Was that a short term let? I only ask because Iāve seen and experienced that before when it was a six month term.
Either way, from experience Iāve found if that by the first inspection the flat/house is as good as it should be (or better!) they donāt tend to bother too much with the one in three months time in terms of itās a quick chat on the doorstep and thatās that.
Having never rented, I had no idea an inspection was common.
How intrusive are they? Are they checking everything? Or just making sure you donāt use the lounge floor for a toilet and then going on their way?
Itās there to protect both parties really. Unless you have the landlord from hell (which I have had one time) youāll never really be bothered by it.
In the first instance, it was as @ndrw notes in that I got a call to say they just wanted to see how things were going and that they would come in on an agreed date. A few quick look arounds and they were on their way.
On the second one I found out an inspection had occurred because the landlord texted me to say he couldnāt get in because there was the key in the lock. (I suspected he had retained a key even though they are not meant to unless agreed in advance, and my method to prove this theory worked). You can imagine the call to the letting agency after that!
It helps both parties out. Them to make sure you havenāt taken any walls down (stranger things have happened, I know of a landlord who came in to find all interior walls had been taken down and replaced by props!) and to report things such as mould etc for them to fix.
So most lets Iāve looked into are ones where they want the tenant for long term - I currently have a rented flat where I get a yearly inspection but due to COVID etc itās barely happened.
Yeah I think they should inspect it once and then if itās been kept in great condition they should accept theyāve rented the flat to an adult and not a party animal.
So my experience is they walk around - take photos, ask if anything is broken and then leave. I think I might just charm them out the door because I want to get back to work ASAP.
The issue is some letting agencies will view the property when youāre out which isnāt a preferred option for me - kinda feels invasion of privacy etc.
You know you can change the locks right? I always changed the locks on my rentals, I had a lock I moved from place to place. As long as you put the original lock back before you leave, and your contract doesnāt explicitly state you canāt, itās fine and normal to change the lock on move in, after all you donāt know who else may have keys
Yes, you have to be careful here though as a lot will explicitly say you canāt
Again itās a sort of ābe careful but not reallyā because even if it said you canāt and you did, probably not much they could do. However, better not to breach your rental contract anyway.
Still none of mine ever said this.
Well, apart from breech your rental agreement and evict you I guess (or not, Iām not a landlord expert)
They canāt evict you for that.
They could issue a discretionary section 8 notice for three months but thereās pretty much no way possession would be ordered for that. Itās not in the list of things that constitute a mandatory breach (like several late rental payments or antisocial behaviour).
Rental contracts are a funny one because unlike commercial contracts whatās written in them is very much secondary to the underlying statutory relationship
edit: Iām pointing out the likely legal situation, it is still better to just not break your contract to begin with!
My last place had inspections (and I honestly canāt remember how frequent they were!) but they seemed fairly reasonable. They were interested in the big stuff, like not turning the house into a crack den or subletting the rooms, and also how the house was being looked after, so looking for things like damp, mould, etc.
I lived in my last place for 7 years. I would say that we had a good relationship with the landlord (we got our deposit back in full, inspections were always uneventful, repairs and improvements always done without a fuss) but the inspections continued. I suspect that was down to the fact that the let was managed through an agent, and it was in the agentsā interests to keep taking the landlordās money for the inspection work.
I suspect this too - as in itās an optional extra service landlords can pay the LA for.
The thing here is that once you get into these realms, I wouldnāt want to be living where I had that relationship with my landlord.
I have always rented, and I have always taken a common sense approach - yes I probably have rights that I havenāt pushed forward (I have had a landlord who used to text for an inspection on the morning of which was inconvenient but if I was in the flat I always said yes) but in return landlords have almost always trusted me and left me to my own devices. Building a relationship that isnāt based on technicalities of a contract has always worked for me.
Right now, for example, we have been out of our apartment since Oct 25 staying in hotels because of a water/power issue affecting our whole development. Our landlord is paying for our hotels each night and Ā£100 in food daily for me and my partner. Yet the others in our apartment block are arguing over the tenancy agreement about 24 hours access notice because before we can go back the fire alarms need to be signed off by the London Fire Brigade and they gave us less than 24 hours notice to enter the flats (even though we arenāt there). People are also complaining that they are still charging rent.
I then pointed out that in our tenancy agreement it is true that we do not pay rent if the apartments are not habitable - but they do not have to provide any expenses or further accommodation in lieu of this. I have absolutely spent more money on hotels/food that I have got back than I would if I didnāt pay rent.
TLDR: sometimes not pissing each other off works better long term.
Fair play Ā£100 a day seems quite generous, but I bet youāre getting sick of takeaways!
I feel like you maybe clipped off the bottom of my post where I said the same thing 
. But yes I agree, itās a relationship and you are always best just not to break your contract.
I still think people can and should change the locks if their contract doesnāt say you canāt, again I think thatās normal and reasonable.
No clipping intended!
I meant more that actually minor breaches of contract on either side are normal - Iāve always hung up things on my walls despite it being forbidden in most contracts but Iāve done it discreetly and would cover any damages if it happened (which hasnāt).
Promise I wasnāt trying to imply you were suggesting anything otherwise!
Iāve never changed my locksā¦ wouldnāt even know if it was allowed! I usually assume for emergencies the landlord needs access.
Itās an interesting point. In (and only in) absolute emergencies such as a broken water main the landlord has the right to enter without the tenants permission including the right to use spare keys if those keys allow access.
But if the keys donāt allow access, I.e you changed the locks, thatās actually fine from the tenants perspective. Their right to entry in an emergency doesnāt equate to a legal necessity to provide them with the keys to access the property in an emergency (if that distinction makes sense).
In reality I feel like unless your landlord lives next door or something you are likely to become aware of any such emergency long before they do.
Itās pretty generous yes, and yet some people on our WhatsApp group are saying they canāt live off that much!
The belly is getting biggerā¦
We also get a taxi paid for each day from our hotel to the apartment to pick anything up (which we havenāt used - seems a bit much to do that!), laundry expensed twice per week plus hotels paid for. On the plus side I am racking up hotel points and just achieved higher status which will be nice for trips through to 2023.
Wow what! What are they eating!
Your guess is as good as mine.
They are going to the media about āthe conditions we have to live inā because some have been housed in a Hilton hotel that isnāt conveniently placed for them.
I had to bite my tongue to point out that a sob story about middle class folk in quite expensive apartments having to suffer at a Hilton hotel on Ā£100 a day for food with taxis and laundry expensed might not quite hit the mark they think it mightā¦
Honestly, they are saying the words āconditions we have to live inā.