This is a question to the blog clinic from Lily (not her real name) who is a tenant in England.

My landlord is insisting on having a copy of the house key as she says they are her keys. (Locks got changed two years ago).

Nowhere in my tenancy does it state she is to hold a key. I told her that I was given three keys. I gave one each to my daughters who still live at home and one to myself.  To get a new one cut would cost over £30 due to the type of key it is.

She told me again that they’re her keys and she wants one and if I needed three then I could pay to get a new one cut.

There isn’t any reason for her to need a key, as someone is always in for repairs etc. I told her that I’m not happy, but if she insists then I would get one cut and deduct the cost from the rent. However, she’s now gone bananas and has spoken about giving me my notice.

What rights do I have here? Am I in the wrong to have suggested this regarding the rent, which I ALWAYS pay and on time)?

Answer

There are often disputes between landlords and their tenants about keys. Landlords always want to hold a set, and tenants would rather they didn’t.

The situation is not covered specifically by statute, so you need to look to your tenancy agreement. If your tenancy agreement is silent on the issue of keys, then it will probably depend on the circumstances under which the locks were changed and who paid for them.

There is no general rule which entitles landlords to be provided with a set of keys.

If the locks had to be changed due to some problem caused by you, your family or your visitors, then it may be arguable that your landlord is entitled to have one of the keys, if she had one previously.

However, if the keys were changed due to wear and tear or some other reason where you were not at fault and you arranged for the work to be done and paid for it – then the new locks and keys are yours. She would only be entitled to one of the keys if the tenancy agreement specified this.

What about the threat to evict?

So far as your right to stay in the property is concerned, if you have a periodic tenancy or your fixed term only has a couple of months to run, then at the moment, your landlord could serve a section 21 notice and (eventually) get you evicted.

However, I suspect when it came down to it, she would not want to lose a good tenant who pays rent promptly for a mere dispute over a £30 key. It would cost her more than that to find and reference a new tenant.

Once the Renters Rights Bill comes into force, then section 21 will no longer be available to her.

Unless there were some other ground available to her (for example, that she wanted to live in the property herself or sell it – both grounds under the new legislation), then as you are not in arrears of rent or in breach of the terms of your tenancy, she would not be able to evict you.

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