Updating post from Reddit.
Hi,
I recently had someone come inspect the front door to check it was up to fire standards (I live in a flat), they found it was slightly off and needed readjusting.
I had an email last night (around 5pm) from the letting agency asking if they could come this morning (10am) to have a look themselves. I agreed, but stated it would have to be quick as I work from home and would have to pause working while they were there.
After she had a look at the front door, she said she would have a quick look around my flat to make sure everything was in shape.
I refused, and said I didn't have time and needed to get back to work (I work in healthcare and on the phone for most of my job, discussing patients and medical needs, so this can't be done around others due to data protection). She then said that she had the right to inspect the flat while she was there.
We agreed via email for them to come look at the front door, but nothing about an inspection of the whole property. The property is fine and clean (apart from some clothes scattered across the bedroom but that's all), but I don't feel comfortable using looking at the front door as an excuse to inspect the property as a whole. Especially if it's interfering with my job.
I asked her to arrange a convenient time to inspect the property as I had to get back to work. She agreed but stated that refusing seemed suspicious.
Is this allowed? I thought I needed 24hrs notice for a flat inspection
she lied. tell your landlord not to send her again
>She then said that she had the right to inspect the flat while she was there.
This is plain nonsense, and as an agent it's literally her job to understand these rules, so she's either a liar or doesn't know what she's doing.
Your options for response are pretty wide here. You're not actually on the hook to let an agent in at any point that doesn't suit you, which could be literally your entire time as a tenant if you so chose.
You could always email the agency naming and shaming her and pointing out that as you can't trust them to be truthful, you won't be allowing any further inspections unless with a hard level of notice at a time of your choosing. There's bugger all they can do about it and Ms Investigator here gets to have her name attached to the problem.
Yeah I've sent an email to the agency complaining. I'm not taking things too far, I just want them to follow the rules. This was a different agent to the one that usually comes and not the person I was speaking with via email. I'll see what their response is
Lol - "suspicious" - of what?
Get a complaint in, that's absolutely crap conduct and I don't expect to the word "suspicious" needs to be in a letting agent's vocabulary.
I'm like the least suspicious tennant ever, and that really pissed me off. I have 3-4 inspections a year and have been here over 3yrs. Rated excellent on every inspection.
I've emailed them letting them know I'm not happy.
I'm sure estate agents deal with other estate agents at times.
Just (yet another) agent trying to force through their own way, without regard to the contract and the law.
Also it’s very polite that you’re so conscientious to think about clothes on the floor, and to offer here the detail of why you were unavailable, but the reality is you do not need to worry about clothes on the floor and you do not need to tack on patient confidentiality to your already good reason for your reasonably refusing a surprise inspection.
I was in the army for 12yrs, so when I hear "inspection" I go all out and make sure the place is gleaming. Its also a good excuse for a massive clean and getting the little bits i normally leave (wiping the doors, cupboards and skirting boards). But you're 100% right mate.
I mean if you’re wiping skirting boards you sound like an excellent tenant!
You can still refuse even with 24 hours notice. If they do request one, in plenty of time and to your convenience I wouldn’t refuse as then it looks suspicious. What you describe doesn’t seem suspicious, you’ve already told them you don’t have long for them to even look at the door let alone carry out an inspection
Yeah, I've had them arrange inspections before, and they normally ask me for a date that would be convenient for me. That way I can schedule it around work
Absolutely.
Absolutely it's allowed to do an impromptu inspection, or absolutely I'm meant to have 24hrs notice and was right to ask for a more convenient time.
Absolutely you're allowed to refuse an inspection when initially it was just for a fire door issue. You have given adequate reasons of your refusal.
Thanks. I thought it was the case, but I wanted to be sure. Like I say, the place is fine and well maintained. But I just wanted to crack on with work and not have to stay on too long extra making up the lost time due to her being there
What was so suspicious? Unless you have a weed grow in the back room or 15 Romanians camping in 1 bedroom, i doubt there's anything your doing which breaches your lease that you could fix by next week when they schedule a proper appointment.
