@Mariner51, Thanks for your reply and the advice therin. In regard to the GSC dated May2011, that was the only GSC that has ever been carrried out on this property since she became landlady. It took months to get her to even get that done after I lobbied her for it- whilst she was supposedly 'trying to find' a suitable tradesman. I did not remind her when it expired because I find dealing with her extremely trying- and as she is prone to come down on me like a ton of bricks for any minor inconvenience- such as having to wait for Housing Benefit to pay rent when I became redundant (if I couldn't pay on time then I 'should not be living here') - and always results in delay or excuses. It took me two years of lobbying to get her to replace a dangerous piece of wiring (the last of the 1950s rubber and cloth insulated cable from the Electricity Board supplied main fuse to the fusebox that supplies all of the power to the house). And I was forbidden to get my friend (a qualified electrician) to replace it at my expense. So if a 2012 gas cert has been granted her then the trademan would have entered the property without my knowledge and permission and he has not left me a copy (despite my poor filing I would not have missed a pink coloured gas cert left for my records)- I am pretty certain that no such check has been carried out in 2012. I've been carrying out a deep spring clean so would have discovered it by yesterday evening if there was one. To the best of my knowledge she has not arranged a 2013 gas test and I have every reason to believe that she will not do so without being lobbied- something I intend to tackle on Wednesday when she comes.

My error- I named the wrong date as that of my latest Tenancy Agreement (blame non-filing and spring cleaning brain frazzle). The latest Tenancy Agreement was signed 15th May 2011. Latest (and only) Landlord Gas Safety Record cert is dated the 4th May 2011 (more recent than I thought but still out of date).

In reply to 45002 and Mariner51. As I've said it was 2006 when I moved in- April to be fairly exact (I can't remember the exact date) At that time the mother was the landlady. I did sign further tenancy agreements with the daughter(the second one after her first solicitor was disbarred due to fraud). I don't recall the date of transfer but it was some time in 2007. The current Shorthold TA was signed 28th July 2008 (thought it was earlier for some reason). Do I need to supply exact dates for when I first moved in? I can probably do that but not at the mo as in the middle of a mega spring clean prior to my LL's visit. Unfortunately I don't really have what you might call a 'filing system'- guess I'm not very organised. There will probably be documents somewhere. Many thanks for your comments.

She isn't making an excessive number of visits (thankfully)- its just that the ones that she does make are accompanied by extraneous persons, who have a tendency to wander off into other rooms when I am talking to her- which I consider an invasion of my privacy. They are either friends of hers or family members- I lived with that family during my teens and some of those family members are particularly unpleasant individuals who have, and had, no fondness for me shall we say. Ironically her own sons are actually nice young guys, but I never know who she'll bring around until she comes. Some of the rest of them could easily make for guests of the Jeremy Kyle show- if that show were to shine it's spotlight onto self-described 'upper middle class' families rather than exploiting the poor and the feckless.

Many thanks to citizenB and Mariner51 who posted when I was writing my first reply to altafica. The house was donated rather than inherited- the mother is still alive. New tenancy agreements have been signed (reluctantly- I really didn't like the clause which does not allow me to go more than 2 weeks in arrears- problematic when starting a new job, nor the one where she automatically takes back the house should I go bankrupt- which I may need to do). I moved in in 2006 when the mother was still the landlady. To give you an idea of what she is like, a couple of years ago I was in a position whereby, due to a catastrophic series of knock-on effects (and accidental oversight on my part) I'd incurred several hefty bank fines (some due to not being able to pay 3x £1 to my creditors) which left me with no money for food at all except for my housing benefit, so reluctantly I had to use that for food- causing a temporary arrears. She was absolutely furious that I was buying food instead of paying the rent- obviously that was not my intention to be in arrears but she felt that I should literally not eat for a fortnight than inconvenience her. Incidentally, she was given the house by her mother because she was short of money- having taken early retirement in her 40s and having walked out on a part time job for one of this country's best employers because she didn't like asking customers if they'd like a charge-card when serving at the checkout. At the time she was claiming poverty (and even claimed JSA for a while) she was driving an almost new SAAB 9-3 convertible. I wish I had her 'poverty'! She has given 5 days notice by letter of her impending visit giving the time. Although as per 'agreeing' on a time- she always says that she will visit whether I am present or not- and I have cancelled a medical appointment before now to ensure that I was present at a visit.

Many thanks for your rapid reply. She does give notice of impending visits- and I accept, of course, her right to inspect the property. It is the others that she brings around with her that I object to. So I was wondering if I legally had to admit those persons, or could request (or rather insist) that they do not enter the property. As per getting her mothers wishes down in writing- unfortunately as the mother 'trusts' her daughter she won't put her wishes down in writing. She is in very poor health and will probably pass away fairly soon. Luckily I was able to go to her when her daughter tried to put up the rent- claims the daughter simply 'didn't understand her wishes' when it came to the rent and won't hear a word against her. And I really hate to have to go to her to mediate. As for the 'misunderstanding'- well, my landlady simply will not register anything that she does not want to hear- she folds her arms and does a more genteel version of 'Talk to the hand'...

Hello, This is my first posting on this site. My Landlady and I are not on the best of terms. She was given the house by her mother, my first landlady on the basis that I can continue to live here with the rent based on what Housing Benefit would pay (despite which she has in the past tried to increase it by 150%). She is not happy with me living here (despite making nearly 100% profit) and would prefer if I moved out- which I can't afford to do and do not wish to. She keeps bringing people with her for her Property Inspection who have no legitimate business being here- I find their presense very intrusive- particularly as they wander around unattended (whilst I am with the landlady) practically measuring up for curtains! I've asked her not to bring extraneous persons with her but she thinks she has a right. Several members of her family I do not get on with at all and others of her friends are strangers to me. Can I legally prevent access to these people, and if so, on what grounds? She's due on Wednesday morning. I've a feeling she may be asking me to leave as it is the anniversary of the Shorthold Tenancy- the terms of which she has not adhered to- eg obtaining an annual Gas Certificate. Does anyone know if this is a condition for me to get Housing Benefit? Many thanks if you can help me with these issues.