Rental quarterly inspections

[patchouli]

I could find a section for rentals sorry...

Can I ask please, the 'inspection every 3 months' rule... when we moved in it was the first home in over 20 years of renting that I had an 'inspection' so it was very hard for me to cope with the fact a stranger wanted to come in to my house. I almost lost the plot when she asked if she could go upstairs and look in our bedrooms and by the time she was ready to leave I was in tears. She was very nice and understanding /sarcasm and made me feel like a piece of sh*t and an idiot for having an issue with it. "Some people let us around their homes while they are at work!" and would I prefer that.. my reply was "I don't want you here at all, I don;t know you, like you or have any need for an inspection I have OCD's and this house is cleaner than the day the LL bought it!"


Anyway, I asked her to request from the LL that inspections were done every 6 months instead unless I gave them reason to think I wasn't looking after the house.
They write and LL agreed.... I still find it hard to have her in my house asking if I open windows and cut the grass... urgh.

OK so a friend of mine is also the same (I think we all dislike strangers in our homes to be fair) and she asked her agency if she could reduce to 6 monthly checks. She was told no because they use it as a chance to ask if anything needs fixing on the property...

???? When my WC sprung a leak last month I had photos of the leak, the damage point and the floor in an email to my LA within an hour of it happening. The plumber was there within the hour and it was fixed that day.

Why do her letting agency think that in this day and age faults can only be reported via face to face contact? One couldn't wait that long in my case!

I advised her to write and say that unless she had given the LA or LL reason to think she wasn't caring for the property that she would like to ask the LA to request the LL consider that inspections were conducted every 6 months to reduce disruption to her family and reduce her anxiety and that any faults or issues could be highlighted to them via email and with photographic evidence is required.

Can they insist on quarterly?

[Deepie]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

Moved to ----> Debt & Housing planB our aad expert will pick this up......

[PlanB]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

Can they insist on quarterly?

The Landlord or their Agent has no right to access the property once you have taken possession unless (there always is an 'unless' with me ) it specifically states that they can in the terms of the tenancy agreement. If the AST says quarterly inspections then you can't argue.

Having said that I agree with you that it's humiliating and degrading and the agent didn't handle it in a sensitive way. I'm very much a Slummy Mummy and take a relaxed attitude to tidiness to say the least, goodness knows what she'd find under my bed

I'm also a Landlord and I wouldn't dream of inspecting any of my tenants' properties because I'm terrified of what I might find in their bedrooms I haven't visited one property for over five years so I don't even know if it's still there. The rent arrives by direct debit and we've only spoken once when he rang to confess six fire engines had been sent to the thatched cottage to put out a fire in the chimney. I believe strongly in respecting my tenants' privacy. My motto is a Landlord should treat a Tenant the same way as they would expect to be treated.

Most tenancy agreements include a clause which makes the Tenant responsible for reporting any sign of damage to the property (damp or fallen trees etc) and if the Tenant fails to inform the Landlord or their Agent then the Tenant can be made to pay up for the damage. So in some ways she got that bit right.

I think what is probably happening in your case is the property is being "managed" by the agent who will get paid for every inspection they make. If the visits reduce from quarterly to six monthly then that's half their fees gone out the window. Another thing with managed properties is that the Agent will get commission on any contractor that get's sent round to fix things. I know I'm cynical (I have every reason to be) but maybe this Agent is looking for work on that basis. The other thing with a managed property is that the Landlord can sue the agent if damage occurs that's not been dealt with.

I assure you it's not a criticism of your living habits. You sound like the perfect tenant to me.

[patchouli]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

Ahh my LA agreed to every 6 months.. I really am Mrs tidy and omg DONT walk upstairs in shoes!!!! lol
It was my friends who's LA said no... but I said ask them to ask the LL.

So... do you have any properties in Essex then? lol

Actually I am really happy in this house... stupidly happy.. which makes me worry that any day now the LL will sell.. they divorced just after we moved in it seems so goodness knows what might happen.

that's the gamble with renting though, my home is never really mine. I SO need Euro Millions to stop fecking about and let me win... I only want 600k !!!

[pooky2483]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

We have the same thing happening with our tenancy, they want to insect the property every 4 months. If they have an issue with something, they tell us we have a certain amount of time to remedy it and then they will come and re-inspect the property., this can go on for quite some time in some cases.
Also, they don't have a set standard to the inspection. We have had some inspections where the house was spotless and they gave it a rubbish report. The last inspection, we asked the person exactly what the inspection is for and they said to see if there is any damage to the property and if anything needs doing, so we asked why we have had bad reports when the house was spotless.

they said they couldn't answer as they were not the one that did the inspection. Some of the things they picked up on, we guess, was an untidy computer desk, clothes on the bed, dirty pots in the kitchen, basically day to day living mess. One thing on a previous inspection they picked up on was a small amount of swept up dust and bits in the kitchen. My wife, who is going blind swept the kitchen but forgot to clear it up and missed bits. She was furious a small pile of dust in the kitchen got us a bad report!

