Landlord entering property without our permission?

Dmighty

Hi there. I am just wondering if this is ok. I am pregnant and was in the toilet when my landlord knocked, then 10 minutes later he unlocked the door to come in when i was out of the toilet then. i ran and opened the door in shock, he looked shocked to see me and was acting all nice and said he is sorry but there was a problem with the heating and wanted to get someone to look at it... I am just wanting to know is this allowed? he did not ask permission by calling us if we where not there he was happy just to walk in... I acted ok towards him but i cannot say my husband will react the same way... is he allowed to do this? and if not what should i do or say in this situation because he kinda startled me and i dont need to feel like this while pregnant. thanks

Captain Commie

it all hinges on what your lease says, please tell me you read it first.

if it says that he does not need your permission to enter then there is nothing you can do. If it states that he must give you notice of when he will be calling (ie telling you he is coming over) then all he has to do is give adequate notice, finally, if it states that he must ask permission then that is the only way you can stop him having access.

If the latter then i would have a quiet word and make sure you have a copy of the lease to hand and point it out to him and state that next time you will involve the gardai as it constitutes trespassing.

Dmighty

That the Landlord, or person authorised by the Landlord or the Landlord's Agent, may at
reasonable times, on giving reasonable notice (unless in the case of emergency) enter the
property for the purpose of viewing, inspecting its condition and state of repair, or for the
purpose of repair, maintenance or repainting


So he needed to give notice??

Dmighty

because it was hardly an emergency and you could see that he was worried as he was trying to be nice, this coming from a man who is never nice

meganj

Hi Op,

This actually happened to me and my OH, in fact it was the exact same thing (minus the pregnancy part ).

The landlord is not allowed enter your property unless it is an emergency, like a fire or something. Anything else he has to give reasonable notice, and you have to agree a time.

I'm not sure if there's much you can do about it, we just moved out. But the LL should not have entered the property without at least phoning you to let you know.

3DataModem

I wouldn't go nuts about it... Just remind him firmly that you need - and are entitled to - notice.

He knocked and waited .... was there a problem with the heating you had reported to him?

Dmighty

no there was no problem with the heating that we reported to him, me and my husband are planning to leave at the end of next month, i had no clue he would be there today and is still here walking in and out with his plummer... I feel like there is no privacy at all and am a little annoyed about this

edellc

I feel your anger I had a similar problem with my last LL the first few times I just smiled and dealt with it then I firmly said that it states in my contract that he must give notice if entering mine lost the plot with me and shouted at me :eek: and i was pregnant too oh and at the time there was no immediate problems

that said i know all LL are not like the idiot i had so i would point it out that permission is needed as per contract and that as you have to keep to your side of the lease ie rent paid on certain date, leave it as you found it and so on then you feel that he must stick to his side and after all you are entitled to feel safe and uninterrupted in your home even if it is his house

best of luck with the pregnancy and hope when you lease is up you find somewhere better for you new family

meganj

Wait he's still there???

Ok, so you haven't experienced any problem with the heating? But he seems to think there is, to the point that he brought a plumber with him? Sorry, I'm just a little confused as to how he would know this.

When it happened to us, I refused the LL access and she just went away, but if there is a problem with the heat then he may have a right to investigate. Are you sure he's not just having a sneaky look around before you move out?

Shoot threshold.ie off an e-mail and see what they say, but I really don't think there's much you can do, especially if it turns out there is a problem.

Dmighty

he is still here checking the heating with the plummer... its a apartment in rathmines so im guessing someone else in the complex complained... the plummer is here now i am waiting for the landlord to come, i am not gonna go mad im just gonna point out that he has to give me notice as thats what is states on my lease... the heating here is included in the rent and only come on for 2 hours after 6 so i hadnt noticed any problem with it.

Dmighty

i approached him, he was still trying to be nice, as he was leaving he said he was sorry about that and i said no problem that if you could just let us know next time, he said i intended to but it was an emergency as the top floors heating is gone (i checked mine by the way and it was fine) i just said ok i understand that but even a call just to inform us next time, and he said ok. so he was nice enough and apologized for it so i didnt wanna argue or anything. He already knows we are planning to leave at the end of next month as we had a problem with the windows last month that someone tried to break in when i was there this was due to his windows not having locks (they where broken). So we decided to move as this would not be a suitable place for a baby. but the agent said he would take 350 off our deposit for cleaning and because we broke the lease early. Only here 6 months on a 12 month lease, but i suppose thats ok

Dmighty

anyway thanks for the advice its sorted now....

and thanks for the best wishes on my pregnancy...

Kimia

Dmighty, the landlord is not allowed take 350 euros from you for cleaning. That's an extortionate amount btw, especially for a flat in Rathmines (I'm assuming it's not that large). When we left our last apartment (a huge 2 bed) we paid for a professional cleaning and it cost 180 for the whole lot.

Dmighty

but because i am breaking the lease early he is entitled to take some money from the deposit or even refuse to give anything back??

pooch90

Dmighty, if you try to find someone to take over your lease and present them to the EA they can take them or not. If they don't want the new tenants you're still in the clear and can leave with no penalty.


What happens if there is a fixed term lease in place?
A tenant cannot avail of the notice periods where they are bound by a fixed term lease which they signed. They can, however, end the tenancy where the landlord is in breach of an obligation and where they have written to the landlord regarding the breach and giving the landlord an opportunity to rectify the position.

A tenant can also avail of section 186 of the Residential Tenancies Act to end a fixed term lease where the landlord refuses their wish to assign the lease to somebody else.

If a tenant wants to end of fixed-term tenancy early, they should inform the landlord in writing of their wish to assign or sublet the lease. Where the landlord refuses to give his or her consent, the tenant is entitled to serve a Notice of Termination.

The length of notice is determined by duration of the tenancy (see the Table above) and the Notice should correspond to the example Notice of Termination provided above.

The tenant is entitled to the return of their deposit if they take these steps.


From: http://www.threshold.ie/page.asp?menu=70&page=256


Although the LL has broken the lease. This is reason enough to terminate your lease.

Dmighty

hi thanks for your response. How would i go about finding someone to take over the lease?

pooch90

Local paper maybe? It would still be 6 months wouldn't it? Most people would be happy enough to take over that.

First move, write to your LL. Tell him of your intention to reassign the lease. If he says no, you can leave (with notice). If he says yes, advertise it.

Have you told him you were leaving?