[Closed] "Reasonable Notice" on landlord visits

No idea, but 2hrs sounds pretty unreasonable to me 🙁

I always used 24hrs as minimum notice when I was landlord - usually a few days/week+ wherever possible.

Yes you may have a 'right', but its someones home and you need to be respectful of that (as I expected them to be respectful of the house they were in)

sounds like a typo to me

Whats the reason for the visit?
If its nothing urgent then I'd give as much notice as possible.

...you need to be respectful of that

Well I appreciate that, and I know my landlord would too. But as things are now through an agent, with whom I've already had an arguement with, 'respectful' is not the same as 'lawful'.

Good point Pook, it may indeed be a typo. I don't particularly want to raise it as a specific issue though, as my rent may go up when the lease is re-written (no increase in 2yrs)!

Don't think there's anything to trump your agreement.

(ex property litigator)

as my rent may go up when the lease is re-written (no increase in 2yrs)!

In our experience, rents only get put up when people move. We stayed in the last 2 places for 3 years each with no rent increases. To be honest though, at the moment, rents are dropping so much that some people round here have actually renegotiated their rents down.

Joe

In England it's legally 24hrs. Even if they put 2hrs in your tenancy agreement it would mean nothing.

and even then you can still refuse. they have no legal right to be allowed access unless it's an emergency.

If & when you resign, just amend it to 24hrs by hand & witnessed when you sign, in both copies.
It's the landlord's decision about rent increases, unless you've got a standard preset increase written into it, so it might be worth giving him a call directly beforehand.

The main question is do they want access, and why would you refuse it? If it's to do maintenance, surely you want that. If they haven't got a good reason for coming in, you'd have a right to refuse whatever the notice given. As a landlord, I need to know if the place is well kept, but I'm not interested much beyond that.

I have no problem giving them access, but I want to make sure that the flat is in a tidy state prior to them coming round - keeping 3 bikes in a small carpetted flat and riding 2-3 times a week means its difficult to keep the place looking reasonable!

There is no re-signing of the lease as in Scotland leases roll on after the initial period, however the letting agents are arranging an energy efficiency assessment of the property which they claim is required (hence granting access), however the information they sent out indicates that it is only necessary information for new tenants and not existing. I have a feeling they are trying to justify their fee to my landlord, or my lease may be up for a significant renewal.

Energy efficiency certs are needed for rented properties, but as you said, only when they become vacant
Call shelter's advice line who should be able to confirm what notice is necessary for inspections on a short assured tenancy

Yup, EPCs must be in place before marketing for rent, and are valid for ten years, so unless you're pretty sure your tenants are sticking around for years, it's important to get them done so they can advertise as soon as notice is given, or even for the end of a fixed term rental. Not very reasonable to expect you to keep it Sunday best on the off chance of a visit, so best to ring them, and see when it's likely. Nothing to be lost by having a chat.

If you hear of a visit which is imminent (2 hours presumably) get home, sat on the sofa naked and start thrashing away furiously whilst sobbing and shouting "I told me not to do it" over and over. Sorted. No more visits.