Flat Inspections by Letting Agent

Barcode

fac73 wrote: »

I do think inspections have a place, and yes they are a good opportunity for you to point out any repairs that need doing (however when these repairs are not carried out by the time the NEXT three monthly inspection rolls around you will wonder why you bothered) but I think every three months IS excessive. I did not like someone coming in and making notes on their little clipboard while my life is on display.

You have just summed up how we feel. I know some think we are being unreasonable, but rather than that, it might be best to view it as different personalities: some people are more relaxed, and don't mind what the LL/agent does (within reason), whereas we value our privacy. We don't want to be intentionally difficult, but we do resent the attitude that we should just jump because the LL or/and agent said so.

I wouldn't mind renting privately. It's rare that I have ever had a problem with the LL, it's often been the agents, and in the past, I've discovered that the LL didn't really have a clue what the agent had been doing :eek:

Barcode

Hi Olly,

That's been really clear, so thanks. I think we will seriously consider sending a letter with the information your point out if they are not willing to negotiate in the long-term (we're aware that since we're new tenants, we should be open to such things at this stage).

If the agent notes down anything, then we'll request a copy. Although everything is as it is when we moved in. I don't think the LL is being obnoxious, it seems to be the agent who is insisting on this that and the other. We will however, copy correspondence to the LL, as it is sometimes the case one does not know what the other is doing.

daphne_descends

Caveat emptor - I hated the inspections but never complained. My correspondance with my LA consisted of - letting them know about repairs that needed doing. Things like, the guttering was blocked (as sooz says - I presume the previous tenants didn't notice or care because it had clearly been blocked for an age - the bricks were deteriorating!) - fence panels were damaged in a storm - the bannister was not safe/wobbled like you wouldn't believe. Not minor petty things.

I asked for one inspection date to be moved as we were on holiday, and I requested notice for the above repairs so I could be there (bad experience with a previous LL). On ONE occasion I asked for a contractor to re-schedule (this was not to carry out repairs but to do a quote) as I had a work crisis - the lady who sorted this at the LA was lovely about it and it was carried out the next day with me there, all fine.

So as far as I was concerned we were good tenants. Then I spoke to this stupid !!!!! at the LA about ending our tenancy early (long story) and she told me we were the worst tenants they'd ever had and were nothing but trouble, she told me we were 'constantly denying access' (!!!!!! WHEN!!!!) and she'd personally see to it that we got as little of our deposit back as was possible.

This got wordy, I am tired, but the moral of my story is keep your head down because some people - in any job, but including LA's - build up personal vendetta's if you create work for them.

On check out the inspector told us the house was in better condition than when we took it on, so fac73 1, Claire at LA 0, she still had me in tears and crapping myself though so my victory is minor.

daphne_descends

Sorry, I'm not half going on here, but for moving forward I'd wait until after this inspection and then as others have said, once they've seen that you're not running a cannabis factory or whatever, ask that the next one be in six months rather than three - I also liked the idea of keeping them there as long as possible, they won't hurry back! good luck.

sooz

Upstairs bathrooms, especially in flats, can be a huge headache. In one flat above one I own, the manager/LL is a b8stard. He has hotbedding tenants, who are a real pain, as is he.

Their shower cubicle seal was mouldy, so they used bleach on it...which rots silicone. So the shower leaked. They did not notice...the flat below did (as all my tenants are lovely )

Their washing machine was also slightly leaking, as the connection to the waste had come loose. When then ran the machine, there was a small pool of water at the front, which they mopped up.

Only really minor damage to their floor...so they didn't call their LL, and he doesn't do inspections. The total cost to them (or rather their LL) was cost of a handyman for 1 1/2 hours.

In my flat, I needed 4 ceilings stainblocking and repainting, and some of the walls needed colour matching, as they too had been stained. This caused huge disruption to my tenants, with builiders & ladders, & paint smells, & dust...bookcases needed moving etc.

Total cost to the insurance company was over £1000. My excess was £200, and the insurance premiums for the block rose again.

If he'd done an inspection, and asked if there were any other problems, none of this would have been necessary.

olly300

Just because a LL or LA does inspections doesn't mean they will fix problems and vice versa. The LLs who did the hall inspection were very happy to fix things and put new things in, while a LA who did proper inspections did sweet FA even when chased up. (Their office was 4 minutes walk from the property so it was really easy to chase them up.)

Plus being keeping your head down or not doesn't correlate with them trying to keep your deposit. Some LL and LA make up any reason or no reason at all to try and steal your deposit even if you have had minimal contact with them over the year and have asked for no major repairs.

Rain_is_Insane

From reading some of the posts about LA on here i'm glad i rent privately. We have been with the same LL for a number of years now. We moved 2 years after we started letting from him, into another property of his as it was bigger and suited our needs better. He hasn't been near the place in 7 years !!!! We have a gas inspection done every year and he always phones to arrange a convenient time. I've always paid my rent on time and if anything wants doing i ring him up and he offers to reduce the rent if my DH can manage the job (suits us down to the ground) His wife came out a few years ago just to check the jobs had been done and properly and she commented on how much we had done to the house to improve it.

I did start off with quarterly inspections but by the time I had moved into his second property he gave up!

Again as other people have mentioned, this is probably the LA policy not the LL's. I would personally put up and shut up but politely point out that they may want to ammend their AST to include the duration of inspections and not just the terms of 24 hours notice to inspect the property.

Private LL appreciate model tennants a lot more than LA im afraid.

meeps

I have 3 monthly inspections and actually quite like it, we have been here over 4 years so have a reasonable relationship with the lady from the agency, it gives us a chance to talk about any little niggles, and we got a new posh front door yesterday as last inspection she decided the old one wasn't good enough.
I like the place to be presentable when she comes so give it a good blitz and find it motivates me to keep on top of everything. Mind you I am a stay at home mum so don't have to take time off work to be in for them- they have an option of you paying to choose the time they come for £15!!

Barcode

Yes, in my old house, inspections were done six-monthly. Promises would follow to fix the shower which was more of a drip; the mould in the boiler cupboard (nothing was done until a repairman said it was at risk of falling through the celing); the floor-tiles which were a hazard for tripping down the stairs; the non-working gas fire. The list goes on. We became fed up and moved out. I do not know why some landlord's treat tenants as a low priority when we are keeping them in business. As a paying customer, it's reasonable to expect a certain level of service.

I would never pay to arrange a convenient time, and I doubt that charge is legally enforceable.

I understand some might like the opportunity to talk about minor repairs etc. In our case, this is a new flat (nobody else has lived here), and everything is immaculate. It's less likely we're going to have problems, and if we did, we wouldn't wait until an inspection.

I suspect the A.S.T is just standard wording which nobody has bothered to amend to suit their own policies. Again, that is unprofessional. At this stage, I'm not going to be argumentative (despite what I think), but I will be discussing it when she turns up on weds. In the long-term, I'd rather find a decent LL or agent that doesn't expect us to obey them on demand.

nobblyned

Blimey guv. Chill out!

Don't wind yourself up about it!