Landlord entering my room without permission

O Riain

My landlord is consistently entering my room without permission when im there and not, I rang threshold and they told me to serve him with a letter outlining that it is within my rights for him to ask for my permission to enter, I was just wondering could someone help me with the wording of it, I just wanna make sure it is all correct.
Thanks

Cheshire Cat

Don't write a letter - get a key! Somebody who doesn't respect your privacy will ignore a letter.

CC

O Riain

Cheshire Cat wrote: »

Don't write a letter - get a key! Somebody who doesn't respect your privacy will ignore a letter.

CC

he's entitled by law to a key aswell and that wont exactly stop him from entering my room will it

Kosseegan

Does your landlord live in the house? Do you rent the room only?

Cathmandooo

While a letter will document your feelings on the matter it probably won't stop him entering your room. First thing I'd do is get a lock, even if the landlord has a copy of the key it might be an added reminder to him that it's your private space and he's not entitled to go in there without your permission.

If that fails then I'm afraid you'll have to either put up with it or move elsewhere. A lodger sharing with an owner doesn't have many rights.

O Riain

Kosseegan wrote: »

Does your landlord live in the house? Do you rent the room only?

he lives there, now he rents off the main landlord so he sublets to me, but he is still in no way entitled to enter my room without permission

Cathmandooo

So your housemate doesn't own the house?

Does the actual owner know you live there?

I'd put a lock on the door and send a key to the actual owner. I don't see the need for you to give a key to your housemate, he doesn't even own the room.

MRLAZY

Then he is not your landlord....

just tell him nicely. GET THE **** OUT OF MY ROOM AND STAY OUT please .

countknickers

O Riain wrote: »

he lives there, now he rents off the main landlord so he sublets to me, but he is still in no way entitled to enter my room without permission

Does the actual owner know that he is Subletting??

If yes then your next thing to check is if the guy acting as your landlord has registered you with the PRTB or Private Residential Tenancies Board.

All Landlords are obliged to register tenants. I would presume that the obligation lies with the actual owner of the property but if the guy acting as your landlord has permission to sublet then he is acting as an agent for the property owner and should have registered you. I would find out what the details are and if it is the case that the actual owner of the property has given him permission to sublet then you should ask him about this.

He has no right to enter your room at any time unless you have given him permission to do so. He has the right to tell you he wants to see your room but this should be within a reasonable time that is suitable to both you and him.

Kosseegan

countknickers wrote: »

Does the actual owner know that he is Subletting??

If yes then your next thing to check is if the guy acting as your landlord has registered you with the PRTB or Private Residential Tenancies Board.

All Landlords are obliged to register tenants. I would presume that the obligation lies with the actual owner of the property but if the guy acting as your landlord has permission to sublet then he is acting as an agent for the property owner and should have registered you. I would find out what the details are and if it is the case that the actual owner of the property has given him permission to sublet then you should ask him about this.

He has no right to enter your room at any time unless you have given him permission to do so. He has the right to tell you he wants to see your room but this should be within a reasonable time that is suitable to both you and him.

There is no obligation to register if the letting is of a room only. Tenants are not registered. leases of dwellings are. A room is not a dwelling unless it is a self contained bedsitter. If that is the case as seems to be here it is a question of contract law as to whether the landlord can enter the room. There is no statutory protection for the o/p in this situation. A hotle manager can enter a guest's bedroom and the o/p appears to be in a licence to reside situation. I he doesn't like it , he should move!

youcrazyjesus!

Kosseegan wrote: »

There is no obligation to register if the letting is of a room only. Tenants are not registered. leases of dwellings are. A room is not a dwelling unless it is a self contained bedsitter. If that is the case as seems to be here it is a question of contract law as to whether the landlord can enter the room. There is no statutory protection for the o/p in this situation. A hotle manager can enter a guest's bedroom and the o/p appears to be in a licence to reside situation. I he doesn't like it , he should move!

Despicable attitude. I wouldn't enter the room of friend, family, acquaintance, housemate or tenant without approval. Its called human decency.

Graces7

We had access issues here. One day we came home to find the dogs in rooms they cannot get into unless someone opens the door..( would have loved to see the man trying to sort them out in panic!!)

We made sure the landlord knew he was not allowed in and then we made a simple chain and padlock for the door. A couple of staples/clips and small chains and a lock. It will of course not deter serious burglars but will show that entry has been effected and is thus evidence of that. We will change the lock if need be but so far this is enough.

countknickers

Kosseegan wrote: »

There is no obligation to register if the letting is of a room only. Tenants are not registered. leases of dwellings are. A room is not a dwelling unless it is a self contained bedsitter. If that is the case as seems to be here it is a question of contract law as to whether the landlord can enter the room. There is no statutory protection for the o/p in this situation. A hotle manager can enter a guest's bedroom and the o/p appears to be in a licence to reside situation. I he doesn't like it , he should move!

