When you start renting out a property, it is important to be informed and know your landlord and tenant rights. Here we will inform you of your rights to enter your own property and what to do should your tenant become ‘unreasonable’.
Landlord and Tenant Rights: Entering Without Permission
When a tenancy agreement is signed, the landlord provides the tenant with exclusive possession to the property. This means it is completely within the tenant’s rights to deny anyone and everyone access to the property at any time. Access without permission is therefore, technically, trespassing. And could be the start of legal action.
However, within this signed contract there should be written some reserved landlord rights to allow access where necessary. For example, access is required to carry out any repairs or to inspect for damage.
With regards to repairs, there are two statutory rights of access. These are:
Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 – Summarised, this section states that a landlord may be allowed access to their property to carry out repairs or repair inspections when 24 hours’ notice is provided.
Housing Act 1988 – This states all tenants must give ‘reasonable facilities’ for repairs to be carried out.
Despite these acts stating a tenant ‘should’ give access, a landlord still cannot force entry if not given permission. And if you do enter the property, they are well within their rights to make a claim against you for harassment under the Eviction Act 1977.
Permission cannot be assumed and must be put in writing if the visit will be for an extended period of time, for example for extensive works. Emergency access is the exception to the rule in cases such as flooding or fire.
Landlord Access to Property: What is Unreasonable Behaviour?
Unreasonable or anti-social behaviour does not provide a legal exception to the above rules. However, a landlord can request a court order for access or eviction, if they believe the tenant has been unruly.
‘Unreasonable behaviour’ is a term given to describe a number of issues including:
• Breaches of tenancy, such as owning pets or neglecting the property
• Noise
• Access disputes (i.e. the landlord has been denied entrance)
• Running a business from the premises without permission
• Criminal behaviour, such as drug dealing or violent acts
Eviction Laws and Notice to Vacate
If threatening legal action has not worked, you can apply for an injunction to gain access, however the more popular option is to serve a Section 21. A Section 21 repossesses your property and is available if you have a written assured shorthold tenancy or statutory period tenancy agreement and you out the deposit in a protection scheme.
A Section 21 gives tenants a minimum of 2 months notice to leave the property. Though, please note, this is not applicable for fixed-term tenants. These cannot be evicted until the end of their tenancy.
Eviction laws differ depending on whether the landlord wants to take action during or at the end of the agreed fixed term. A landlord can only evict a tenant during the fixed term due to certain reasons, such as:
• Unpaid rent
• Anti-social (unreasonable) behaviour
• A break clause in the contract
At the end of a fixed term, landlords do not need a reason to evict a tenant, however correct notice must be given.
Read more: FAQ Series: Evicting tenants but they won’t leave!
For more information on landlord tenant rights, speak to our friendly and experienced solicitors by calling 0808 178 2773.
