Ok well il give the background info, been living in my house for year and half. Landlord has always been relaxed about fixing stuff. Past 5 months the plumming system has been playing up and told landlord of this he kept pouring stuff down it to try and fix it. Also had other problems with the house, cracks in the window frames ect. This weekend iv not been home and i came back today to find a skip in the driveway, 2 new windows had been fitted, i unlocked the door and kitchen floor has muddy prints all over it, walked in living room to find my sofa had been moved and my other stuff chucked about, walked upstairs and found stuff in my room all moved about. Im fuming at this point. Went back out side and looked in the skip and there was alot of wood broken up and i wondered where that was from, went to workshop and found they busted the lock on it and was clearing the rubbish out and the wood was from a bed i was storing for my mum to sell.
Also there is a bonfire going, left unattented.
finally got hold the landlord and she started saying about the state of the house, ok i admit im not the tidyest of people but its mainly kids toys and a pileof ironing that needs doing. She said they rang and left a message on my 1571 service on friday evening saying that they were coming monday to do the drains and fit new windows and get rid of some old bits and pieces. Now as i was'nt here to pick this message up so i knew nothing of this. She said as i was'nt there they just let them selfs in they have my mob number and they never rang it. i was only half hour down the road i could of been there in 20 mins if they needed to get in.

Ok so my questions are
1) how much notice do they need to give if they want to come do work on the property?

2)can they legaly just come into my house without me there? she says she can, but i swear i remember hearing somewhere they have to give 24 hours written notice if they want to enter property without me there.


Also just noticed the dust everywhere where they been knocking out the windows, and its all in my daughters hamster cage and guess what hamster is dead. They cant be around loud noises.

Any imput would be helpful.

 

was you 30 or 20 mins away lol?

 

oh dear fail at me ment to say could of made it in 20 mins with my foot down

 

Under assured shorthold tenancy there is right to carry out repairs, but no specific rules about entry. However, a court would likely uphold that to carry out repairs it is implicit that entry would be required and thus allowed.

Under other std tenancies, they have the right to enter after 24 hours notice to effect repairs that are necessary and inspect the fabric of the building.

Regardless of this, there are rights and common decency though. I would consider telling her you are deducting the cost of the bed, a new hamster and a cleaner from next months rent. However, bear in mind that she could (if she's a idiot and a tw*t) evict you with 2 weeks notice if you are out of contract.

Chris

 

I'm going through it as I see it...I'll update when I've had a proper read.

Problem 1; 24 hours notice to request permission to enter needs to be in writing, not on your 1571, not via a friend...and not via a plane with a smoke message.

 

Correct me on your facts if I take them wrong anywhere, I found the post hard to read (must be too late for me!).

A lot of people are very misguided (both landlords and tenants) about their rights in a tenancy.

A landlord needs to give 24 hours written notice if they wish to conduct viewings, carry out repairs, do an inspection, etc. However this is 24 hours notice, not 24 hours automatic permission. There is a right to what is legally termed 'quiet enjoyment' which is awarded to a residential tenant. Your landlady will probably say 'well oh you signed to say that anyone and everyone can come into your home whenever they like without notice'. A tenant can sign any clause in an AST saying whatever the landlord fancies, but that cannot and will not override statutory rights.

A landlord can enter a property without notice only in an emergency. There has been quite a lot of legal writing on this and it basically means an emergency. A broken window frame does not in itself, constitute an emergency. I think a hole in a window pane may be treated differently as the property would be wholly insecure from both elements and outsiders, but a case for the facts nonetheless and aside from your argument. An emergency is a matter like, a gas leak. That is an emergency as everyone might die. Though, interestingly enough it does not include to conduct the yearly gas check that a landlord is legally obligated to carry out. The courts often find that repeated requests to carry out said check is sufficient to avoid punishment for non compliance.

Worst case scenario if the matter is unsortable and she asks you to leave/you want to leave (I'd be out asap after finding that lot out) you have certain rights but also certain obligations. If you are still in your fixed period (eg 12 months) the landlady cannot (in the absence of any section 8 etc ground, such as 8 weeks arrears of rent) evict you from the property. She cannot evict you from the property without a court order regardless, any action amounting to such can be termed 'illegal eviction' and reported to the police (it is a criminal offence) the tenancy officer at your local council (they have the power to prosecute). This includes changing the locks so you can't get in, getting someone to remove you without a court order, telling you your tenancy is over and goodbye, etc. She can however provide you with a section 21 notice to quit (but these are often unenforceable, quite tricky to issue, many landlords get them wrong).

