Landlord Entering house without notice when no one is home

twentysomething · 22-09-2008 09:40AM #1

Hi, our landlord came into our house yesterday and dumped beds in myself and my housemates rooms when there was noone at home and never contacted any of us to say that he was calling around.
Is this a legitimate reason to give notice?
We actually have several other reasons to terminate including damp and mould, aswel as non maintenance of the property, but this is really the last straw for us, we no longer feel safe in our house. Has anyone got any suggestions. We have already contacted Threshold about the other stuff, and have reason to believe that this is the only reason we actually got the beds, which we requested before we moved in in June. We are just at our wits end with this guy.

AARRRGH · 22-09-2008 10:03AM

He has to give 24 hours notice.

Why don't you move out?

twentysomething · 22-09-2008 10:08AM

We want to ensure that we wont lose our deposit as we have a fixed term lease, and he has not given us an address for him so we are finding it difficult to give hom written notice.

Xiney · 22-09-2008 10:12AM

contact threshold and get out of there. I wouldn't even give notice, I'd move out today if I could. Simply unacceptable.

Beth · 22-09-2008 10:15AM

Your landlord should have given you notice:

From citizens info:

Rights as a landlordYou have the right to

set the rent (although the rent cannot be more than the current market rate. See Rent Increases in Ireland).
receive the correct rent on the date it is due.
receive any charges associated with the property (this means taxes and duties or payments).
review the rent annually.
terminate a tenancy without giving a reason during the first six months.
be informed who is ordinarily living in the property (this does not include overnight visitors or short stays).
decide whether to allow the tenant to sub-let or assign a tenancy (however if you refuse to allow a tenant to assign or sublet a tenancy this refusal can gives the tenant the right to terminate a fixed-term tenancy before its expiry date).
be informed of any repairs needed.
be given reasonable access to the property to carry out repairs.
refer disputes to the Private Residential Tenancies Board (PRTB) if the tenancy is registered with them.

You do not have the right to

enter your tenants’ home without permission.
take or retain your tenants’ property – even if they haven’t paid the rent.
charge more than the market rate for the property.
penalise tenants for bringing a dispute to the PRTB.

Minimum standards (with regards to mould, damp and not maintaining the property)

Your landlord, the local authority or housing association has a legal duty to make sure your home complies with certain minimum physical standards. The landlord must:

Ensure that the house is essentially sound with roof, floors, ceilings, walls and stairs in good repair and not subject to serious dampness or rotting
Provide a sink with hot and cold water.
Provide a bath or shower and toilet. If you are living in a bedsit or flat, your landlord must provide a toilet and bath/shower for every two flats, unless four single people are living in four single bedsits in which case all four may share a toilet and bath/shower.
Provide appliances for space heating, which may include an open fire
Provide facilities for installation of cooking equipment and facilities for the hygienic storage of food
Ensure that electricity or gas supplies are in good repair and safe
Ensure that every room has adequate ventilation and both natural and artificial lighting
Ensure that all common areas used by more than one household are kept in good repair
Ensure that all unoccupied basements, outbuildings, yards and forecourts are kept in good repair

Go talk to the Citizens Info and Threshold.
I've been in a damp mouldy (and maggot infested) house, with a contract that I was going to get penalised for breaking from the landlord. Citizens Info helped with it because as he wasnt meeting the minimum standards by law, he couldnt hold us to ransom for the remainder of the contract. It wasnt as simple as that, but that was what it boiled down to.

limklad · 22-09-2008 11:32AM

You can report him for trespassing with the Guards. It will send him a clear message that he cannot enter the house without permission - Some Landlords both male and female have this problem, thankfull not all, had some great landlords over the years and still friends with them. If he (the Landlord) is entering the house when you are not there without your permission, what else is he doing? I had this argument with my current Landlord last Christmas when which he complained about the state of my bedroom which basily admitted the open and entered my bedroom , which he earlier claimed he does not enter bedrooms. I had been going through some of my old stuff and getting rid of unwanted items, so my bedroom was a mess because of it. He was very obnoxious and threatening about it and said he would drag me through the Courts and said because he only rented out rooms that he can enter the house. I told him if he enters the house again without permission, I will not only contact PRTB board but also the revenue and called the Guards and press charges for trespassing and told him please do take me through the Courts, we will then see who is right and who is wrong. House is not registered with PTRB even though we fill out the paper work two years ago after moving in. I have barely talk to him since he now communicates with one of the other lads in less threatening behaviour and even been courteous. He even apologies to the lads one night in January when I wasn't there. The only thing he does now is cut the Lawns 4 times since and drop the Bin bags and labels, through the post box and not on the Kitchen table in which he did previously.

twentysomething · 22-09-2008 02:35PM

Ok, so we've pretty much decided to cut our losses and move as we think we might have found somewhere that is going to be a lot less rent, triple the space and much nicer!
So as it's a fixed term lease can he pursue us for the remainder of the rent for the year as he is in breach of the minimum standards?

Victor · 22-09-2008 06:10PM

twentysomething wrote: »

So as it's a fixed term lease can he pursue us for the remainder of the rent for the year as he is in breach of the minimum standards?

It would be rather difficult for him to pursue you in such circumstances. Contact the PRTB to get his address. If they don't have an address for him or his agent, initiate a complaint.

Write to him saying that following his slowness to fix matters and his trespass, you are giving him 14 days to fix everything or you are moving out. That should cover you.

Landlord Entering house without notice when no one is home

Comments