit, with a proviso that you can veto any visits for any reason seems reasonable.

I just think be careful with this one, this can easily turn from you think a couple of visits to getting home and finding people have been looking round and an email from the estate agent saying 'doing a viewing in 30 minutes let me know if this is not ok'.... If you do agree be firm, no visits without express permission or all future visits stop!

jjlandlord

pyueck wrote: »

what they are asking for is well beyond your contract terms. They have no right of access for viewings and selling a house can involve many trips, estate agents, photos, viewers, surveyors, valuers etc..

We can't read OP's tenancy agreement from here, so it's difficult to say.
However, it seems very unlikely that it provides for access for viewings at this time. Within the last 2 months of the end of the tenancy is possible on the other hand.

Out,_Vile_Jelly

Check your contract; mine had a clause saying I needed to allow viewings in the last two months of the tenancy. I didn't think that was unreasonable, but I clearly stated that they should:

- give reasonable notice, by whichever medium you prefer (mobile, email etc)
- remove their shoes
- turn lights off
- ensure all doors are locked after the viewing

Agents can really take the pi55 with this (bringing mates/partners round half an hour after they'd left, unannounced, so they can get a second opinion) so be clear that they can't wander in and out as they please.

pyueck

Hi, just on the point of the contract.

A tenants right to quiet enjoyment will always trump any clause to allow viewings.

Not that I am recommending it but if a tenant does refuse to allow any viewings to the property until they move out there is pretty much nothing a landlord can do.

The question is, would a tenant refusing a viewing ever be a justification for taking money off the deposit, no it wouldn't. Would a judge ever award compensation to the landlord for a tenant refusing to allow people into a home they are renting, no.

Of course most tenants and landlords can come to a good agreement. All I am saying is don't be bullied into anything you are not comfortable with, don't be afraid to say no and if anybody goes beyond what you agreed, don't be afraid to say no more visits end of!

SerialRenter

pyueck wrote: »

A tenants right to quiet enjoyment will always trump any clause to allow viewings.

Please don't start this argument again.

pyueck

Serial, sorry but it's an important point. I often think tenants get bullied into allowing viewings, tidying their property up for viewings etc... and it seriously impacts the enjoyment of a place they are still paying to rent.

As I said most tenants and landlords can come to good arrangements.

G_M

pyueck wrote: »

Hi, just on the point of the contract.

A tenants right to quiet enjoyment will always trump any clause to allow viewings.

Oh dear. Not again.

This is, of course, rubbish.

As regularly explained on this forum, 'quiet enjoyment' is an implied contractual right, not a statutory right. If it conflicts with other contractual rights (ie a clause in the contract), there is no automatic 'trumping' as you claim.

Where a contract has disputed and/or conflicting terms, it would ultimately be for a court to decide which took precedence ('trumped' the other), though obviously it is far better to resolve amicably through negotiation than involve the courts.

In this case:

1) check the wording in your contract
2) decide what you want (ie to be helpful or obstructive)
3) decide on an acceptable compromise position (ie viewings on 1 or 2 pre-agreed days/times per week; in your presence/absence), following sufficient notice; with a pomise to 'tidy' the property or not)
4) decide if you want copensation (reduced rent, one-off payment etc)

then
a) discuss amicably with landlord (ideally) or agent
b) confim whatever you agree in writing

jjlandlord

pyueck wrote: »

Serial, sorry but it's an important point.

Yes. However you should research the topic first.