Is this 'normal' practice?

cobbingstones

Hi all,

We rented our house out for six months and found the agency we choose to be very professional and helpful. However, on our return we found out from a neighbour that our other neighbour (who is a landlord) looked around the house before our return with the Agent who we share. This was to make sure that the place was left in a good enough condition so he was happy for them to move into one of his houses after our return.

I have to say that I feel annoyed because I was not asked also I was not told of this from the Agent. Is this normal practice? Also if I'm honest here, I feel abit cross that our neighbour was looking around our home (although it was rented out at the time) when he knows the agent well and surely could of trusted his judgement on how well the place had been kept.

I hope I've made sense here.

Thanks in advance and happy holidays


MM

dolce_vita

It's a bit cheeky.

But nothing more.

Don't woory about it and have a happy chrisymas.

cherry_blossom_6

I certainly would be making a complaint about that. There was no need for him to be there without your permission.

HugoSP

I can understand why you would be annoyed but:

1) If the tenant invited him in then neither the agent nor the new landlord have done anything wrong. Whilst it is your house it was your tenants' home whilst they are paying you the rent, and they could have quite legitimately been invited in as guests under the terms of the tenancy agreement.

2) If the tenant did not invite him in or agree to an inspection and it was done without their knowledge then it is the tenant who has a complaint - not you.

Put yourself in the tenants' shoes for a minuit.

You are renting a house for 6 months and you know that the landlord is coming back to the country and will need his house back. So you approach the agent for alternative accomodation.

The agent diligently finds another property but the landlord, after maybe having problems with previous tenants, may not want to rent again at all but the agent tries to persuade the landlord that you are a good tenant, maybe by offering to show him around your home.

The next contact that the agent makes with you is a phonecall to say:

"Hello Mrs.... In my efforts to find you another place to rent, I've identified just what you need. However the owner is a little reluctant to let it again after having some bad tenants. I would like to offer him the opportunity to have a quick look at the place you are in now purely so that I can back up what I've told him about you being an excellent tenant. This is entirely up to you."

If you are actively looking for another place and know that this house is just what you need then there is no reason why you, as a decent tenant would not want to allow the visit.

Your tenancy agreement does not prevent you from inviting guest into your home, but you are responsible for them whilst they are there.

TBH If I was looking for a new tenant and I was offered the chance to inspect their current home I would see this as a demonstation that the tenant wanted to convince me that he/she was responsible. Whether or not I would take the offer up I am not sure, but the position of his current landlord would not be a factor in my decision as I know the tenant is exercising his rights under the AST.

If one of my tenants wanted to facilitate a visit from their next prospective landlord (whilst the AST was still in force) for any reason that was within the law then legally I would not be able to stand in their way, and neither would I want to.

Quite apart from the agent being cheeky it is IMO quite ingenious.

If he had offered you the same opportunity to personally vet the way in which your tenants were keeping their previous house, how would you feel?

The fact of the matter is that, whilst the AST (tenancy agreement) does curtail such eventualities as the tenant allowing someone else to live in the property etc, they can otherwise treat the places as theirs, provided they return it to you in the same state as it was let to them.

Generali

You are entitled to 'quite enjoyment' of the property. In effect that means that you have to be given notice of and agree to any visit by the LL except for emergency repairs.

HugoSP

Generali wrote: »

You are entitled to 'quite enjoyment' of the property. In effect that means that you have to be given notice of and agree to any visit by the LL except for emergency repairs.

Generali,

The OP was not the tenant but the owner of the house that the agent was renting.

Her gripe was that the new perspective LL had been around to have a look at how her tenants were looking after her house in order to assess whether he wanted them as tenants in his house after she wanted her house back.

molerat

Generali wrote: »

You are entitled to 'quite enjoyment' of the property. In effect that means that you have to be given notice of and agree to any visit by the LL except for emergency repairs.

Which has nothing to do with the original post HugoSP seems to have covered everything, the OP(generally, there may be exeptions) has no say on who the tenant invites into the property.

Doozergirl

It wasn't 'your home' when your neighbour saw it. If your tenants were paying rent at the time, it was their home.

What HugoSP says.

Generali

Ooops. The 70 hour weeks must be taking their toll.

I've not even started on the wine yet today - it's a bit early for me!

Doozergirl

Generali wrote: »

I've not even started on the wine yet today - it's a bit early for me!

34 minutes and counting

Generali

Doozergirl wrote: »

34 minutes and counting

As Winston Churchill said, "I used to try to avoid drinking before lunch, now I try to avoid it before breakfast".

Sorry to go completely OT. GB Shaw (I think) said, "I never drink anything [water] that fish have sx in".

Oh and regarding the OP's situation, if the tenants are happy to have someone to visit the place they are renting then it's not really anyone else's business, LL or not.