This is a question to the blog clinic from Ellie who is a tenant in England.

My landlord asked to view the property with new tenants as stated in my contract I have to allow this after giving notice. The date she gave me I would be away and I told her no, but I was happy to make another date when I was in .

She then became very stroppy and said she had a legal right to gain access whether I was in or not. Is this the case?

Answer

All tenancies have a clause implied into their tenancy agreements (i.e. it is always there whether it is in the written document you signed or not) called the ‘covenant for quiet enjoyment’.

This is the right for tenants to live in their property in peace without interference from anyone, including (and in particular) their landlord.

If the landlord enters the property without your permission, or harasses you to allow them access, then this is a breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment. Breach of the covenant of quiet enjoyment is a breach of your contract and ultimately is something you can sue for compensation for.

If your tenancy agreement provides for your landlord to access the property to show around future tenants, then this does not mean she can come round whenever she likes! You need to give her access but are entitled to insist that it is at a time convenient for you.

So long as you are prepared to allow the landlord access at a mutually agreed time, then that is sufficient to satisfy your obligations under your tenancy agreement. It is only if you refuse to allow her access at all, that you will be in breach of your tenancy agreement.

Even then, this does not mean that the landlord can use her keys to enter without your consent! It means that she can apply to the Court for an injunction requiring you to give her access.

However, if you are willing to work with her to agree a mutually convenient access time, this is not something you need to worry about.

Make sure you keep a record of your correspondence with your landlord so you can prove this if necessary.

The post Can this landlord enter her tenant’s property whether she is in or not? appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Here are all our posts for January.

Monday 6th January

Do landlords using letting agents need to register with the Information Commissioners Office?

Read my blog to understand the rules of of being required to register

Wednesday 8th January

Can the agents sue me if I don’t allow property viewings?

This was a question from a tenant asked via my Blog Clinic

Thursday 9th January

Why I do not use AI for legal writing

Read my blog on my reasons for not using AI for Landlord Law

Friday 10th January

Landlord Law Newsround #370

Our first Newsround for the month

Thursday 16th January

The Renters Rights Bill – Report and Third Reading

Read my summary of the Third Reading of the Bill

Friday 17th January

Landlord Law Newsround #371

Our weekly look into the housing news

Monday 20th January

Can this agent force this landlord by purchase to continue with the previous landlord’s agency agreement?

This was a question from a landlord who used our Landlord Law Blog Clinic service

Friday 24th January

Landlord Law Newsround #372

Our weekly look into the housing news

Saturday 25th January

What does the government seek to achieve with the Renters Right Bill?

Read my blog on what I think the Renters Rights Bill achieves

Monday 27th January

Can a widow who has lived in her rented property for 50 years be evicted under section 21?

This was a question asked via my Blog Clinic

Friday 31st January

Landlord Law Newsround #373

Our last Newsround of January

Further Reading

Landlord Law News Blog

• The Renters Rights Bill – what do we do about existing tenancies?

For more housing news, follow me on twitter and the Landlord Law Facebook page

Click here to get the weekly roundups sent direct to your email ‘in box’ every week – the easy way to keep up with what’s happening on the blog

The post Landlord Law Blog Roundup for January 2025 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.

Another week and another Newsround, let’s see what housing news has caught the teams’ eye this week.

More than half of letting agents worried for the Renters Rights Bill

Statistics recently released by Propertymark show that 50% of all letting agents are concerned for when the Renters Right Bill becomes law.

They claim that it will add much more administration to their roles of agent, including making sure that all their landlords are fully briefed and up to date with all the changes.

Furthermore, 12% of letting agents are worried over the EPC reforms and 7% are concerned that landlords will sell up.

You can read more here.

Landlords remain optimistic but face Renters’ Bill with trepidation

New data out claims that landlords’ confidence remains high about the future of lettings, with 37% admitting to that they were ‘very good’ about their prospects  in Q4 2024 compared to 33% in Q4 of the previous year.

Those landlords with smaller portfolio’s are less up beat (33%) than those with more profitable larger ones (71%).

This positive outlook comes despite landlords’ growing trepidation regarding the Renters Right Bill and what impact it will have on them. 43% think that the bill will have a negative impact on their business whilst 65% believe it will affect the the PRS as a whole.

Rents still remain under market rates according to 80% of landlords with 62% saying they will be increasing their rents this year.

Bethan Cooke, director of Pegasus says

While the Renter’s Rights Bill may make life more difficult for landlords, the unintended consequences are likely to be much harder on tenants themselves.

Some landlords perceived unfavourably by their tenants

12% of tenants ‘view their landlord negatively’ according to a new survey out by lettings agent Leaders Romans Group.

Half of the tenants surveyed claimed that better communication and faster response time to fixing repairs were their main gripe, with 34% of tenants unclear on rights and responsibilities between the two parties, and ‘that a more balanced dialogue could help bridge the gap between the two groups’.

Interestingly, 17% of tenants did not think that additional regulation would improve things, with only 16% in favour of an independent ombudsman.

On a positive note, 75% of tenants admitted that maintenance requests are addressed within a week, 41% of which receiving responses in as little as 48 hours, and that 60% of tenants state that landlords are unfairly represented.

Allison Thompson from the National Lettings Managing Director at LRG said

Our findings show that most landlords are committed to providing quality housing and building positive relationships with their tenants. While there’s plenty to celebrate in these results, there’s also a clear message about the importance of open communication and responsiveness to tenant needs.

Council displays shocking double standards

Plymouth Council has been been issued with a ‘C3 grading’, which means it needs ‘significant improvement’ by the Regulator of Social Housing after it failed to meet safety standards in its social housing. It failed on fire safety, 85% of its homes had not had an electrical condition test in over five years, lack of regular surveys on their properties and an unclear repairs process with with tenants.

However, they are being called out as having double standards as they brought in a complex new licensing scheme for the private rental sector last year, offering discount and a longer licence for those landlords that managed their properties well and met certain criteria.

The council said at the time

‘Good private landlords’ registered with its dedicated HMO website so “the council will be able to dedicate more time to less well performing landlords or agents to help them improve if they are issued with a shorter licence.

Snippets

NE town reveal plans to start selective licensing for landlords
Uswitch has produced the latest ‘Mouldy Nation Report’
DWP program that automatically approves landlord benefit deduction requests ruled unlawful
Landlord given 28 days to pay £20,000 – or risk prison

See also our Quick News Updates on Landlord Law

Newsround will be back again next week

The post Landlord Law Newsround #373 appeared first on The Landlord Law Blog.