Estate Agents let themselves in....

Anominity

Anominity

Anominity

Associate
Joined
8 Nov 2005
Posts
811
After a bit of advice really.

Bit of back story first.

I have been living in the same house for the past 4 years, for the past three we have extended our lease every October.
This past October we heard nothing from either our Landlords or the Estate Agents. We have been in contact with the Estate Agents since, and they have now come back to us and confirmed that we will be operating on a rolling monthly contract now, with them having to give us two months from the rent due date if they wish us to move out.

Whether any of that is relevant to this part who knows, but thought I would put it in for clarification.

Fast forward to this Monday and my housemate, who works nightshifts, was woken up in the day by someone from the estate agents, and two others (Boiler checkup or something) who had let themselves into our house, without any notification or call or anything.

Is this even legal?


TL: DR :
Estate Agent and Boiler checkup people let themselves into my house without letting me or my housemates know that they were coming. Is this legal?
 
You must get "fair notice" from your landlord or his/her representative before they enter the property.

Check your tenancy agreement.
 
I was under the impression they have to give at least 24 hours notice legally. Was it emergency maintenance or anything carried out? Might have some bearing
 
Unless it was an emergency then no they definitely can't do that. I dont even know what constitutes an emergency? I'd give them absolute hell over that, it's disgusting walking straight into someone's home. Name and shame them please :)
 
That opens up all sorts of problems, they could enter the property without your knowledge and make damage and then blame you for it, just as one example. Let a lone all the privacy considerations.

I know my landlord has enter my flat when i am not there and i asked him kindly to not do it again. I basically told him about a problem in the flat and instead of communicating a time or letting me know he received the email, he just went in one day when i was at work and then sent me an email back saying it was not a problem and that i should put up with it. I used the argument that it was "not nice" to enter the flat, even though he owns it etc. He said that he wouldn't do it again.
 
Illegal unless there was an emergency, needing to do a boiler check definitely doesn't count.
 
They're supposed to give you notice - but they'll just get round that by saying it was on safety grounds. Give them an earful anyway.
 
probably not legal, but they don't care - what can you do anyway? Even if you go to hassle of court and judge agrees it's against contract + statute (or whatever you call it in legalese), I don't think agency can be fined, so that just leaves compensation - probably all of £50 (plus costs)!
 
I would probably be holding a months rent back for that if I was still renting, completely unaceptable. If they have a problem with it then let them go through the hassle of evicting you.
 
hurfdurf said:
I would probably be holding a months rent back for that if I was still renting, completely unaceptable. If they have a problem with it then let them go through the hassle of evicting you.
Click to expand...

Bad idea, it doesn't matter what they've done any with holding of rent will always go against the tenant if you decide to take things further.
 
Yeah pretty much all I thought, there was no emergency maintenance performed, it was just a "Check up". We have sent in a strongly worded email asking for an explanation.
 
Definitely not on. You have a legal right not to be disturbed. However they will probably claim they sent you a letter informing you in advance of the visit and it was lost in the post :rolleyes:

The sooner we adopt a rental framework similar to that of much of europe the better.
 
hurfdurf said:
I would probably be holding a months rent back for that if I was still renting, completely unaceptable. If they have a problem with it then let them go through the hassle of evicting you.
Click to expand...

That is a terrible idea, if you withhold rent then you can be kicked out instantly and then face legal consequences and fines.
 
The lock. Change it. Keep the old one and make sure you put it back when you leave.

Write to the estate agent (one of those old fashioned ink, paper, envelope letters) denying them access to the property unless you are notified in advance and accept the appointment. You need to be reasonable, but all access should be on your terms.

You have a common law right to quiet enjoyment, but that has to be balanced against the LL legal obligations to repair, etc. The agent was probably getting your Gas Safety Cert done (V important) so the issue isn't the check itself but them not telling you in advance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom