Landlord inspection rights?

[andor25]

My landlord sent his agent round to inspect the property which is in good condition. The agent wants to take pictures of the property to send to the landlord. While I am happy to have routine inspections I am not happy to have pictures taken of my personal belongings if there is nothing wrong in the flat.

What are my legal rights? Is this an invasion of privacy or not?

I live in England.

[slaine]

Inspections are routine - most agencies do one once a year

Does the lease say anything about photos?

To be honest I doubt it's a legal issue that you'd win - the landlord owns the flat, not you, and he's entitled to know what condition it's in.

[archy]

I'd consider it an invasion of privacy for a bedroom, but not the kitchen, hallway, bathroom (if personal stuff out of view), nor the garden(s), nor any shot which doesn't include your possessions (state of carpet , for example.) .

If the agents wants pictures of the other rooms, tell him he can remove your items to out-of-shot and replace them when he's done if he is prepared to pay insured removal men.

[gustav]

In England you can deny access to the landlord or his agent. English law provides for a tenant's absolute right to quiet enjoyment of his home. The sole exception is for emergencies that require immediate attention, such as a fire or water or gas leak. That said, if there are conditions in the unit that are exacerbated by your refusal to allow inspections, you can be held liable for the landlord's additional costs.

I would allow the inspection, but only allow pictures of items that need repairs or attention by the landlord. A picture of mould in a corner or a cracked window pane would be fine. A picture of the entire room would not be.

[stanciyf]

the landlord wants to see that there is no damp coming through the walls, that the gutters aren't leaking, etc etc. This is to look after his property which has the side effect of making it better for you. The pictures aren't of your belongings, he doesn't care about those. You could always hide your laptop and iphone if that is the issue.

[adare]

Hi,
The landlord must give the tenant at least a two-day notice of intent to enter the property at reasonable times. The law states, however, that tenants must not unreasonably refuse to allow the landlord to enter the rental when the landlord has given at least one day's notice of intent to enter at a specified time to show the dwelling to prospective or actual buyers or tenants. Tenants also must not unreasonably refuse the landlord access to repair, improve, or service the dwelling. In case of emergency, the landlord can enter without notice.

Regards,
Jhonny

[bronsin]

By law, the landlord or his agent has a right to inspect the property to view its condition and enter the property to conduct repairs. They also have any other rights as laid down in the contract you agreed.

If the landlord recieves pictures then he is going to be confident the property is being kept in good condition and he will probably be happy to keep you as tenants.

If the landlord is refused pictures then he is going to be concerned about what you are 'hiding' from him so he may decide it is safest to evict you in due course.

There are very few items in a home that can not be seen on the internet already.

So, to answer your question.

Firstly, you can refuse access to the agent ful stop. That would be the ultimate way of preventing photos being taken and the agent would need to get a court order in order to exercise the landlords right of inspection. Problem being, you would probably be ordered to pay the fees involved.

You are perfectly entitled to say no photos, as the house is yours whilst you pay a rent for it.

However, non-co-operatio may have negative consequences.

[voliny13]

I'd consider this as an invasion of privacy, and a potential security risk, for sure. You are entitled to 'quiet enjoyment' of the property you are paying rent to live in and unless this is written into the Rental Agreement, I'd suggest this shouldn't be allowed. However, are you renting unfurnished? If not, then just maybe the landlord is entitled to see via photos, whether his household goods are being kept in good order. BUT surely his agent's word should be good enough?

However, we had some internal structural problems with the bungalow here, which needed pictorial evidence to be shown to the landlord, by the agent. But this was only walls!!

If you need to know about your legal standing with this one, see your local CAB who should be able to help you.