Is my landlord entitled to get into my drawers

The other day I was reading someone else’s blog and was surprised at a few of the phrases that were typed into the search engines to actually find her blog, such as:-

“I’m afraid of my Landlord”

“..My Landlord comes around unannounced”

“My landlord threatens me”

“Is my Landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer”

Before any of you ask the answer to the last question is NO!  But that is not the point, what did alarm me was that she didn’t actually know her rights as a tenant.  Who is to blame for that? The Tenant the Landlord or the agent? Well I would have to say the tenant.

The Tenancy Agreement can give both you and your Landlord(s) more than the statutory implied rights, but no less. A tenancy agreement contains both express terms and implied terms. ‘Express terms’ are the terms written into the Tenancy Agreement and ‘implied terms’ are rights created by law and implied into the tenancy.

“Is my Landlord entitled to go through my underwear drawer” if anything, this just how blindly people just sign tenancy agreements without reading them, and without actually knowing there rights.  

Ideally the letting agent should let you have a draft copy of the agreement, almost as soon as you references have been verified. This should give you ample time to read and take advice. Plus if you don’t understand something ASK! Lots (but sadly not all) of Letting agents are qualified to answer these questions.

Now when your sat in the Letting agents office and have nowhere else to go since you have moved out of your previous property, DONT feel intimidated, you have a right, yes an implied right to read and re-read the contract as many times as you like before you sign. If you able to get to the end before falling asleep that is!.

No tenant should ever be forced to sign a contract or intimidated to do so, irrespective of whether someone signs a contract or not, the tenant’ statutory rights won’t change regardless of what is written in the tenancy agreement.

In my experience as a Bristol letting agent, most of the time tenant are naturally excited about moving into their new place, or have left themselves insufficient time to actually do the LEGAL side of things, such as signing the agreement. Not realising this is an important legal document. There is no small print in a Tenancy agreement. 

“..My Landlord comes around unannounced” Since it was mentioned as one of the phrases previously, your landlord IS NOT ENTITLED to just appear at your doorstep or enter your property unannounced. He has to give you at least 24 hours notice of intention to enter the property, (except in an emergency) but please bear in mind that you might find him unannounced in the property, but he might well of informed one of the other tenants, who subsequently failed to pass on the message. It does happen.

Kevin Cox is the Principal Partner of Igloolets.com a Bristol Letting Agent, with over 13 years experience as a Property  agent in Bristol, believing in openness, honesty and integrity in all his dealing with both Tenants and Landlords