Rights for Viewings

sheramber

Kittenplump_2 said:

jimbog said:

Are you intending to look for another rental? Will you then be requiring a landlord reference?

We are looking at our options but if they request viewings which i will refuse. I have a letter informing them that I refuse this and my reasons. With informing them we will vacate by the date given. TBH we’re doing them a favour i would think by vacating when asked and not going down the route of court etc. If he were to provide a bad reference. I would challenge it given I have provided my reasons and their references have to be true and factual. We have a right to quiet enjoyment at the end of the day. I have enough going on without having strangers pitch up when I’m still a paying tenant. 

He can decline to give a reference which would not look good to a prospective landlord. 

saajan_12

Kittenplump_2 said:

jimbog said:

Are you intending to look for another rental? Will you then be requiring a landlord reference?

We are looking at our options but if they request viewings which i will refuse. I have a letter informing them that I refuse this and my reasons. With informing them we will vacate by the date given. TBH we’re doing them a favour i would think by vacating when asked and not going down the route of court etc. If he were to provide a bad reference. I would challenge it given I have provided my reasons and their references have to be true and factual. We have a right to quiet enjoyment at the end of the day. I have enough going on without having strangers pitch up when I’m still a paying tenant. 

You seem to be set on your plan so not sure if there's anything still to discuss. But to the extent that you still want advice:

* Yes you absolutely have a right to quiet enjoyment. They can't kick you out, start doing major renovations, hold daily viewings, etc. 
* A reasonable amount of viewings at reasonable times with notice does not conflict with quiet enjoyment. You can't just unliterally decide that reasonable is zero. 
* You already did give permission in the contract. In practice if you've changed the locks there's little they can do (can't break in). They might be able to sue you for losses due to breaching the agreement by eg if they had people lined up to view and the sale process could only start a month later after you vacated. 
* Granted lots of 'if's there and they may well not get anything back. Same as if you underpaid rent by £1. Practically little they can do, they can't reach into your pocket and aren't going to file a court claim over it, but that doesn't mean its not a breach of the agreement. 
* Re Reference, the LL could factually state that the tenant agreed to viewings in the contract, then refused to cooperate with giving access even once. Reading that as the next LL, I wouldn't not rent to you. If you're buying then maybe you don't care, but if you'll need another rental in between then this might be the MORE stressful route. 

powerful_Rogue

Tabieth said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

Albermarle said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

@artyboy I’m actually with an agents and never met with the LL but unhappy with how it’s been dealt with. Just no loyalty at all or thought for good hardworking tenants. I’m wondering if I should submit a letter detailing that I won’t be allowing viewings. Till we vacate in 8 weeks. I have one already drafted. Or wait till they request, if they request that is. 

Why are you so fixated on leaving in 8 weeks. It has been explained in previous posts that will not be necessary.

I don’t want it going to court to be evicted as we are looking to buy and that might not be favourable sitting tight and waiting to be evicted route. Don’t want it to be an issue regarding the mortgage application by doing that. 

But it won’t be. There’s a very big gap between you moving out in 8-weeks and you being forcibly evicted / having your credit score report impacted. You have far longer than 8-weeks before it will come even close to that. 

Slight correction. We don't have credit scores that mean anything in the UK.

Tabieth

powerful_Rogue said:

Tabieth said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

Albermarle said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

@artyboy I’m actually with an agents and never met with the LL but unhappy with how it’s been dealt with. Just no loyalty at all or thought for good hardworking tenants. I’m wondering if I should submit a letter detailing that I won’t be allowing viewings. Till we vacate in 8 weeks. I have one already drafted. Or wait till they request, if they request that is. 

Why are you so fixated on leaving in 8 weeks. It has been explained in previous posts that will not be necessary.

I don’t want it going to court to be evicted as we are looking to buy and that might not be favourable sitting tight and waiting to be evicted route. Don’t want it to be an issue regarding the mortgage application by doing that. 

But it won’t be. There’s a very big gap between you moving out in 8-weeks and you being forcibly evicted / having your credit score report impacted. You have far longer than 8-weeks before it will come even close to that. 

Slight correction. We don't have credit scores that mean anything in the UK.

