What are my tenant rights RE garden access

ic

Section62 said:

On the evidence so far I would be wondering if he had some form of electrical equipment in the shed and running it off your meter.  Do you keep an eye on your electric bills, do they seem more expensive that you'd expect?

Perhaps there's a server rack in there, mining for bitcoins?  When it snows, does it settle on the roof of the shed, or does it melt immediately?....

 

AdrianC

arj05 said:

...as far as I’m concerned it’s also a health and safety hazard. What if there was a fire at the front of the property and we could only get out of the back door, then couldn’t escape the garden?

This is a red herring, unfortunately. There is no legal requirement for access from rear garden round the house - and a lot of houses that do not have any rear garden access except through the house, simply because the house is the full width of the plot.

arj05 said:

Right?! He also won't let me have a key to the cupboard with my meters in so I have to call them every time I need a gas and electric reading! talk about control freaks!

I presume the meter cupboard is just the usual triangle lock?
He's not going to unlock it every time the meter gets read, after all...
So... https://www.screwfix.com/p/3-way-services-cabinet-key/16428 or https://www.amazon.co.uk/Duratool-Meter-Box-Key/dp/B00XNXIJQI/

arj05

AdrianC said:

I presume the meter cupboard is just the usual triangle lock?

There is that one for, I think it's gas? But there is also a second cupboard beside my front door that has a wooden door and lock that requires a proper key to open that has the electricity one inside. I've had someone come to try and fit a smart meter 4 times over a 2 year period now but there have been issues with getting into the bloody cupboard because nobody has turned up to unlock it!

tealady

Where is your fuse box? Personally I would turn off everything in the house, flick the fuses to off then go away for a week. Before I leave I would change the locks on the house so the landlord cant get in.
But I am evil!

Section62

arj05 said:

There is that one for, I think it's gas? But there is also a second cupboard beside my front door that has a wooden door and lock that requires a proper key to open that has the electricity one inside. I've had someone come to try and fit a smart meter 4 times over a 2 year period now but there have been issues with getting into the bloody cupboard because nobody has turned up to unlock it!

That could then be your health and safety angle.

It should be possible for the electricity supplier's main cutout fuse to be removed in the event of an emergency - and normally would be if it were inside the house, or in an external cupboard with a standard key.

The landlord doesn't have a reasonable excuse not to give you a copy of the key for the meter cupboard, and by failing to do so they are raising the level of risk that it would take longer than necessary to cut the electricity supply to the property if something did go wrong.

Whether or not you can get them to take that complaint seriously is another matter though, it sounds very unlikely.

Their failure to turn up for appointments to have a smart meter fitted would add to my suspicions about possible misuse of your electricity supply - because even if the cupboard remains locked, the IHD would allow you to notice unusual electrical consumption more easily.

princeofpounds

I very much doubt there is a dope farm in the shed. You would smell it, for starters. There's a good chance there is some abstraction of electricity here, but I suspect it's nothing more than recharging batteries for power tools, and not worth getting worked up about.

Access to the meters is another issue. It's 'your' meter on 'your' property - so if you want to get inside the locked cupboard, just do it (locksmith or crowbar as is your choice).

doodling

The only question I have in my mind is whether the property is a HMO (two occupiers, the landlord "occupying" the shed and you occupying everything else) and consequently the landlord is responsible for the council tax.  I suspect that you have to have habitable accommodation to be an occupier so I don't think this helps - does anyone know the intricate detail of council tax law?

Probably best not to ask the council that question - in the unlikely event that the landlord is responsible he won't be happy...

princeofpounds

doodling said:

The only question I have in my mind is whether the property is a HMO (two occupiers, the landlord "occupying" the shed and you occupying everything else) and consequently the landlord is responsible for the council tax.  I suspect that you have to have habitable accommodation to be an occupier so I don't think this helps - does anyone know the intricate detail of council tax law?

Probably best not to ask the council that question - in the unlikely event that the landlord is responsible he won't be happy...

No, it is not an HMO. A shed is not a household.

And no, it won't be subject to business rates (council tax is for residential). There's a bunch of detail behind it but basically a shed will have zero rateable value. Even if it was, it would be the landlord's business, no issue for the OP.

Norman_Castle

Put a second lock on the gate. Explain you're worried the handyman might forget to lock his so it would be easier for thieves to break into your home.

Next time the meter cupboard is opened take a photograph of whatever is in there, explain your supplier has asked for one.

"the entrance to the shed is almost flush with the gate so and as long as they don’t come down the passage and into the garden they’re not really entering my private space without my permission so I can’t argue the right to privacy thing."

I'd consider the front garden and the area in front of the shed your private space. You're paying to rent it.

The shed appears to have a euro lock and an alarm padlock on it so there is clearly a security or privacy concern. The best security would be the tenant keeping an eye on it.

KittenChops

I think I've read somewhere that if you don't have access to the whole property, then you are not liable for council tax.  Anyone?