You might want to check up on the tenancies act 2004.

It is a legal requirement that landlords must register tenancies with the PRTB. Please see the penalties applicable under the Residential Tenancies Act 2004.

A tenancy includes a periodic tenancy and a tenancy for a fixed term. A tenancy may be oral or in writing or implied. It also includes a sub-tenancy. It can include a tenancy or a sub-tenancy that has been terminated.

For more information see here

https://www.prtb.ie/faq.aspx#Q1

bath handle

countknickers wrote: »

You might want to check up on the tenancies act 2004.

It is a legal requirement that landlords must register tenancies with the PRTB. Please see rl]

You might want to check it yourself. Only the tenancy of a dwelling must be registered. A room is not a dwelling. That was decided by the board of the Prtb. There is an extract from the decision on another recent thread on this forum.

Kosseegan

bath handle wrote: »

You might want to check it yourself. Only the tenancy of a dwelling must be registered. A room is not a dwelling. That was decided by the board of the Prtb. There is an extract from the decision on another recent thread on this forum.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2056172224

edellc

look forget all this PRTB stuff its not relevant to your situation inform the guy renting you the room to stay the fu*k out buy a lock and no dont give him a key if he cant respect your space and LL/Tenant privacy then why do you have to live buy the legalities of LL/Tenant relationships fair is fair not legal but fair
maybe by playing him at his own game a lesson may be learned but i would look elsewhere to live and id look into the subletting thing see if its even legal for him to be doing it

Zoundz

Just for the record, you cannot place a lock on the door without written permission from the landlord. I did this when my landlord of the last house I was in was regularly entering the property (I have now had no less than 3 landlords in the past 4 years who have done this!) - and after wards when he retained my deposit, I was told by the PRTB that even though the gardai had advised me to put a padlock on the door, I wasn't allowed to, and he could have a claim for damage to his door

For those interested how this turned out, it's a very long story, and we won the dispute in the end

xx

yosser hughes

I'd move out if I were you.

Graces7

Zoundz wrote: »

Just for the record, you cannot place a lock on the door without written permission from the landlord. I did this when my landlord of the last house I was in was regularly entering the property (I have now had no less than 3 landlords in the past 4 years who have done this!) - and after wards when he retained my deposit, I was told by the PRTB that even though the gardai had advised me to put a padlock on the door, I wasn't allowed to, and he could have a claim for damage to his door

For those interested how this turned out, it's a very long story, and we won the dispute in the end

xx

Well, fine.. The only way he would ever see the wee lock is if he came near the door which is not allowed without prior notice...In which case he has broken the law... It is not a padlock that would take much breaking in our case. And if he were coming to inspect he would never notice the wee thing... Just that as long as it is there we know he has not been in. And he would look a real fool making a great fuss re 4 tiny holes in the door.
It is our peace of mind simply. Make him think more than twice.

the_syco

O Riain wrote: »

My landlord is consistently entering my room without permission when im there and not

Swap the internal lock with another one. It'll look the same, but suddenly the key he has won't work :P

http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-an-Interior-Doorknob

blackboots

Hiya,

So I kind of feel like a hypocrit since I just made a post where I entered my lodgers room without permission - but you landlord is definitely way out of order.

If you are a lodger then unfortunately I don't think you have much rights - if however you are subletting from a tenant who has exclusive rights to the property then you are also covered under the tenancies act - is it the owner or the primary tenant who is entering your room?

Anyways in your letter I would first outline the occasions that he has entered your room without notification or permission. Then I would advise him that he is in violation of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004. You could also refer him to the citizens information website where it clearly states that while a tenant is obliged to give the landlord access - by appointment (NB) - for routine inspections, the landlord does not have the right to enter the property without permission.

That should be sufficient - short and sweet - then get back on to threshold and ask them what to do next.

Graces7

the_syco wrote: »

Swap the internal lock with another one. It'll look the same, but suddenly the key he has won't work :P

http://www.wikihow.com/Replace-an-Interior-Doorknob

Perfect idea; after all, the landlord will only find that out IF he is trying the door when he should not be doing..;) So he has not a leg to stand on.

Dublin_Gunner

Superglue on handle.

Problem solved. Plus he'll be stuck there as evidence.