Just what rights do landlords have?

[Sassy]

This is a question that's been running through my mind ever since we failed our "Property inspection".

Now I've searched the internet all ways and as far as I can understand, these so called "Property inspections" are so that the landlord (or their representative) can enter your home with an appointment and your presence to check that you haven't damaged any of their fixtures and fittings - which is fine and dandy because we haven't.

I also understand that the landlord CANNOT try to tell you where to place your possessions within your property - which is what ours is trying to do. We have a tumble drier in our bedroom for the simple reason being that we can throw the hose out of the window easily enough when it's in operation. We tried having it in the kitchen where they tend to belong but the heat during operation was unbearable, even with one of those water filled filter things. There's no point to connect the hose to the outside and there's nowhere to place the drier so we can throw the hose out of the window.

Could anyone tell me if I might be misinterpreting things here?

[charles47]

I'd be tempted to ask them to show you where, in your tenancy agreement, it says that they can tell you where to put anything?

[Penny]

You don't say whether your home is a flat or house and whether you have neighbours. I'm guessing you do. Just wondering whether the noise from a tumble drier in your bedroom might disturb neighbours at all?

A tumble drier on an upper floor or on a laminate or wooden floor (which many bedrooms are) could make quite a din.

Just thinking aloud really ..............

[BertieBear]

I agree with Charles. We've had problems with landlord / letting agents in the past and a lot of our issues have been resolved (one way or another) with us checking out the tenancy agreement.

I seriously doubt that they can tell you where to put your own possessions

[cotula]

Perhaps they are concerned about the possibility of condensation? I don't know the details of your situation, so I cannot comment on the pros and cons of that, but I would think that if a tenant's behaviour risks causing damage (eg mould requiring special cleaning and redecoration), a landlord would be within their rights to ask for changes.

[Sassy]

We are in a ground floor flat - the offending tumble drier isn't on the ground, we have it on a chest of drawers to enable us to throw the hose out of the window for operation. I try to ensure that it is turned off by 6pm at night (at the latest, it's usually finished long before then anyway) to allow the neighbours a chance to enjoy their evening in peace... but with that said, we don't usually use it that often (once or twice a month at the most) because I personally prefer my laundry to go out on the line to be dried, it just seems "fresher" to me when dried on a line. I've even taken laundry up to my mum's to borrow her line rather than use the tumble drier - and I'll be doing just that tomorrow.

If the issues they are anticipating is mould, I'd have thought that'd be more a risk in the kitchen where we have no access at all to the outside world for the hose to go - we have no space on the floor to place it and the area by the window has overhead cupboards that I don't want to move in case it's a breach of tenancy. We need the tumble drier because Dave needs at least 1 clean and dry stump sock a day, can be more on bad days.

[Scally]

You haven't failed anything yet unless the landlord can show that you are in breach of a specific contractual agreement. That said, common sense usually dictates that it makes sense to find out what exactly is the landlords problem, they do own the property and therefore have a genuine interest in what happens there, and there is more to this than meets the eye, methinks. In my view, placing a tumble drier on a chest of drawers might constitute a fire risk, and might even invalidate the insurance: electical appliances do need a firm surface, and I would not do this in my own home, I would buy a longer vent hose instead.

[Sassy]

Scally, how have we not failed anything yet when this is our second inspection because they failed us on the last one.

I knew we needed a longer hose in the ideal world - I just didn't know that you could buy them. That's why we tried a tumble drier condenser before we went down the route of moving the drier into the bedroom in the first place.

Looking at this from a slightly different angle, I don't think we'd even have any need for the tumble drier if the landlord would contact a resident who owns her flat and reminds her that she cannot claim the "communal wash area" or fixes our rotary washing line in for us so that it doesn't tumble over during use - we've cemented it in 5 times in 2 years and still get the same issue everytime... you can't cement into soil.

[Guest]

I too would suggest that you check your tenancy agreement to ensure that the landlord is not overstepping its powers. I would also, if you fail the second inspection, insist that the landlord provides you with a list: a) itemising each problem, b) detailing why it is a problem, for example, whether it is a breach of your tenancy agreement or a safety issue, and quoting the tenancy clause, etc. which your landlord believes that you are in breach of, c) what the landlord wants done to remedy each problem and what help, if any, the landlord can provide, for example, if the drier can be situated on an outside wall in the kitchen the landlord should be willing to, or willing to allow you to, provide an exit through the wall for the hose.

If the landlord can provide no grounds for trying to change the way in which you live in your home or you believe that the demands are unjustified and unreasonable or you have satisfied the landlord but it is insisting on further inspections which you believe are unnecessary, there should be a clause in your tenancy agreement which gives you the right to peaceful enjoyment of the property, I have used this clause sucessfully in different circumstances to yours, along with other evidence, when I was a HA tenant and a housing manager was insistent that as the HA owned the property it could do as it liked, it could not. Good luck with the inspection.

[Scally]

Just an aside, you can fix a post of any kind into soil: you need a bag of "post concrete" and a hole to set it into. A few bricks helps the mix go further. I have a garden swing and some fenceposts set up like that, and they are very stable. Or you can use drive in spikes or a screw-type system.