Letting Agency doing multiple visits daily

gemignani

"To allow the property to be viewied at all reasonable times during normal working hours (between 9am and 8pm) by prior mutually convenient appointment or on reasonable Notice either via the Tenant or with the keys..."

pmlindyloo

gemignani wrote: »

"To allow the property to be viewied at all reasonable times during normal working hours (between 9am and 8pm) by prior mutually convenient appointment or on reasonable Notice either via the Tenant or with the keys..."

This is what the Office of Fair Trading says about such a temr

Rights of entry to property
Unfair term Way of revising term
To permit intending purchasers,
tenants or others authorised by the
landlord or its agents in writing to
enter and inspect the premises at all
reasonable times.

Revised clause suggested
On giving the tenant at least 24
hours notice in writing, to allow the
landlord, or any person acting on
behalf of the landlord, access to
view the property, during normal
working hours, accompanying a
prospective tenant or purchaser of
the property

Only a court would decide whether the clause in your tenancy agreement was an unfair one.

These are the parts, I believe, that you could challenge

by prior mutually convenient appointment or on reasonable Notice either via the Tenant or with the keys..."

It has to be mutually convenient so if it isn't convenient then you need to say so.

If you think the reasonable notice is not reasonable then you need to say so (OFT suggests 24 hrs is reasonable)

In the end you have a great deal of leverage in that you can refuse all viewings and there is not a lot the LL/LA can do about it without going to court. if you decide on this approach then change the locks. They shouldn't enter with keys unless you have agreed to it (as per the clause in your tenancy agreement) but you never know.

Just be a bit more assertive. No way would I put up with 2 viewings a day.

tiger_eyes

You may (or may not) find that a polite phone call resolves the problem. I called my landlord's estate agents to let them know that viewings were only convenient on Saturday afternoons from now on and they took that without a squeak. Had they resisted, I would have had to take the excellent advice provided in this thread.

chanz4

24 hours is not for this reason, also your right to peace is been disturbed

dancingfairy

You're paying rent, it's your home. Now clearly it may be in your best interests to be co-operative, in terms of a good reference, getting your deposit back etc and just generally being a reasonable, polite human being.
Try and be as reasonable as you can but obviously if all else fails then yes,it would need to go to court to decide who was in the right and who was in the wrong. I can't see the agent/landlord bothering to take it to court though and I can't see a judge agreeing with them that 2 visits a day with minimum notice is reasonable. They are probably banking on you not understanding your rights and not being assertive but they know really they don't have a leg to stand on and that it is down to you to be accomodating (or not).
df

kinger101

chanz4 wrote: »

24 hours is not for this reason, also your right to peace is been disturbed

If there is a statement within the contract that is not unfair, then the tenant would be breaking it if they refused. What the agent is currently doing is not acceptable, but compromise is the way forward.

chanz4

in tennancys they say you cant change from / to pre-payment meters, however you can as they don't own them

gemignani

I've sent emails, but no replies... I should have sent a letter
my OH might have used a bad choice of words in a recent call with LA agent and the conversation went down hill... he claimed unlimited access at any working time.
She made my wife fall in tears as he was really aggressive!! So I'm really out of options...
we have to lock the door all day as one day they almost got into the house without knocking!! can you believe?

they are usually scheduling 2 visits a day, but actually doing only 1 visit. I had two weeks holiday and god know how many times they got in!

imo they are pricing it too high, so it will be hard to find someone.

quidsy

Doesn't matter how polite they are about it, 4 hrs notice by text is not sufficient. 24hrs minimum & you an refuse if it is inconvenient to you on specifics days.


Put pen to paper & state this clearly & that any viewings not approved with 24hrs notice from you should be considered as refused.


Don't let them bully or wave tenancy agreements. They can put any clause they want, it doesn't make it legal or enforceable.

quidsy

Oh & if you feel the need, change the lock barrel between now & when you leave then replace the original on move out day. That will stop any unwanted walk ins.