Strange Text from landlord

clearz

I have this landlord that is always complaining about something crumbs in the kitchen, marks on the floor etc. This came to a head about a month ago which resulted in one guy moving out. The landlord has asked to see my bedroom and I have refused. I have personal stuff on display and it is a bit messy but there is no permanent marks or damage.
Around a month ago one of my flatmates stole my iPhone from the sitting room (Story Here).

The house is now spotless and I am really only there 1 or 2 nights a week.
I got this text from him today saying that there is a council inspection on Thursday and I have to leave my bedroom open. This is a private house in a private estate and nobody is paying rent allowance. I have never heard of a council inspection in my life.

I am going to Donegal tomorrow for a week and there is no way in hell I am leaving my bedroom open. I have a PC/Laptop/LCD TV/Monitors/iPad/PS3/5.1 Stereo and there is a proven thief in the house.

He is supposed to be coming later today I'm gonna find out what this bs is all about but my room is staying locked while I am not here.

Has anyone heard of this council inspection thing before, especially one that needs my bedroom to be open? What are my rights and can I refuse to leave my room open while I am not here after having my phone stolen a month ago.

Thanks,
John.

InReality

Council inspection sounds b***x to me.
Never had one in 10+ years of renting. Unless its some sort of fire thing ?
Some landlords are very protective of their property , you need to set some boundaries with this one , or try for another place.

stargazer 68

No such thing!! I am renting for the last 5 years and I get rent allowance and the council have never inspected the house as its nothing to do with them!

clearz

Thanks for the replies. I have to agree this all sounds like bs to me. I am currently in the process of looking for a new place. Between this Landlord and the scumbag thief that stole my phone I've had enough.

I just wish I knew if I am in my rights to keep my room locked while I am away on holidays?

John

bertie1

I have had one , they wanted to get into every room in the house , checking heaters, light fittings , ventilation etc Looking for dampness . They wrote to the landlord & the landlord had a certain amount of days to do what was on the list. Mostly bathroom vents , mains smoke detectors. As far as I know it has nothing to do with rent allowance, if the tenancy is on the PRTB the council must inspect a certain number every year

worded

www.threshold.ie for advice.

He has rights to visually inspect (no photos to be taken) the property AFAIK if notice is given. If it doesnt suit you, reschedule for another time that does.

Sounds live an as_shole.

the_syco

Do you have a webcam? If so, look here for free webcam software that will automatically take pictures and e-mail them or upload them...

jimmycrackcorm

Ask your landlord for the details to contact the council about the inspection. Because no such thing exists. The council cannot inspect my private house so why can they inspect your bedroom?
I
Out him under pressure and ask him for a letter for you to give to threshold to seek advice. And watch him squirm.

Actually the best advice is to ask what is bothering him and come to a compromise. Don't forget that a lot of landlords get tenants that destroy their properties. Put yourself in his own position...

clearz

The landlord rang me earlier saying to leave my room open and I refused. He then told me to leave the key somewhere and text him the location. I asked him what the council wanted and three times he told me he didn't know. Getting impatient I then said "What do you mean you don't know. It's your house" to which he replied. That because he rents the house the council has the right to inspect it at any time.
I don't think I'm going to leave my key anywhere. I still don't feel comfortable with any of this.

RobitTV

clearz wrote: »

The landlord rang me earlier saying to leave my room open and I refused. He then told me to leave the key somewhere and text him the location. I asked him what the council wanted and three times he told me he didn't know. Getting impatient I then said "What do you mean you don't know. It's your house" to which he replied. That because he rents the house the council has the right to inspect it at any time.
I don't think I'm going to leave my key anywhere. I still don't feel comfortable with any of this.

I Would tell him to sling his hook and P*** off out of it.

Do not let him/her inside your house, i have a feeling this "inspection" is a inspection to see what valuable items you have in your bedroom so him/her can "take away with them" if you know what i mean.

I seriously would tell him to F*** off, its obvious what he is up to why is he so desperate to get into your bedroom? because he probably know's their's loads of valuable's in there.

not even wrong

clearz wrote: »

This is a private house in a private estate and nobody is paying rent allowance. I have never heard of a council inspection in my life.

Local authorities are responsible for enforcing the minimum housing standards on private rented accommodation, so yes they do have inspectors who go around checking privately owned and rented houses. I hadn't heard of them doing random inspections though, as far as I knew you'd only get an inspection if you made a complaint. It may be a new thing, if I were you I'd give your local authority a call to confirm.

Ray Palmer

It is perfectly normal to have the council inspect the property to insure it complies with housing standards.
You have no right to refuse entry to the property as the LL has given you ample notice. You can arrange a time that suits you within reason.

It is very straight forward you are being unreasonable and the LL and council have the right to inspect the property . You have to let them access.

Offy

An inspector turned up at my home this morning, I got no notice from the landlord. The inspector inspected every room in the house. According to the inspector the house does not pass inspection as there is no heating other than the open fire in the living room and no fire blanket is present in the house. Does anyone know the implications of failing this inspection?

snubbleste

Offy wrote: »

An inspector turned up at my home this morning, I got no notice from the landlord. The inspector inspected every room in the house. According to the inspector the house does not pass inspection as there is no heating other than the open fire in the living room and no fire blanket is present in the house. Does anyone know the implications of failing this inspection?

A warning letter to the landlord to comply with minimum housing standards, escalates from there http://www.citizensinformation.ie/en/housing/renting_a_home/repairs_maintenance_and_minimum_physical_standards.html

the_syco

not even wrong wrote: »

if I were you I'd give your local authority a call to confirm.