[patchouli]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

We have the same thing happening with our tenancy, they want to insect the property every 4 months. If they have an issue with something, they tell us we have a certain amount of time to remedy it and then they will come and re-inspect the property., this can go on for quite some time in some cases.
Also, they don't have a set standard to the inspection. We have had some inspections where the house was spotless and they gave it a rubbish report. The last inspection, we asked the person exactly what the inspection is for and they said to see if there is any damage to the property and if anything needs doing, so we asked why we have had bad reports when the house was spotless.

they said they couldn't answer as they were not the one that did the inspection. Some of the things they picked up on, we guess, was an untidy computer desk, clothes on the bed, dirty pots in the kitchen, basically day to day living mess. One thing on a previous inspection they picked up on was a small amount of swept up dust and bits in the kitchen. My wife, who is going blind swept the kitchen but forgot to clear it up and missed bits. She was furious a small pile of dust in the kitchen got us a bad report!

And yet behind all this THEY ARE PLANNING TO KNOCK IT ALL DOWN!!! ffs... I';d tell them to take a hike and not bother coming again.

[PlanB]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

Golly these agents sound like the Clean Police gone mad. Fancy giving you bad reports like a school mistress. That must be so stressful.

PlanB would get a C- for the tidy test. "Clothes on the bed" is a crime? In my house they're on the floor.

[patchouli]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

"untidy computer desk"

I would seriously kick off about that... you should read the letter I wrote to the LA after they wrote "Twisted blinds" on one inspection... OMG I went right off into Mother hen MY HOME mode.. lol
The 'twisted blind' was when it was closed in my office it caught on a plant, so one side was higher than the other... grrrrrr I might just put my letter on here lol

[Bugsy]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

We have been in various rented accomodation for the last 20 years and I must admit we have never had any problems with inspections. Some came three monthly some 6 monthly and some not at all. The only hiccup we had was when the present agent came and tried to befriend our small dog who is very protective and got her hand bitten. She took it in great spirit though and now she only comes into the living room has a chat and goes. None of them have ever wanted to see in the bedrooms!!

[patchouli]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

oh ours goes into the bedrooms, the en suite.. looks INSIDE the loos and the shower.... *shudder* she.gets.on.my.tits.

[pooky2483]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

"untidy computer desk"

I would seriously kick off about that... you should read the letter I wrote to the LA after they wrote "Twisted blinds" on one inspection... OMG I went right off into Mother hen MY HOME mode.. lol
The 'twisted blind' was when it was closed in my office it caught on a plant, so one side was higher than the other... grrrrrr I might just put my letter on here lol

It didn't actually say that but the computer desk was the only untidy place in the bungalow

[patchouli]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

oh.. ok... I will hold back my arghhh... lol

[pooky2483]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

It drives me mad when we have these 'inspections', makes me have 'flashbacks' of when I was in the Army lol

[PriorityOne]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

I think what is probably happening in your case is the property is being "managed" by the agent.

I assure you it's not a criticism of your living habits. You sound like the perfect tenant to me.

Yes. that sounds right PlanB. I rented a property for a year after splitting from the ex some years ago now and I had 2 inspections and then a final one. The reason the Landlord had instructed the agent to do this was because the previous tenants had completely trashed his property and somehow even ripped one of the meters out!!! the agent was very polite and invited me to arrange appointments to suit, so all was fine. The only time I stressed was when my daughter peeled off a huge chunk of wallpaper from the bedroom one night while waiting for sleep to kick in so I had to go and buy some similar coloured paint, fix the wall and hope they wouldn't notice. Luckily for me they didn't and I got my deposit back before moving out.

We have had some inspections where the house was spotless and they gave it a rubbish report. The last inspection, we asked the person exactly what the inspection is for and they said to see if there is any damage to the property and if anything needs doing, so we asked why we have had bad reports when the house was spotless.

they said they couldn't answer as they were not the one that did the inspection. Some of the things they picked up on, we guess, was an untidy computer desk, clothes on the bed, dirty pots in the kitchen, basically day to day living mess. One thing on a previous inspection they picked up on was a small amount of swept up dust and bits in the kitchen. My wife, who is going blind swept the kitchen but forgot to clear it up and missed bits. She was furious a small pile of dust in the kitchen got us a bad report!

Bloody hell.... that's just being a complete jobsworth, in my opinion and I would find that quite harassing! As long as there's no damage to the property, anything else should be none of their business!

[pooky2483]

Re: Rental quarterly inspections

Bloody hell.... that's just being a complete jobsworth, in my opinion and I would find that quite harassing! As long as there's no damage to the property, anything else should be none of their business!

I'm just editing out personal details of the letters they sent us detailing the findings of the 'inspections', I will be posting them sometime tomorrow.