Locks changed without my knowledge or permission

kingtiger

Hi

A family member is renting a house, and the tenant has changed to locks without his permission and the tenant is now ignoring all attempts to get a copy of the key in breach of the signed lease

What are his options to force the tenant to have over a key?

Thanks

foggy_lad

kingtiger wrote: »

Hi

A family member is renting a house, and the tenant has changed to locks without his permission and the tenant is now ignoring all attempts to get a copy of the key in breach of the signed lease

What are his options to force the tenant to have over a key?

Thanks

Serve an eviction notice because of the breach of the terms of the lease.

Make reasonable attempts to contact the tenant (by phone and by posting notes or letter through the door, do not call to the door as this could be seen as undue interference in their peaceful enjoyment of the property) to examine the property.

If the tenant does not reply or can't be contacted within a weeek the LL should post their notice of intention to enter the property 7 days from the written notice, this notice should then be placed in a prominent place near or on the entrance to the building where any person entering will see it.

seamus

The landlord does have the right to enter the property without notice if he suspects that the security of the property is at immediate risk.

Technically this relates to things like gas leaks and fires, but could also apply if he has good reason to suspect that the tenant is doing something illegal or running certain types of businesses which could damage the property (e.g. using the spare room as a bodyshop).

In terms of accessing the property after the above 7-day period foggy_lad mentions has expired, he can call out a locksmith to open the doors, replace the locks and take the full cost of that action from the tenant's deposit.

kingtiger

thanks lads, should we start an eviction case with the PRTB at the end of the 7 days notice?

seamus

No, no.

You have two separate notices here.

The first is notice of termination of the tenancy for reason of breach of the lease. The landlord is legally required to give 28 days from the date the notice is served. You can only raise a dispute with the PRTB if the tenant has not vacated once this 28 day period has expired.

The second completely separate process is one to try and gain access to the property/gain a key for the property;

"If the tenant does not reply or can't be contacted within a weeek the LL should post their notice of intention to enter the property 7 days from the written notice, this notice should then be placed in a prominent place near or on the entrance to the building where any person entering will see it."
I would suggest posting up one copy of this notice on the door, and putting a second notice through the letterbox.

You could also choose not to bother with the second notice and just hope that the tenant leaves at the end of the 28 days. I would personally be concerned though and would definitely get a locksmith out to change the locks again as soon as you legally can.

odds_on

If the tenant is on a fixed term lease AND has been residing in the property for less than 6 months, then the landlord can just serve a 28 day Notice of Termination for breach of obligations.

foggy_lad

You should serve notice of termination of the tenancy immediately by typing out two notices and arriving at the house with a wittness and posting one notice through the door and place the other into a plastic pocket or clear plastic bag so it can be read and pin it firmly to the door.

Next thing is to make reasonable efforts to contact the tenant by phone fax email and tesx message to tell them you wish to enter the property to examine it.

If you get no response in 7 days to al your calls and texts ect you then post your notice of intention to enter in a further 7 days. This must be placed on the door of the building or in some prominent position where it can be seen(can't be missed) by the tenant. After this further notice period if the tenant has not been in touch you can enter.

foggy_lad

odds_on wrote: »

If the tenant is on a fixed term lease AND has been residing in the property for less than 6 months, then the landlord can just serve a 28 day Notice of Termination for breach of obligations.

If that is ignored it still does not give the unfortunate LL any right to enter without first making reasonable efforts to contact the tenant by the means listed above

kingtiger

yes in the lease that was signed, it states that the tenant cannot alter or change the locks to the property without consent from the landlord

so we are perfectly within our rights to possess a key for emergency repair

or am i incorrect?

whippet

kingtiger wrote: »

yep Ziilah bang on the money there

as I said earlier its in the lease agreement that the tenant signed

that they cannot alter any locks with landlord consent

an how am I meant to exact emergency repair if I don't have a key?

so if the tenant has broken the lease agreement can I evict them for this?

you can, especially since it is within the first 6 months of the tenancy.

Issue a 28 day notice to quit and should the tenant not vacate the property within 28 days lodge a dispute with the PRTB.

If I were you I would also give notice that you intend making essential repairs and make an appointment to do so. The essential repairs are changing the locks yourself; the fact that you can't access the property in an emergency without changing the locks is an essential repair.

Any tenant who changes locks, refuses to hand over a key and ignores communication is troublesome and shouldn't be entertained one minute longer than legally necessary.

djimi

kingtiger wrote: »

so if the tenant has broken the lease agreement can I evict them for this?

I might be wrong about this but I *think* you must issue a written warning first, notifying them of the breach of the lease and giving them a chance to rectify the issue.

FionnOh

Not to be a **** but, eh..

locks changed with my knowledge or permission

kingtiger

djimi wrote: »

I might be wrong about this but I *think* you must issue a written warning first, notifying them of the breach of the lease and giving them a chance to rectify the issue.

posted the letter today, so I will give them 7 days to rectify this and then send a 28 day notice of eviction?

they have 6 months left on an 18 month lease

F1ngers

kingtiger wrote: »

posted the letter today, so I will give them 7 days to rectify this and then send a 28 day notice of eviction?

they have 6 months left on an 18 month lease

I'm no expert but that changes the goalposts as far as I know.

kingtiger

FionnOh wrote: »

Not to be a **** but, eh..

from the lease which was signed by the tenant

3.19 Not to alter, change or install any locks on any doors or windows in or about the property, or have any additional keys made for any locks without the prior written consent of the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent.

