Renting house that is on the market

gerryandliza

Hi, really hope that someone can give us some advice. We are renting a house that is on the market. We have been living in it for nearly a year now. Last year we faciliated viewings but the estate agent didnt pitch up with her clients and on another occassion she was over a hour late. She didnt have the decency to notify us but instead phoned the owner as she didnt want to deal with us. We were never asked if the days and times of the viewings suited us we were always just told they they WERE going to happen. This caused alot of bad feelings between us, the home owner and estate agent. Today we have received a letter under the door from the home owner informing us that there will be a viewing next saturday and that we are to vacate the property as the estate agent has requested this. Once again we werent asked if the time suited! We are going to allow the viewing but refuse to vacate the premises during this time as we dont want to allow strangers into the house unsupervised. Our question is this, do the estate agent and the home owner have the right to dictate times and dates for viewings without consulting us and secondly has the estate agent and home owner the right to access the home unsupervised. We would like to add that the estate agent has also notified us that she has her own key and can come in whether we are home or not. Is this allowed?

nibtrix

This is absolutely not allowed. You are entitled to privacy in your own home, whether you own it or rent it. Even the owner is not allowed to enter without your permission, except in an emergency.

Do you have any kind of a lease? It sounds from your post as I you don't. Look up part 4 tenancies on threshold.ie or prtb.ie. Once you have lived somewhere for six months there is a defined notice the landlord must give you to get you out.

Regarding the viewings, it is completely up to you whether to allow them at all, and if you do allow them, to pick a time that is convenient to you. I'm in the same situation at the moment and I've told the agent that viewings can only be done on Monday evenings and they must have notified me by the previous Friday. I'm also present for all viewings.

Best of luck with the situation!

odds_on

Regarding the viewings, it is completely up to you whether to allow them at all, and if you do allow them, to pick a time that is convenient to you. I'm in the same situation at the moment and I've told the agent that viewings can only be done on Monday evenings and they must have notified me by the previous Friday. I'm also present for all viewings.

Good advice above by nibtrix.

Give the estate agent times that are convenient to you say one evening and maybe a few hours on a Saturday. The agents must confirm an appointment at least 48 hours before viewing, so you can make your own arrangements. Outside these times, no viewings will be possible - even if the agents are late (they usually are!!). Stick to the times - even if you are at home and it's no problem, don't give in to them. Again, make sure you are present during the viewings - after all, you have your personal belongings etc. there and you don't want them to go walkies.

gerryandliza

Thanks for the good advice. We do have a rental agreement in place. We will be notifying her that if she is late AGAIN that we will not facilitate the viewing. We are just a little concerned that if we do do this that the home owner can turn around and give us notice to vacate the premises. Our year lease ends next month, we are under the impression that the lease will just automatically renew/rollover.

not even wrong

gerryandliza wrote: »

We will be notifying her that if she is late AGAIN that we will not facilitate the viewing. We are just a little concerned that if we do do this that the home owner can turn around and give us notice to vacate the premises.

Unfortunately they can, one of the loopholes in Part 4 of the Residential Tenancies Act 2004 is that the landlord can ask you to move out if they are selling up. (They must give you 35 days notice however as you've been there for less than a year).

That said, I wouldn't put up with unprofessional behaviour like this anyway -- there's no guarantee that the new owner won't ask you to move out either, in which case you would have put up with all this disruption for nothing.

gerryandliza

We arent concerned about the house being sold as the house has been on the market for 4 years already, and given the fact that the house is now starting to show its age and that the owner doesnt want to spend money on it i seriously doubt it will be sold. Thanks for your input