Estate Agent Mismanaged my keys

Nicola_B123

Hi
I went to visit my property which is a shared rental house and was told that 2 of the tenants were given the full set of keys including keys to all the rooms on 2 separate occasions.  One of the tenants locked the master keys in her room and went away for a period of time so the agent had no means of accessing my property.  The tenants were obviously pretty upset about this as am I.  I was not informed by the agent of this situation.
I have complained to the agent and asked for a copy of the records that they maintain that cover the management of the keys, who they were issued to, when and when they were returned?  Does anyone know if I have a right to see these records, or have any information relating to any rights and obligations that the agent has in relation to managing my keys?
Thanks
N

DCFC79

Does your contract not state that information ?

steampowered

I don't think you have a "legal right" to see the agent's key records.

If the agent refuses, you can sack them and move to a different agent.

Though, it does sound like the tenants need to take some responsibility here. It's not great to be constantly asking for the agent's keys then not returning them.

greatcrested

What's the issue?

Locksmith gains entry, changes lock.

Bill sent to tenant who caused the problem.

As for the agent, if your contract with them includes holding a set of keys and they've failed to do so, then there is the option of suing for breach of contract (another option to recover cost of locksmith) and/or change agent.

Post 9: Letting agents: how should a landlord select or sack?

dimbo61

Maybe a good idea to change the locks on the bedroom doors to press code locks. No one can then lose the keys.
Change the code each time you change tenant 

Nicola_B123

steampowered said:

I don't think you have a "legal right" to see the agent's key records.

If the agent refuses, you can sack them and move to a different agent.

Though, it does sound like the tenants need to take some responsibility here. It's not great to be constantly asking for the agent's keys then not returning them.

It happened with 2 separate tenants.  They should have been checked into the property but instead were given the full set of master keys one of whom didn't return them for some time.  They weren't constantly asking for them at all.

AdrianC

Nicola_B123 said:

I went to visit my property which is a shared rental house and was told that 2 of the tenants were given the full set of keys including keys to all the rooms on 2 separate occasions.  One of the tenants locked the master keys in her room and went away for a period of time so the agent had no means of accessing my property.  The tenants were obviously pretty upset about this as am I.  I was not informed by the agent of this situation.

Ooops. Still, apart from a bit of minor inconvenience (did the agent even need access at any time when no occupant could provide it?), there's no actual loss.

I have complained to the agent and asked for a copy of the records that they maintain that cover the management of the keys, who they were issued to, when and when they were returned?  Does anyone know if I have a right to see these records, or have any information relating to any rights and obligations that the agent has in relation to managing my keys?

I think you're veering towards unreasonabley micro-managey.

If you still trust the agent, trust their word not to do it again.
If you don't trust the agent any more, find a different agent.

If you're worried about the keys falling into the wrong hands, do you change locks routinely between every tenant...?

Nicola_B123

AdrianC said:

Nicola_B123 said:

I went to visit my property which is a shared rental house and was told that 2 of the tenants were given the full set of keys including keys to all the rooms on 2 separate occasions.  One of the tenants locked the master keys in her room and went away for a period of time so the agent had no means of accessing my property.  The tenants were obviously pretty upset about this as am I.  I was not informed by the agent of this situation.

Ooops. Still, apart from a bit of minor inconvenience (did the agent even need access at any time when no occupant could provide it?), there's no actual loss.

I have complained to the agent and asked for a copy of the records that they maintain that cover the management of the keys, who they were issued to, when and when they were returned?  Does anyone know if I have a right to see these records, or have any information relating to any rights and obligations that the agent has in relation to managing my keys?

I think you're veering towards unreasonabley micro-managey.

If you still trust the agent, trust their word not to do it again.
If you don't trust the agent any more, find a different agent.

If you're worried about the keys falling into the wrong hands, do you change locks routinely between every tenant...?

Thanks for your response, however I was hoping that I would recieve informed feedback from knowledgeable people.  I dont think it is micro managey to expect that keys to my tenants rooms to be kept secure and not given out to strangers who could access their rooms when they are not home. 
Changing locks routinely is a completely separate issue not related to the estate agent management of my keys.  FYI, yes of course I do!
I will not be answering any further posts from you.  

AdrianC

Nicola_B123 said:

AdrianC said:

If you're worried about the keys falling into the wrong hands, do you change locks routinely between every tenant...?

Changing locks routinely is a completely separate issue not related to the estate agent management of my keys.  FYI, yes of course I do!

No, it's entirely related... Because if not (and I suspect you are in the tiny minority of multi-occupancy landlords), then who knows how many copies are out there anyway.

But my point is simply - you know the chain of control of these keys while they were out in the world. They went to a tenant who locked them in their room and disappeared. There is little security breach there.

If you think that this may be a wider issue, then the paperwork is irrelevant. You do not trust the agent. Replace them.

wilfred30

Nicola_B123 said:

AdrianC said:

Nicola_B123 said:

I went to visit my property which is a shared rental house and was told that 2 of the tenants were given the full set of keys including keys to all the rooms on 2 separate occasions.  One of the tenants locked the master keys in her room and went away for a period of time so the agent had no means of accessing my property.  The tenants were obviously pretty upset about this as am I.  I was not informed by the agent of this situation.

Ooops. Still, apart from a bit of minor inconvenience (did the agent even need access at any time when no occupant could provide it?), there's no actual loss.

I have complained to the agent and asked for a copy of the records that they maintain that cover the management of the keys, who they were issued to, when and when they were returned?  Does anyone know if I have a right to see these records, or have any information relating to any rights and obligations that the agent has in relation to managing my keys?

I think you're veering towards unreasonabley micro-managey.

If you still trust the agent, trust their word not to do it again.
If you don't trust the agent any more, find a different agent.

If you're worried about the keys falling into the wrong hands, do you change locks routinely between every tenant...?

Thanks for your response, however I was hoping that I would recieve informed feedback from knowledgeable people.  I dont think it is micro managey to expect that keys to my tenants rooms to be kept secure and not given out to strangers who could access their rooms when they are not home. 
Changing locks routinely is a completely separate issue not related to the estate agent management of my keys.  FYI, yes of course I do!
I will not be answering any further posts from you.  

Oh dear!  Bit of an over-reaction don't you think?