Landlord just let himself in.......

LuciferTDark

Someone I know close by is out right now & their private landlord has just let himself into the house, is this right? can he just walk in whenever he feels like it? If this has been mentioned before I can't find it.

LuciferTDark

I don't know whether he has or not, but personally I wouldn't want him wandering about while I wasn't in.

Shambler

Definitely no unless the tenant has allowed him to.

3plus1

LuciferTDark wrote: »

I don't know whether he has or not, but personally I wouldn't want him wandering about while I wasn't in.

If you're so concerned, ask your friend if they gave consent for the landlord to enter the property! In my last rented house, I was always in and out at awkward times, so if my landlady needed access for repairs etc, I always told her to let herself in to supervise! As long as you trust your landlord, what's the big deal? Your friend may well have told their landlord to use their own key because your friend couldn't be there.

As for your original question... To my knowledge, landlords can generally only 'wander in' when there's an emergency (e.g. burst pipes) to take care of.

donna1987

Our landlord did this when we went on holiday. we gave a key to our neighbours just incase and told the landlord they had keys if he needed access in an emergency and also for when the gas man needed access to renew the gas safety certificate.
got back from holiday to find out the neighbours came home one evening and noticed people in the house. it was the landlord and his wife 'checking' on the house. they said the freezer had broken so they had to empty it all before it went off. why they were in there to find the freezer broken in the first place, they've never properly explained.
i went balistic and said they had no right to do that and every since they've been great. what annoyed me most though was that they never said they already had a key(i dont object to them having one, just that they never told us when we said to ask the neighbours)

so if i were you, just mention it to your neighbour then let them sort it out their way.

Paul_Herring

When I was renting, the landlady gave me notice when she wanted to empty the electric (coin) meter. I never had a problem with it, and I was rarely in when she came.

I'd second Donna by mentioning it to your neighbour when they get back and let them take it from there.

corine39

I always call my tenants if something needs doing (eg gas safety cert). I say if the appointment is inconvenient I can let the workman in myself so they don't have to 'hang around waiting'. I always follow this up with a letter so that there is no misunderstanding with times/dates

MissMoneypenny

donna1987 wrote: »

what annoyed me most though was that they never said they already had a key(i dont object to them having one, just that they never told us when we said to ask the neighbours)

This from shelter:-

"Why some landlords harass tenants




"Your landlord does not have an automatic right to have a key to your home unless your tenancy agreement says that this is the case. If you change the locks, you should keep the old keys and the original lock to return to the landlord."

http://england.shelter.org.uk/advice/advice-7354.cfm

LuciferTDark

This is all good to know, Turns out Mr Landlord is not a nice man & turns up whenever he feels like it, whether my friend is in or not. He actually threatened to kick my friend out the other day for leaving a muddy foot print on the floor by the backdoor, I didn't know this till just now when I mentioned seeing Mr Landlord letting himself in.

donna1987

LuciferTDark wrote: »

This is all good to know, Turns out Mr Landlord is not a nice man & turns up whenever he feels like it, whether my friend is in or not. He actually threatened to kick my friend out the other day for leaving a muddy foot print on the floor by the backdoor, I didn't know this till just now when I mentioned seeing Mr Landlord letting himself in.

In that case, if i was your friend, i'd do what is in missmoneypennys post

If you change the locks, you should keep the old keys and the original lock to return to the landlord

he is perfectly within his rights to do this. And the landlord can't 'kick him out' either, and he probably knows it!

cyberbob

On a normal english Short hold tennancy the landlord has to give 24 hours unless in an emergency or other time written into the lease. Check the lease