Just refuse and tell her such words are not necessary and to be more professional in future.
Send an email complaining to the landlord and agency. It won’t achieve much but will let them know you are unhappy with the agents behaviour
I believe you have acted perfectly reasonably. You made last minute arrangements to accommodate their request for the front door. Good for you, that’s the decent thing to do (when you can). You also made them aware that your time would be limited due to your work, perfectly reasonable, and absolutely justified, including providing your reasons which (I believe) you have no obligation to give.
So yes, absolutely within your rights to refuse an inspection, no need to provide any reasoning, they are not entitled to have that access without issuing the proper notice, except in an emergency. Not unreasonable for them to ask (although even that is questionable as some people may have felt unnecessarily pressured), but definitely unreasonable to push it, and to make comments like she did. I consider her behaviour rather rude.
She’s been lazy and trying to kill two birds one stone whilst she was there. Unless it’s an emergency she has no right to enter without prior consent or 24 hours notice. You have a right to Private Enjoyment and they cannot just come in unannounced.
I'm not entirely sure what you're asking (I'm also not a landlord).
You have a categorical legal right to control access to your home (this comes under the "quiet enjoyment" section in the law), regardless of what your contract says (it's been legally established that this is one of those rights you can't sign away, a bit like you can't actually sign a waiver in the UK disclaiming the company's responsiblity of grevious bodily harm if you take part in an activity and they were irresponsible), except where access is neccesary for emergency repairs (e.g. because a leaking pipe would damage the property). She was entirely wrong to claim that she had a right to inspect the flat.
Whether she's allowed to ask - sure. It may have been more convenient for her at that time, but it sounds like you had a very good, unsuspicous reason (it interfered with your working day) for refusing. If the agency viewed you as suspicious, they would also be within their rights to advise the landlord to not renew your tenancy when it came up to that, but that would be very stupid. That said, almost every lettings agent I have ever met was either pretty thick or a liar, so...
"Refusing seemed suspicious"? The nerve. You had every right to refuse an inspection. All non-emergency visits to your address are to be made via appointment only, at your convenience. I wouldn't even agree to it now, just put them off with a "I'm too busy" response via email. If they ring up instead, bugging you, block their number.
They found a fault with a door which was an entrance door to the property. It is a legal requirement for access to be given for inspection or further inspection if the initial visit discovered a fault. The initial visit was not an impromptu inspection but they still have an overriding legal obligation to check that there are no additional doors that need inspection while they are on site, especially as they were notified of the faulty door in the first place.
Some comments are suggesting the further inspection was an unreasonable request which I suggest you disregard as bunkum.
You are working from home and were prepared for inspection of the door only. Another suggestion: State in your email to the agency that in the course of your work there are materials, in print and onscreen, that could contain private details of clients or employer so under GDPR work practices you could not give open access to other areas that was not requested at least 24 hours in advance. The agent's disagreeable behavior was unacceptable from both a professional privacy and tenant privacy point of view.
You can refuse. You can ask the agents whether the landlord instructed them to do it. It might be interesting (including to the landlord) to see what they say.
It entirely depends on your rental agreement. I have a clause for an inspection once every 12 months which is arranged with the tenant.
If there is no such clause then the inspection is entirely under your discretion.
Even with a clause, it surely has to be arranged at the tenants convenience and with a minimum of 24 hours notice?
I did say it entirely depends on the clause and then gave an example of how I've done mine.
I meant that they can’t just say ‘well, we’re doing the inspection now because we’re here anyway”, as OPs letting agency tried, regardless of any clauses in the contract.
It’s convenient and efficient for them to try to do it at the same time. You pushed back and suggested doing it another time. There is nothing wrong here, no.
She was right; it does look suspicious, but she was wrong that she has authority to inspect on a whim; it needs your consent, even if the contract says 24 hours' notice you can refuse. It would be unwise to refuse and may end up with eviction, but theoretically, you can.
I wouldn't worry to much, just a pushy agent. Any 'suspicion' will be squashed when they do an actual inspection.