If I were you, I would change the locks to the property, keeping the old locks so you can change them back at the end of your tenancy. Your tenancy agreement may prohibit the changing of locks, but would only be discovered if your landlady tried to gain access to the property without your permission.

I would also ensure that I wrote a recorded delivery letter (and keep the slip) to her, revoking any implied permission to enter the property. State that entry can be arranged at a convenient time with yourself and not without such permission as you do not, under any circumstance, wish anyone to visit the property without you being there. Add in the letter requests for reimbursement for items which have made you out of pocket, eg the wooden bed. Do not anywhere state that you are witholding rent to recoup monies as this could be used against you in section 8 proceedings and the witholding of rent is frowned upon considering it is the tenant's only real obligation in a tenancy (quite a lot of the others have found by the OFT to be unfair, some totally ridiculous ones I might add).

 

thanks for the input guys, im off to see the council tomorrow to talk things through with them, and iv spoke to a few other people about this situation, its nice the work has finally been done but its a compelty horrible feeling coming home and seeing stuff moved and things, even more so in my bedroom. i found out from her there was her, her husband their son and a work man all in the house, its my personal space, i have personal letters in a folder on the table, my ironing out. Its horrible.
iv told her on the phone no one is to enter the house, with out my verbal permission. But i will be putting this in writing aswell. Shes also rang now as she wants to arrange a meeting next week to discuss the future of my tentacy.

 

Do not say anything, put it all in writing.

Too many people come a cropper when they verbally arrange something that is later denied.

You have affirmed your agreement with her decision by not disputing it, thus far.

 

if your outside your fixed period then that will be a eviction notice then

best get looking for a new home ASAP.

 

still got 2 months left, i dont fancy moving as just finished painting and sorting my daughters room out and she loves it. And dont want to move as daughter has friends here and settled in pre school and there is nothing to rent in this village and next one is 4 miles away which is out of the catchment for the school.
Thing is she has not vaild reason to evict me, rent is payed on time each month. i dont have raving parties, the neighbours have no compliants, iv been extremly easy going with the time taken to do repairs, if the do evict me then their next tenant might not be as easy going.

 

Landlords can issue something called a section 21 notice within a fixed term to end at the end of a fixed term (provided the correct notice is given to tie in with rental periods, veryyyy easy to get wrong by not putting words like 'after'). It is a no fault notice and gives two months notice for a tenant to leave the property. You don't have to do anything 'wrong' to get one. Often they are used when the person wants to move back into the property but they are also very often served alongside fault notices (eg section 8's) as some of the grounds can be destroyed before a hearing (e.g. evidence of non repair). Section 21 is a mandatory possession ground where issued correctly.

My points earlier were that most are drafted wrongly and can buy you more time.

Effectively though, if a landlord doesn't want you in their house, you'll have to move out. But these things can be dragged out for a loooong few months if you need the time to look for another house.

Come back if you do get any notice to quit as it'll probably be written wrongly, lol.

Plus, if she does anything you know to be wrong (eg verbally asks you to leave or gives you an invalid s21) don't correct her until you have had advice as it can buy you more time.

Plus, if you paid a deposit, is it protected/have you got clarification of the deposit scheme as applicable? (applies if your tenancy started after april 2007).

 

but if your renewing your contract she could bang the rent up by 1k a month providing she give's enough notice.

 

She can't for another 6 months raise the rate she fixed it for 2 years or if I leave which ever is sooner. Separate contract. As it was s new scheme the council was trying trying to free up council houses by offering incentives to private landlords to charge a lower rate on rent and fix it for 2 years.

So much for a quiet life in the country lol

 

landlords can be strange folk.

mine went skitz because i had a 4 foot inflatable Dalek in the lounge

 

citisznds advise !!-get the proper info,

 

Why don't you just make sure you stop being a messy fecker and put stuff away in future LOL. As you said, its nice to have the work done.

*Most* tradespeople will respect private stuff I'm sure. Shame about the hamster - who was looking after it for the 2/3 days?

 

Lol I know I know things would of been put away it was a last minute get away. My mum came up on the Saturday to feed the hamster and the rabbit. And then my sister came up Sunday to check on them. Neither of them thought of checking 1571 for messages as they both have answering machines so not something they are used to. Thing is the hamsters cage is in the corner right next to the window and there is dust everywhere and they were banging about I expect and hamsters can deal with that much noice and dust. So now have a heartbroken 3 year old. Off to buy a new one today.

 

rock and hard place tbh.
Private rent's are shit, we rented private we bought our's and moved in on the 1st of november moved out on the 2nd of november lol bloke was a cunt so we fucked him off literally straight away.

 

Too right

verbal confirmations aren't worth the paper they're written on!

 

Im sorry to hear about the loss of your hamster.