Landlord letting themself in?

oohlala

Posting this on behalf of a friend...


Just looking for a small bit of advice. I rent an apartment with two other people through a letting agency. I've met the landlord once when we signed the lease. Anyhow fast forward on a few months she asked could she come up to the apartment on a specific day to have a look. No real reason given. I told her no because i was to be working and other flatmates were away. That was that. It turned out i didn't have to work and was at home that day. About 10 the bell went, i left it thinking it was my bf as we'd had a fight and i didn't want to talk to him. A while later i heard voices in the apartment. I was terrified knowing there shouldn't be anyone and locked my room from the inside, i didn't recognise the voices. Then i heard it was two people and they were opening the fridge and looking at the post, i heard them calling out the names of who the post was addressed to.

Then they came to my room and wee talking about the shower. I coped then it was the landlord and came out. They ( a couple) threw a fit at me for not letting them in and saying i was working when i wasn't. I explained that it was a last min change and that i hadn't agreed they could come when i wasn't there. They were really agressive and left me feeling very intimitdated. They made themselves a cup of tea and started lecturing me about the apartment, ie our christmas tree had been left on balcony for 2 days longer than permitted by agency, and asking me who the post was for (people that didn't live there, i assume previous tenants?) and giving out that a light had been left on all night.

Now i'm left feeling quite angry and unhappy with their attitude, they aren't from dublin and told me whenever they're up they park in our underground car park in the spaces for the apartment ( there are to and two cars for the other two tenants). Once one of my flatmates had been clamped for parking on the street because his space had been taken but i don't know if it was the landlord who used it. The spaces are all reserved for tenants obviously.

Any opinions or advice? Thanks...

Pudding11

A landlord should not let themselves into a rented dwelling without the permission or prior agreement of the tenants, simple as that.
Have a look at this link from citizens information which tells you the same thing.
http://www.citizensinformation.ie/categories/housing/renting-a-home/landlords_rights_and_obligations
does your friend have a lease? if this continues they should perhaps contact threshold or the PRTB for resolution.

convert

As a tenant you are entitled to the peaceable enjoyment of your apartment/house, and the landlord is required to give you sufficient notice if they wish to view/check the house, or to show it to prospective tenants. If you say no, they are not entitled to enter the house without your permission.

The fact that your landlord rang the bell meant that she was checking that there was nobody there before she entered the apartment. Moreover, the fact that she went through the post and quizzed you on the names of the addressees is over the top, as is the fact that she lectured you on the condition of the apartment.

As was pointed out in the previous post, the information on both citizen's information and the prtb websites clearly state that a landlord is not permitted to enter a premises without the permission of their tenant(s). If I was you (or your friend) I'd contact the PRTB - prtb.ie - and seek their advice. They deal with this kind of query day in, day out and would therefore be the best people to advise you regarding the course of action to take. They'll also be able to advise you re. the landlord using the parking space. However, if I found myself in that situation I would inform the landlord that I was lodging a complaint with the PRTB regarding their behaviour.

Do you know if your tenancy is registered? (you'll be able to find out by checking the PRTB website) It may be a bargaining tool with your landlord if they aren't.

RATM

OP the LL has NO right to be in your rented place without your express permission. He sought that, was refused it and went around and did it anyway. What you should have done is called the cops from your bedroom and tell them you think there's a burglar in the house- that would've taught him having to explain to the cops what he was doing there mooching around.

Contact Threshold.ie to advise you- he absolutely has no right to make you feel intimidated in your own home and disgraceful behaviour like this should be punished.

oohlala

Thanks for all the replies. The main questions she has are

1. Is the landlord allowed into apartment? We know now its a def no.

2. Are they allowed to use the car parking space?

3. Does the post with other peoples names give them reason to be suspicious of us? The people on the post (mainly spam like catalogues and advertisements etc) aren't known there unless they are previous tenants.

4. Does this give a legal reason to break the tenancy? there have been a few problems at the apartment with things breaking and ll not paying for them to be fixed or they wouldn't be fixed ithin a suitable timeframe and two occassions of people in the apartment having to take time off work for tradesmen that never turned up.

5. As we rent through a letting agency is our quarrel with the ll not valid because we have our agreement with letting agency or how does that work?


Thanks very much!

convert

The PRTB would be able to answer those questions accurately as well as suggesting a course of action. They really should be the first port of call for your friend before they make any decision regarding approaching the landlord or agency, or even think about trying to terminate the lease.

If your friend is thinking of trying to get out of the lease, they need to sit down and read their lease (if there is one) carefully. There may be provisions regarding early termination, but your friend also has to realise that if they leave and don't find a replacement tenant, the landlord is entitled to receive the rent for the remainder of the lease.

Your friend should also make a list of all the 'problems' she has experienced with the landlord, between entering without permission, non replacement or slow repair of broken appliances, etc.

Did your friend check to see if the tenancy was registered with the PRTB?

oohlala

They said its not but then said it was registered to letting agency. there is a lease from the letting agency. I'll let her know to read through. Main probs were the hot water plumbing was hooked up to toilet so if hot water was heated, one flush and its gone. The landlord said they would put in an electric power shower before lease was signed and then wouldn't. The washing machine broke and stayed broken for 2 months. There was a problem with her shower, she has an en suite, where the shower was coming away from the wall. The tradesperson who came to fix it said the problem was there was no bracket in the wall for the shower to be fixed onto, that it had been glued on by the builders. The landlord said they should just glue it back on and when they refused the landlord did it themselves :rolleyes:

I'll let her know to get back onto the ptrb so. She talked to other flatmates and they all want to leave. they pay a lot of rent for a 'luxury apartment' but they have had so many problems its become a nightmare. One night e were out the landlord rang a few mins passed midnight freaking that the rent hadn't been paid, i was with her and could hear the screaming from the phone.

magentas

That's unacceptable behaviour. Landlord entering like that without your permission is a big no-no. Personally, that'd be enough for me to get out of lease as it's completely illegal and a huge invasion of privacy.

On the parking issue, unless it is stated on the lease that spaces are for sole use of tenants I don't think there's much you can do.

Same with elec shower and other things that needed to be fixed, unless it's in writing there's not much you can do. Not what you want to hear but it's true. They don't sound like the most decent of people really.

After 8yrs of renting I've had to deal with all of those issues and you learn from experience. I've had the soundest of landlord (yes, singular!) and the biggest scammers going. Luck of the draw I suppose.

Get on to PRTB anyway whether they're registered or not they should be able to help re:advice

Maybe before it gets too messy though have a word with the letting agency. They may not be aware of landlords interference and it could be a bad reflection on them and they may be able to help you get out of lease.

Good luck