Yep, I know. I was using it as a lazy shorthand as the OP was worried about an impact on mortgage applications.  

artyboy

Tabieth said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Tabieth said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

Albermarle said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

@artyboy I’m actually with an agents and never met with the LL but unhappy with how it’s been dealt with. Just no loyalty at all or thought for good hardworking tenants. I’m wondering if I should submit a letter detailing that I won’t be allowing viewings. Till we vacate in 8 weeks. I have one already drafted. Or wait till they request, if they request that is. 

Why are you so fixated on leaving in 8 weeks. It has been explained in previous posts that will not be necessary.

I don’t want it going to court to be evicted as we are looking to buy and that might not be favourable sitting tight and waiting to be evicted route. Don’t want it to be an issue regarding the mortgage application by doing that. 

But it won’t be. There’s a very big gap between you moving out in 8-weeks and you being forcibly evicted / having your credit score report impacted. You have far longer than 8-weeks before it will come even close to that. 

Slight correction. We don't have credit scores that mean anything in the UK.

Yep, I know. I was using it as a lazy shorthand as the OP was worried about an impact on mortgage applications.  

At least they don't need to worry about a reference from their LL if they are intending to buy rather than rent again.

Even so, I do think the OP ought to take a breath and just acknowledge that there is not some sort of 8 week ticking clock of doom here, after which all sorts of bad things will happen to them. It's just not how it works. Many of us on here would take a punt on the S21 notice not even being valid.

I can understand the 'bad taste in the mouth' thing that this is causing, and so if they are setting themselves a deadline to just be done with it, then fine, but it doesn't have to be this way, especially if there are a lot of other competing priorities for them, right here and now.

Martico

You'll have more than eight weeks if you want to delay things, as others have stated.
You'll also need more than eight weeks if you're hoping to source, agree, exchange and complete on a purchase as your next move

Section62

If the landlord is looking to sell, and the OP is looking to buy, then might there be a win-win here?

swingaloo

Why on earth put it in writing that you will leave in 8 weeks? 

Especially if you are looking to buy, you should hold on as long !!!!!! possible.

secla

We had a similar situation years ago and I gave them a 1 hour slot each week they could conduct viewings
If the doors have euro barrels in swap them out, there very cheap and if they ask why you have changed the locks you can just ask them how they know they have been changed unless they tried to gain illegal access.

RHemmings

artyboy said:

Tabieth said:

powerful_Rogue said:

Tabieth said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

Albermarle said:

Kittenplump_2 said:

@artyboy I’m actually with an agents and never met with the LL but unhappy with how it’s been dealt with. Just no loyalty at all or thought for good hardworking tenants. I’m wondering if I should submit a letter detailing that I won’t be allowing viewings. Till we vacate in 8 weeks. I have one already drafted. Or wait till they request, if they request that is. 

Why are you so fixated on leaving in 8 weeks. It has been explained in previous posts that will not be necessary.

I don’t want it going to court to be evicted as we are looking to buy and that might not be favourable sitting tight and waiting to be evicted route. Don’t want it to be an issue regarding the mortgage application by doing that. 

But it won’t be. There’s a very big gap between you moving out in 8-weeks and you being forcibly evicted / having your credit score report impacted. You have far longer than 8-weeks before it will come even close to that. 

Slight correction. We don't have credit scores that mean anything in the UK.

Yep, I know. I was using it as a lazy shorthand as the OP was worried about an impact on mortgage applications.  

At least they don't need to worry about a reference from their LL if they are intending to buy rather than rent again.

Just being curious here, but what happens if someone has been out of the rental market for 20 years then has to enter it again? E.g. for a short term let between owned houses. 

Returning to the central topic of this thread, my reading of the term in the contract is that the OP has to allow viewings at reasonable times, but it doesn't say that they have to agree to all viewings. Giving a date and time (e.g. a 3 hour block) at a reasonable time when viewings can occur would, it seems to me, fulfil the obligation as per the contract. (And, as said above, terms in a contract cannot dispense with the OP's right to quiet enjoyment). Note that I am not a lawyer, this is not legal advice. Only what a judge in a court of law believes the term means matters.