Here is a question to the blog clinic from James (not his real name) who is a tenant
We have been renting the same house for 3 years. We have always been good tenants & have never missed/been late with our £1K pcm rent. We have always made it clear we do not want people in the house unless we are here.
Recently we have had a carpet moth problem & had the council in to deal with it. The Letting agent insisted on checking the work so we arranged a date. On that day at 9.30am my wife was in the shower and after a late night, I was asleep.
The Agents employee rang the doorbell and when it went unanswered let herself into our home. My 11 year old daughter encountered her in the hallway and thought “maybe we’re being burgled”. When told of the situation (me asleep wife in shower) she wrote a note and left.
In addition she did not operate the Yale lock properly and couldn’t shut the door. After a few attempts she left it open and ajar and drove away.
We are very annoyed by her actions and the upset she caused and wonder where we stand legally – Yes we’d like amends!! I have lodged a formal complaint with the Letting Agent who were very apologetic on the telephone.
Answer
I can understand your annoyance in this case. However it sounds as if this is an isolated incident and maybe the agents employee had not received proper training.
For a start, it is not as if the agent was just turning up out of the blue. This was the day you had arranged for the agent to check the work. It would probably be best however if in future you set a specific time for the agents to attend and make it clear
- that you may not be available outside this time and
- that the agent MUST NOT let him or herself into the property if you do not answer the door
Technically, if the landlord or his agent enters the property without your consent, this is trespass which is actually a criminal offence. However for an incident like this where it sounds as if there was a misunderstanding, I do not think you would get very far, for example with a prosecution.
The problems with the lock are also very unfortunate, but doors and locks can be tricky things.
I think the most you can expect is an apology, which you have already had from the agents, and confirmation that it will not occur again.
However if the agents make a habit of coming round and letting themselves in without warning and going off leaving the door ajar then obviously you would need to take further action. From what you say however I doubt that this type of incident will happen again.
What a biased reply on the landlords side.
This is trespass and something that should be reported to the police.
The insurance would be invalidated if someone else had let themselves in.
At the very least the intruder should be sacked.
I would also change the locks then the landlord can’t get in, something that you are allowed to do.
Remember that you have contents insurance not the landlord. Any entry must comply with that insurance.
I wd have to agree with Lee. This kind of behaviour from letting agents is far from exceptional (estate agents too); i’m very surprised you even got a sorry. You must always change the locks to keep these people out of your home. (Being sure to keep the original lock so that you can replace it when you leave) It is the only way to take the power back from these people.
The article suggests that the agent had given notice and that the tenant had in fact explicitly agreed.
Thus it seems to me that the agent did nothing wrong at law. Certainly it wasn’t trespass.
In fact, as previously discussed, as long as the agent reasonably uses the covenant granting him right of access I don’t see how there could ever be trespass.
That being said, leaving the door ajar was not an acceptable way to leave, although she might have thought it was OK since people were there, and she might have been embarrassed.
Of course this wasn’t trespass as an appointment had been made but the agent should certainly have waited until an adult appeared in the house before going away and leaving the front door unsecure.
The agent was wrong to enter the property, even more so when the tenants have explicitly repeated they don’t want anyone to enter without supervision.
She was also wrong to leave the door open, which provokes the question of “What letting/estate agent can’t operate a door and a lock..?”
Yes, it startled the child. It could have also startled the wife – being naked in the shower is a kind of a defenceless position, when somebody you don’t expect enters your home. It could have also startled the husband – being asleep and all…
Yet, with all that said, Aren’t you making too huge of a deal out of it ? Seeking the court ? Really ?
I might be old fashioned, but for me a personal apology and changing the agent that operates with my home would be enough. We’re all people, we all make mistakes. Maybe she didn’t know, maybe she was new..
Don’t overshoot it…
She entered the property without permission; that’s the fact of it. So it’s tresspass. The fact that a) an appointment had been made b) the agent has keys : do not detract from the fact that she let herself in without the tenant’s permission.
This being the tenant, of course they have no power to change the agent at all do they. Change the locks.
Of course it was trespass.
Just because there is an appointment does not give any permission to enter a property.
That is the law.
As a previous letting agent I know this happens often and it is unacceptable. I think it is the big unacknowledged infringement of tenant rights. There are different ways of redress. One method is if you approach the Property Ombudsman and tell them about the stress and anxiety you have experienced because of this infringement, I believe you will receive support for compensation. I know I had tenants take action against me using this method, and it worked.
For further insight have a read of my blog posting on this issue at https://www.rentaljoy.com/blog/2014/11/what-recourse-for-a-tenant-when-the-agent-enters-without-permission/