home links bulletin board about what now? make a comment
Desperate tenant asks...
Hi there,
I've got this problem with my landlord and don't know what to do. I've been living in a flat
with my partner for the past 18mths. Though landlord never renewed contract after the first
6months we are still legally living there and paying the rent. The oven doesn't work since
we moved in and the landlord's been promising to bring one soon (18mths gone)!!! Now he
says that he wants to come and visit the house even if we are not there.
What i want to know is: Is he allowed to come in the house when we are not around or
without permission if we are still renting the place? Is there somewhere we could go to get
help.
Thanks
What we suggest...
Hi Desperate tenant!
Thanks for contacting q2a with your enquiry.
This sounds hard for you. We hope that knowing how you stand legally will help make
things easier for you.
The information in this email is taken from our Citizen's Advice Bureau information and the
Citizen's Advice Bureau website at http://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/index/getadvice.htm.
If you feel that you want to take things further you could go to your nearest Citizens Advice
Bureau which you can find in the phone book or at the website above. There may also be
information and advice places for people under 25 that you could go to locally too but we
haven't been able to check these out for you because we only know your location to be
London - which is a large area. If you want us to find out more please do contact us again
with your area.
Ok, here's the information;
The landlord has the right to 'reasonable' access to carry out repairs for which s/he is
responsible, but he should always ask for the tenant's permission, and should give at least
24 hours' notice.
What ‘reasonable access’ means depends on why your landlord needs to get access. For
example, in an emergency, your landlord is entitled to immediate access to carry out any
necessary work. Your landlord also has a right to enter the property to inspect the state of
repair or to empty a fuel slot meter, but they should always ask for your permission and
should give you at least 24 hours notice. If you are staying in lodgings where it is agreed
that your landlord provides a room-cleaning service or where you share a room with other
lodgers, your landlord can enter without permission. Your landlord does not have a right to
enter in any other circumstances unless they have a court order.
If the landlord wants to enter the property for any other reason, for example, to show round
a prospective purchaser he can only do this with the tenant's agreement.
The tenant has a right of quiet enjoyment of the tenancy. This means that s/he can
occupy the premises without being disturbed by the landlord or his agents. Quiet
enjoyment is an implied contractual right whether or not it is written into the tenancy
agreement
If the landlord is repeatedly entering the accommodation without the tenant's permission,
he is committing a civil offence because:-
he is in breach of contract, because he has broken the implied term to allow the tenant
uninterrupted use of the accommodation. This is known as breach of quiet enjoyment; and
he is trespassing on the tenant's premises.
Any action taken by a tenant or licensee may antagonise the landlord and cause him to
take steps to evict her/him. If the client is a protected tenant, a secure tenant or an
assured tenant, the landlord will not be able to evict her/him for exercising her/his rights.
However, if the tenant is an occupier with basic protection, or an assured shorthold tenant,
s/he will have limited security and may lose her/his home. In the case of an excluded
occupier, this could be immediate. (More on how to check your tenancy status at the end
of the email but it is likely that you are an assured shorthold tenant.)
The tenant should initially try to negotiate with the landlord. In some cases, it may be
advantageous for a (citizens' advice) bureau to negotiate on the tenant's behalf. The tenant
may be able to judge whether the landlord would react more positively to an approach from
the bureau.
If the bureau is unable to negotiate on the tenant's behalf, the tenant should be referred for
specialist help.
If the landlord continues to enter the accommodation, the tenant may wish to change the
locks. S/he should take care not to damage the door and should keep the old lock and
key, as these are the property of the landlord. Alternatively, s/he could just change the
barrel of the lock. The tenant does not have to give the landlord a key, but s/he must
continue to allow the landlord reasonable access to carry out repairs (this is the 24 hour
notice bit).
A tenant could also be advised to contact the local council's Tenancy Relations Officer
(TRO) (also sometimes called a tenancy liaison officer or a tenancy harassment officer) if
there is one. The TRO will usually be based in the local authority housing department or
the legal department. The TRO is responsible for dealing with private sector tenancy
disputes and should try to sort out the problem by negotiation.
If there is no TRO, or s/he will not help, or is not successful, the tenant can go to the
county court to get an injunction to stop the landlord entering the accommodation without
permission. S/he could also sue for cash compensation if the landlord has caused any
damage to her/his property or if s/he has suffered any shock or distress as a result of the
landlord's actions. S/he may be eligible for publicly-funded legal services. Legal advice
should be sought if the tenant wants to go ahead.
If the landlord is entering the accommodation so often and at such times that the tenant
no longer feels secure in her/his own home, this could be interpreted as a form of
harassment. Harassment is a criminal offence and the landlord could be prosecuted.
There are also civil remedies to deal with harassment.
As far as your contract goes, here is some information which may help you;
There are obligations a landlord and tenant have which may not be set down in the
agreement but which are implied into all tenancy agreements. These terms form part of
the contract, even though they have not been specifically agreed between the landlord and
tenant.
Terms implied by statute are those which have been laid down by Parliament and cannot
be signed away. Some of the most common terms are that:-
the landlord must carry out basic repairs
the landlord must keep the installations for the supply of water, gas, electricity, sanitation,
space heating and heating water in good working order.
Case law which has been accepted over time as basic to the relationship between landlord
and tenant is known as common law. Common law terms are accepted as forming part of
all tenancy agreements.
The most important terms implied by common law include:-
the tenant's right to live peacefully in the accommodation without nuisance from the
landlord
the tenant's obligation not to damage the accommodation
the tenant's obligation to take proper care of the accommodation
In England and Wales, by law, the following documents or information must be given to a
tenant:-
if there is a weekly tenancy, the landlord must provide a rent book to the tenant. The
landlord commits a criminal offence if he fails to do so.
If the tenancy is an assured shorthold which was created on or after 28 February 1997, the
landlord must provide basic written terms of the agreement within 28 days of the tenant
requesting this in writing.
Other than changes to rent, a tenancy agreement can normally only be changed if both
the tenant and the landlord agree.
If the tenant and the landlord both agree, the change should be recorded in writing, either
by drawing up a new written document setting out the terms of the tenancy or by
amending the existing written tenancy agreement.
An oral agreement can also be varied. Usually the variation will be oral too. In the case of
a dispute, evidence of the variation can be provided if there were witnesses to the new
agreement or simply by both parties acting on the variation, for example, by paying and
accepting a new rent.
There is some of the Citizens' Advice information also online which may help you to
understand your tenancy position too, at
http://www.adviceguide.org.uk/index/family_parent/housing/private_sector_tenancies.htm.
We hope that this helps you. If you need any more information please contact us again.
Best of luck,
q2a
Expert advice and every precaution has been taken to ensure that the information on this page is trustworthy and reliable, but the publishers do not hold themselves responsible for any inaccuracy as information can go out of date very quickly. This page gives general guidance only and should not be treated as a complete and authoritative statement of the law. With regard to suggested weblinks given in this reply please note that Lancashire County Council is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
here's what i think about ...
Hi Sean, please see the replies to the enquiries you posted through this comments board on the main bulletin board. The chosen name for both of them is Sean.