And if you find there's no inspection, let him know that you rang the council, checked his story, and found bullsh|t.

Misticles

Question, why did you sign off John here and Mike on your linked post regarding the iPhone?

Dymo

Offy wrote: »

An inspector turned up at my home this morning, I got no notice from the landlord. The inspector inspected every room in the house. According to the inspector the house does not pass inspection as there is no heating other than the open fire in the living room and no fire blanket is present in the house. Does anyone know the implications of failing this inspection?

The landlord will get an enforcement letter from the council and will probably mean you have to move out, fitting a central heating system can be a messy job.

This happens a lot when people complain about past or current landlords. Eventually the complaint gets passed to the council and they have to act on them.

clearz

Misticles wrote: »

Question, why did you sign off John here and Mike on your linked post regarding the iPhone?

I'm not sure and I can't remember but its probably one of these reasons

A) This is the Internet and I can call myself whatever I want

I used the name Mike as some kind of lame attempt to disguise myself.

C) I like to call myself Mike on Thursdays

Zamboni

clearz wrote: »

C) I like to call myself Mike on Thursdays

I prefer this one.

So what happened anyway?
Did you leave the room locked and go to Donegal?

Ray Palmer

the_syco wrote: »

And if you find there's no inspection, let him know that you rang the council, checked his story, and found bullsh|t.

He is entitled to look at the property so doesn't need an excuse. If he used one that would because the tenant is being difficult. All he has to say is he is coming for an inspection. Tenants are not entitled to prevent this.

clearz

Zamboni wrote: »

I prefer this one.

So what happened anyway?
Did you leave the room locked and go to Donegal?

Yeah, I left it locked and split. Him calling me on Tuesday about something that is going to happen on Thursday is not ample notice IMO. He will have to:

A) Be satisfied with showing the rest of the house.

Brake my door down.

C) Just suck it up and wait until I get back.

I might post some more if it is interesting enough.

Regards,
Mike... I mean John.

Misticles

clearz wrote: »

I'm not sure and I can't remember but its probably one of these reasons

A) This is the Internet and I can call myself whatever I want

I used the name Mike as some kind of lame attempt to disguise myself.

C) I like to call myself Mike on Thursdays

I think the alias disguises you! No need to have Mike Thursdays or John Fridays or any signing off at all.

Sure call yourself what ya like

Regards

Hugh Janus :P

Graces7

Ray Palmer wrote: »

He is entitled to look at the property so doesn't need an excuse. If he used one that would because the tenant is being difficult. All he has to say is he is coming for an inspection. Tenants are not entitled to prevent this.

Check the law on this please. Not allowed when the tenant is not there and needs to be at a time convenient for both sides. Period.

We had a landlord like this; always wanting in for no reason at any time. He wrote that," this is my property and I can come in any time I like without giving a reason."

Threshold said, "Oh no he can't" and found the tenancy was not registered anyway.

So wait and let him in when you are there etc.

Victor

Folks, less of the attitude please.

---

http://www.environ.ie/en/DevelopmentHousing/Housing/PrivateRentedHousing/

Standards for Rented Housing

Minimum standards for rental accommodation are prescribed by means of regulations made under section 18 of the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act, 1992. These regulations specify requirements in relation to a range of matters such as structural repair, absence of damp and rot, sanitary facilities, heating, ventilation, light and safety of gas and electrical supply.

All landlords have a legal obligation to ensure that their rented properties comply with these regulations and responsibility for the enforcement of the regulations rests with the relevant local authority supported by a dedicated stream of funding provided from part of each registration fee collected by the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB).

This funding is paid to local authorities to finance the inspections of rented accommodation to ensure compliance with the regulations. A table setting out the amount paid to local authorities is available below:

2005 - 2009 Breakdown of Payments to Local Authorities for the inspection of Private Rented Accommodation (xls, 101kb)

These standards are currently set out in the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 534/2008) (pdf, 96kb) which were up-dated last year by the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 2009 (S.I. 462/2009) (pdf, 100kb). (see paragraph on the Housing (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2009 below.

Certain aspects of these regulations i.e. those dealing with sanitary facilities (Article 6), heating facilities (Article 7) and food preparation, storage and laundry (Article 8), will not come into effect until the 1st of February 2013 for existing rental properties in order to allow landlords time to make the necessary remedial improvements. In these instances the Housing (Standards for Rented Houses) Regulations 1993 (S.I. 147/1993) still apply.

A Guidance Document which provides assistance to local authorities in carrying out inspections is available to download by clicking the link to the right of this screen.

convert

I shared a 4 bedroom house with 3 others, one of whom was in receipt of rent allowance. As a consequece of the one housemate receiving rent allowance, the house was inspected on two occasions: once by the social welfare officer (to make sure she was actually living there, and the other by an environmental health officer (not sure if the latter was arranged by the council or social welfare).

Anyway, our housemate gave us about 3 hours' notice in each case. Given the short notice, combined with the fact she hadn't actually told the landlord these inspections were taking place, not to mention the fact that we didn't actually want her, or another stranger who had nothing to do with us, in our rooms, none of us left our rooms open for the inspection. There was no issue in either instance. She still received her rent allowance, and the EHO made recommendations based on what was available for viewing (mostly to do with fire safety, ventilation in bathroom and kitchen).

As far as I know there were no repurcussions for 3 of the bedrooms not being available for inspection.