FionnOh

kingtiger wrote: »

from the lease which was signed by the tenant

3.19 Not to alter, change or install any locks on any doors or windows in or about the property, or have any additional keys made for any locks without the prior written consent of the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent.

No, I'm just suggesting you change the title. (with --> without)

odds_on

kingtiger wrote: »

from the lease which was signed by the tenant

3.19 Not to alter, change or install any locks on any doors or windows in or about the property, or have any additional keys made for any locks without the prior written consent of the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent.

The RTA 2004 under tenant's obligations, section 16 (l)

(l) not alter or improve the dwelling without the written consent
of the landlord which consent the landlord—
(i) in case the alteration or improvement consists only of
repairing, painting and decorating, or any of those
things, may not unreasonably withhold,
and section 17 defines ‘‘alter or improve’’, in relation to a dwelling, includes—
(a) alter a locking system on a door giving entry to the dwelling,
and ....

odds_on

F1ngers wrote: »

I'm no expert but that changes the goalposts as far as I know.

It affects the landlord in that he must first serve a warning notice that the breach of obligations be remedied. This is because the tenant acquired Part 4 rights at the end of the first six months. As I said in a previous post in this thread, if the tenant had been in the property for less than six months then a Notice of Termination may be served without any pre-warning advice.

sunnysoutheast

seamus wrote: »

No, no.

You have two separate notices here.

The first is notice of termination of the tenancy for reason of breach of the lease. The landlord is legally required to give 28 days from the date the notice is served. You can only raise a dispute with the PRTB if the tenant has not vacated once this 28 day period has expired.

The second completely separate process is one to try and gain access to the property/gain a key for the property;

"If the tenant does not reply or can't be contacted within a weeek the LL should post their notice of intention to enter the property 7 days from the written notice, this notice should then be placed in a prominent place near or on the entrance to the building where any person entering will see it."
I would suggest posting up one copy of this notice on the door, and putting a second notice through the letterbox.

You could also choose not to bother with the second notice and just hope that the tenant leaves at the end of the 28 days. I would personally be concerned though and would definitely get a locksmith out to change the locks again as soon as you legally can.

Does the tenant not have to be given an opportunity to remedy the breach, if under part 4?

Edit: ah, that will teach me to read to the end of a thread first!

QuiteInterestin

Slightly off topic I know but how did you find out that they had changed the locks?

questionmark?

QuiteInterestin wrote: »

Slightly off topic I know but how did you find out that they had changed the locks?

I was searching through the posts to find that out as well.

OP would be good if you could answer this question and whether the tenant is paying or not.

Doop

QuiteInterestin wrote: »

Slightly off topic I know but how did you find out that they had changed the locks?

Also slightly off topic, but if the landlord arranges to make these 'emergency repairs' (ie change the locks) and is still within the 28days notice period, does he then hand the tenant a new key?

kingtiger

whoops on the thread title, its been fixed

oh we found out when the tenant called about a plumbing issue, and we couldn't enter cause they said the locks had been changed so we couldn't gain entry to exact repairs

Victor

Side discussion split to Is a landlord allowed retain copies of keys?

Moderator

REXER

kingtiger wrote: »

whoops on the thread title, its been fixed

oh we found out when the tenant called about a plumbing issue, and we couldn't enter cause they said the locks had been changed so we couldn't gain entry to exact repairs

So you and a third party wanted to enter someone elses home without them being present?

Victor

REXER wrote: »

So you and a third party wanted to enter someone elses home without them being present?

In fairness, this is likely to have been at the tenant's request / demand.

kingtiger

REXER wrote: »

So you and a third party wanted to enter someone elses home without them being present?

when did i say that?

we asked the tenant could we enter to fix the problem and then the tenant said they had changed the locks

I would never enter without permission

foggy_lad

kingtiger wrote: »

whoops on the thread title, its been fixed

oh we found out when the tenant called about a plumbing issue, and we couldn't enter cause they said the locks had been changed so we couldn't gain entry to exact repairs

When ye tried to gain entry did you as Landlord have the express permission of the tenant to enter at that specific time with the plumber? Was this visit something which had been arranged and agreed with the tenant?

kingtiger

foggy_lad wrote: »

When ye tried to gain entry did you as Landlord have the express permission of the tenant to enter at that specific time with the plumber? Was this visit something which had been arranged and agreed with the tenant?

thats getting away from the point and nothing to do with the lock change

I only wanted to know what can we do because the tenant changed the locks without consent

Grolschevik

kingtiger wrote: »

thats getting away from the point and nothing to do with the lock change

It might be a relevant issue if a tenant changed the locks because their landlord kept letting themselves in without the tenant's consent. I'd suspect that's why you're being asked.

kingtiger

Grolschevik wrote: »

It might be a relevant issue if a tenant changed the locks because their landlord kept letting themselves in without the tenant's consent. I'd suspect that's why you're being asked.

the house was never entered without the tenants permission, they had no reason to change the locks

does that suffice?

and even if they had a reason, pick up the phone and inform the landlord, they didn't so we want them out