Urgent help needed!

[shoe_junkie]

I am being evicted as apparently my landlord wants to renovate (fine by me I've found a nice new place) but now she has organised for potential new tenants to view the property whilst I'm still living there, and has arranged one viewing for tonight (less than 24 hours notice). The flat is VERY messy at the moment as I am preparing to move, and tonight and saturday (other viewing) are VERY inconvenient for me. Tonight I will get home at 6 and have to get changed and have dinner before going to my other job at 7, she wants to show someone round at 6.

Do I have any say on when she can show people round? How much notice should she give, in my tenancy agreement it just says 'reasonable notice' also she's asked me to make sure the flat is 'tidy', which is impossible at the moment as I'm working overtime on both my jobs to get money for a deposit for my new flat.

Please help!! This whole thing is getting me down.

[lucyec]

This is what ARLA says:

What About Rights Of Access To The Property, What Are The Rules?
A landlord, or his agent, or someone authorised to act on his behalf has a right to view the property to assess its condition and to carry out necessary repairs or maintenance at reasonable times of the day. The law says that a landlord or agent must give a tenant at least 24 hours prior notice in writing (except in an emergency) of such a visit. Naturally, if the tenant agrees, on specific or odd occasions to allow access without the 24 hours prior written notice, that is acceptable. [A clause in the tenancy agreement which tries to diminish or over-ride a tenant’s rights in this respect would be void and unenforceable.]

So as I understand it, you could say no and that it's inconvenient.

[MrShed]

Lucy can you link where ARLA says that? Quite concerned that they would say that! As a tenant, you have more rights than this. If the landlord(or someone acting on their behalf) gives you more than 24 hours written notice for access to the property, you CAN refuse this access for any or no reason. You do not, under any circumstances, have to allow access to the property for any reason. The only situation under which the landlord may be able to enforce entry is in the case of emergency(gas, fire, flood basically).

[Nightmare4banks]

shoe_junkie in reply to your post:

1.As mentioned by others,you have an absolute right to refuse entry to your property apart from emergencies of course.If you are concerned,the eviction issue is a totally seperate matter.

2.I have known cases where owners have resorted in getting access via the courts when the existing tenants have refused total access to show around potential new tenants or buyers.I am not suggesting this,however this just shows you the extent of your rights as a tenant.

3.Personally,I would refuse to allow access at the moment but rearrange it such that you are prepared for the visit.In otherwords,be firm but flexible as well.Also,to see that the property is in a better state of tidiness which is to be perfectly blunt with you is your duty as a tenant.

Anyway,I hope you find this information useful.

If you have any more questions,just ask.

Keep us posted.

All the best!

[lucyec]

MrShed, I found it on the ARLA website here: Information for Tenants

As a tenant I was always under the impression that this was correct! But I don't profess to be any sort of expert on the matter so would be grateful for any other information that you could give so I know my rights in future, as I'm sure Shoe_Junkie would too!

[shoe_junkie]

Well I spoke to her and she said I was being awkward and reminded me that she gave me agood reference, so I sent her this e-mail...

In response to your text message, I am not trying to be awkward, I feel that 1 day is not enough notice to let you or anyone else into what is still our home. As I have explained the flat is very messy (you can hardly see the bedroom floor for clothes, toilet and bathroom dirty, papers all over living room etc) and I think for your own benefit as well as mine that you should postpone any viewings until at least after the weekend when I will have the chance to clean the flat.

Having looked at my tenancy agreement with you it states that you are authorised to show the property to prospective tenants only at reasonable hours and upon reasonable prior notice. As I have already mentioned I do not feel that 1 or even 2 days is 'reasonable prior notice' and as I have already explained I will get home at 6pm, and will have to get changed, shower and eat before being at my second job for 7pm, so this isn't a 'reasonable hour'. I would also like to draw to your attention section 5.6 of the tenancy agreement which states that the landlord shall be entitled to have and retain keys for all doors to the property but shall not be entitled to use them to enter the property without the consent of the tenant.

On a more personal note, having asked us to vacate the property on the premise that you are 'renovating' I feel that 11 days (as it states on rightmove.co.uk) to renovate really shouldn't require us to move out of the property, so I really don't see that providing us with a good reference should be a problem especially when my rent has never been in arrears for more than a day, and I have always been a good tenant.

I really do not feel that I am being awkward or unreasonable, these last few weeks have been a very stressful and difficult time and I would appreciate your sensitivity on this matter.

She replied saying its already arranged, couldn't cancel and that they weren't coming to look at my things but the flat, and also that she works 6 - 8 weeks ahead which is why shes already advertising and holding viewings, to which I replied...

Thank you for your text, even if you do work 6 - 8 weeks in advance, it still says the property is available from 11th December (on rightmove), 11 days after we move out, however this is none of my business and not sticking to the point.

If you choose to have the viewing tonight, even though I think its unreasonable and unfair, you have my consent to enter the property, but I have warned you of the state its in, so will not be at fault if potential tenants are 'put off'.

I didn't see these messages till this morning so I didn't have any choice but to let her in, and the guy that had the viewing got there before her and started asking me questions. She's got another viewng tonight and saturday when I won't even be there.

Nightmare4banks - what exactly did you mean when you said it is my duty to keep the place in a better state of tidiness. Surely it is my house so its up to me if its tidy or not as long as its clean and tidy when I leave? By the way I'm not usually messy but I've been very busy with the move and kinda lost my motivation to tidy when I was told I'm being kicked out!

[demon_x_slash]

As everyone above has said - You DO have a choice! If it's honestly inconvenient for you, refuse access! It doesn't sound in the slightest that you are trying to be awkward - I wouldn't want people coming in and seeing my place without 24 hours notice to tidy up, and I'm a tidy person Whilst you're a tenant, it's 'your' property [no one jump on me, I don't mean legally, just for living arrangements etc]; it's like getting a loan from a bank to buy a house, but the loan T&Cs insist that the bank manager can come around and make himself a cup of tea and sort through your knicker drawer whenever he feels like it. You wouldn't put up with that! It's 'YOUR' flat, you're LIVING in it - what if she brought a viewer round without notice while you were in the bath? Would she continue to take them around with only a loofah to protect your modesty?
Seriously, what you've e-mailed her seems perfectly reasonable...if I were you, though, I'd keep it to emails and texts, where you can prove what was said...just in case seems to be my motto since joining here...

[Nightmare4banks]

shoe_junkie,in reply your last post:

I meant exactly what said.At the end of the day you do whatever you want.

I am not talking about your tidiness or being judgemental in any shape or form but replying your posts about your rights and duties/obligations as a tenant.

However,if your property is untidy and your landlady is aware of this,I can see your landlady(ex-landlady then) try to create an excuse further down the line not to refund some of your deposit monies.Then I can see you posting here in a couple weeks time about your problems regarding getting your deposit refunded.

It is a "damage limitiation" exercise - nothing more and nothing less.