do i have a right?

pesky_princess

Hello.... Its me again! lol
Just wondered if anyone knew if I have any right to be at the final inspection with the agent or landlord? I asked my agent if i could be there as with stuff thats gone on with landlord, i don't trust him to be truthful... but the agent told me I could not be there.... do I just take his word for it or have I got a right to be there?
thanks! x

dannyboycey

Take lots of evidence photos before you go.

Sorry, not sure about whether you have a right to be there or not - perhaps someone else can help.

HugoSP

Actually you do have a right, I assume it's being carried out at the end of your tenancy so your tenancy is still in force.

Ask him to back what he says in writing, and inform him in writing recorded delivery that you intend to be resent during the inpsection.

If they still refuse then withold part of your deposit then a small claims court would not look too kindly on their refusal.

I always insist that my tenants are present during end of tenancy inspections.

Strapped

Take photos and video before you leave. Not sure whether you are entitled to be there or not (we insisted!) but if the LL is doing the inspection himself then it is meaningless anyway - if he tries to make any reduction from your deposit you would win hands down at the small claims court unless he had used an independent third party inspection company. (Are you sure that this is not the case, as if he's using an agent, they would normally arrange this?)

pesky_princess

hi! thanks! My agent says they will do an inspection after I have handed the keys back - to me this just seems odd as obviously once they have the keys. I am powerless to rectify anything they point out, I just thought if I were present and they picked out something little that needed to be done, then i could recify it before leaving etc, if you get what i mean. I mean there should not be a problem , there has not been anything damaged here, I don't know what to take specific pictures of, as i don't know what they are going to point out... just seems to me that not allowing me to be there and making me hand the keys back in first so they can say/do what they want. I don't know.. i might just be being paranoid, but I have had a load of grief from my landlord recently and i can't help thinking he is going to screw me out of my deposit if he can.
I am considering not paying my last month rent and telling them to take it out my deposit, just to be safe.

maninthestreet

Tell them they won't get the keys if they don't do the inspecrtion with you present. Like others have said, even if you are allowed to be present, take lots of photos and videos of each and every room anyway.

LandyAndy

I don't see how you can expect them to do the inspection before the end of the tenancy. any amount of dam,age could be done between the inspection and your leavig.

You could suggest that they do it on the last day and you hand them the keys when it is completed but if they cannot arrange an inspection for that day you are stuck. At the end of the tenancy you have to return the keys and after that you've no rights in relation to the property.

So. as other people have said take photos.

HugoSP

To my mind the best practice is to meet the tenant at the property and carry out the inspection with him/her present, then once the inspection is carried out, observations are noted, including any issues that may or may not be agreed upon.

Both sign a record of the inspection and both keep copies. If there is any area for disagreement then each party makes an entry to that effect to be resolved later.

The tenant hands the keys back and leaves the property. The tenant has his/her copy of the inspection record and the landlord/agent has theirs.

Any unresolved issues are then negotiated out at a later date. and al/part of or none of the deposit is returned.

If we couldn't agree and it went to court then my allowing the tenant to be party to the inspection would not hurt my case.

Having said that, widtholding the last months rent is a tactic that a lot of tenants use but you de need a reference for your next place.

pesky_princess

LandyAndy wrote: »

I don't see how you can expect them to do the inspection before the end of the tenancy. any amount of dam,age could be done between the inspection and your leavig.

You could suggest that they do it on the last day and you hand them the keys when it is completed but if they cannot arrange an inspection for that day you are stuck. At the end of the tenancy you have to return the keys and after that you've no rights in relation to the property.

So. as other people have said take photos.

i don't expect it to be done before i leave... i would like you say like to have the inspection on the day i hand back the keys... i will put this to them to see what they say!
I will take plenty of photos... its just hard to know what to take photos specifically of!
thanks! x

pesky_princess

HugoSP wrote: »

To my mind the best practice is to meet the tenant at the property and carry out the inspection with him/her present, then once the inspection is carried out, observations are noted, including any issues that may or may not be agreed upon.

Both sign a record of the inspection and both keep copies. If there is any area for disagreement then each party makes an entry to that effect to be resolved later.

The tenant hands the keys back and leaves the property. The tenant has his/her copy of the inspection record and the landlord/agent has theirs.

Any unresolved issues are then negotiated out at a later date. and al/part of or none of the deposit is returned.

If we couldn't agree and it went to court then my allowing the tenant to be party to the inspection would not hurt my case.

Having said that, widtholding the last months rent is a tactic that a lot of tenants use but you de need a reference for your next place.

I would have thought that doing the inspection with the tenant would be best all round myself - it makes sense, and like you say, signing an inspection record and everything! That would be fine with me - you both know where you st!and then... i can't help feeling uneasy that I have just got to hand them the keys back and wait for their outcome of the inspection which apparently is done within 14 days of me leaving, and in this time the landlord is allowed to inspect the property for himself too.. but what is to stop the landlord coming in before them and doing anything to damage anything or whatever? I am really uneasy about this.I would feel so much better if I were there - alarm bells are starting to ring, and i am getting worried :-(
I could withold the rent as I have already got another rented property sorted.. i got the keys for the new place and signed a tenancy agreement for a year on 12th december so requiring a reference etc is not a problem!

thanks!

Doozergirl

To be fair to the landlord, even a crazy one probably wouldn't damage their own property to get at you.

It is not good being there for the inspection. I was there at the last one by accident and the LL had insisted on doing it along with the LA. She was a proper mentalist complaining that I had left one picture hook in the wall, that I had damaged the grout on the kitchen floor (how in God's name would I do that?) and that the grass wasn't short enough for her liking amongst other entirely random, pointless things. I managed to hold my tongue quite well until she said something about her 'allowing' me into her home at which point I lost it. Like I wasn't aware that I had paid for the priviledge of living there with her walking her dog past the house and staring at us every day, sending her kids around for 'post' and generally being a busybody. :mad: So much for quiet enjoyment.

If you've got issues, it'll turn into a fight. Just take as many photos as you can and leave them to it.