• Home
  • About
  • Clinic
  • Training
  • Tenants
  • Landlord Law

The Landlord Law Blog

From landlord and tenant lawyer Tessa Shepperson

  • Home
  • Posts
  • News & comment
  • Cases
  • Tenants
    • The Renters Guide Website
    • 15 Places for tenant help
  • Clinic
  • Series
    • Analysis
    • should law and justice be free
    • HMO Basics
    • Tenancy Agreements 33 days
    • Airbnb
    • Grounds for Eviction
    • Tips

Should there be a possession ground of unreasonably refusing landlord inspections?

June 20, 2022 by Tessa Shepperson 8 Comments

Knocking at the doorWe had the White Paper published last week, and I see that there are new proposals for grounds for possession.  However, I wonder whether there should also be a new ground for unreasonably refusing a landlord’s inspection?

Now I know many tenants will object to this as they think inspections are just landlords being nosey parkers.  And many landlords don’t want the hassle of inspections and find them embarrassing and so often neglect them.  However, they are very important.

Consider the following situations.

Refusal to allow gas inspections

This is of course, ‘the big one’, and most court proceedings about refusal to allow access today are in the context of tenants unreasonably refusing to allow gas safety inspections.  Generally, the proceedings are for ‘gas injunctions’ and are brought by social landlords.

However, private landlords also have this problem, and it is a very worrying one.  Gas can, after all, be very dangerous.  It is possible for explosions to damage not only the rented property but neighbouring properties too.

It might help to persuade reluctant tenants if the landlord could say that if they refuse they will be giving the landlord a ground for possession.

Criminal tenants

These are probably more common than many people realise.  They will obviously not want landlords to carry out inspections.

If a landlord has criminal tenants, for example, if they are converting his property to a cannabis farm or are carrying out other illegal activities there, landlords clearly should be wary about entering – criminal tenants have been known to ‘booby trap’ properties to keep out rival gangs.  Suspicions should be reported to the police.

The police, however, are concerned about catching criminals.  They are not concerned with helping landlords recover possession of their property.  

Although there is a possession ground, based on criminal behaviour, this specifically refers to convicted criminals.  What are landlords supposed to do in the meantime?  A ground allowing them possession based on failure to allow inspections could be a useful option for landlords needing to recover possession quickly in this situation.

Illegal HMOs

The government and local authorities are quite rightly clamping down on illegal HMOs – but often, these are created by the tenants, not by the landlords.  For example, by tenants taking in unauthorized lodgers.

For a landlord to be able to deal with an unauthorised HMO he needs to be able to find out about it first, which means he will need to inspect the property regularly. 

Tenants have the right to exclude landlords from the property by virtue of their covenant of quiet enjoyment – which is the rule which says they can keep everyone including the landlord from entering without their permission.

If landlords had a legal right to carry out inspections enforceable by a ground for possession, then this will help them deal with this problem.

Insurance issues

Most landlord insurance policies today will have a condition requiring landlords to carry out property inspections not less than once every six months.

If landlords are unable to do this due to tenant obstruction, then this could invalidate their insurance.  Which could have serious consequences for them.

And generally

It is important that landlords are able to carry out regular inspections of rented properties – not to spy on their tenants (!) but to check its condition (so they can carry out any necessary repair works) and make sure that all is well.  And that there is no illegal activity going on.

I suggest it would be helpful for landlords in the management of this duty if it could be backed up by a ground for possession of unreasonably refusing the landlord access for inspections.  A discretionary ground would be sufficient and would help give landlords the necessary authority when requesting access.

No doubt there are points I have missed on this topic, so if you have any thoughts, please add your comments below.

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Filed Under: Analysis

Scroll down for the comments

IMPORTANT: Please check the date of the post above - remember, if it is an old post, the law may have changed since it was written.

You should always get independent legal advice before taking any action.

Notes on comments:

For personal landlord and tenant related problems, please use our >> Blog Clinic.
Note that we do not publish all comments, please >> click here to read our terms of use and comments policy. Comments close after three months.

Keep up with the news on Landlord Law blog!

To get posts sent direct to your email in box click here

About Tessa Shepperson

Tessa is a specialist landlord & tenant solicitor and the creator of this site! She is a director of Landlord Law Services which now hosts Landlord Law and other services for landlords and property professionals.

« Landlord Law Newsround #247
Landlord Law Newsround #248 »

Comments

  1. Ian says

    June 20, 2022 at 5:18 PM

    Yes as without S21 the landlord can’t manage the property without inspections to get edvidance for evictions for property damage.

    The 1st problem tenant I can’t removed due to no longer having S21 will result me in selling the property so I can remove them.

    Reply
  2. Alan Ward says

    June 20, 2022 at 5:55 PM

    This is a very good point. Gas and electrical inspections should be enforceable- and I might add security and alarm systems including heat and smoke sensors. Whether this should extend to a ground for possession is debatable, perhaps in the first instance. Repeated refusals could be justified.

    Reply
  3. Todd says

    June 20, 2022 at 6:08 PM

    I do not think that a further discretionary ground to this effect is necessary. If the landlord has had the good sense to reserve contractual inspection rights, then they already have access to a discretionary ground for general tenancy breaches should the tenant unreasonably refuse access. A specific ground would not really add anything.

    In order to be see any use, the new ground would need to be mandatory so as to improve on the existing ground. But the landlord would still need to demonstrate that the inspection requests were themselves reasonable and/or that the tenant’s refusal was unreasonable, so there would still be the issue of needing to persuade the judge to exercise a discretion in the landlord’s favour which has generally dissuaded claims on discretionary grounds. Obviously a mandatory ground without some sort of ‘reasonable’ filter is just asking for misuse.

    You could, I suppose, have some sort of statutory inspection regime wherein the landlord is entitled and expected to inspect the property each year (say) in order to conduct gas checks etc. and it could be that upon service of some appropriate notice, the tenant is required to comply and it will be deemed unreasonable and a mandatory ground for possession if they do not. I doubt that this would be popular with either landlords or tenants but it is a thought.

    I think though that injunction proceedings provide an adequate remedy for refusal of entry. As you say, they are rather routinely obtained by social landlords (often without notice) for gas checks and there is no reason why a private landlord could not obtain one.

    Reply
    • Judy M says

      June 21, 2022 at 11:14 AM

      As a principle, I agree that if the contract provides for inspections, that should be sufficient.

      However in the present climate, landlords are held to the letter of the law and the contract, whilst seemingly tenants are able to get away with rent arrears, property damage etc with impunity –irrespective of the law or contract they have willing signed up to.

      Given the impact for the landlords – fines for no GSC, significant property damage etc, in my view there should definitely be a mandatory non inspection ground. I would further venture that adding a ‘reasonableness’ provision as suggested gives room for argument or a get out clause to tenants, which helps no-one other than delay getting an inspection done.
      Whilst this in itself may seem unreasonable, from my own experience in agreeing legal contracts, lawyers can argue for weeks or more over what is deemed reasonable, so it’s best to cut out all opinion-based argument in favour of a non-arguable mandatory requirement. If a tenant doesn’t like the provision, don’t sign up. Having to seek an injunction is just too onerous and costly a remedy for a landlord.

      The property is after all the landlord’s asset – usually worth hundreds of thousands of £££. Who in their right mind is going to sign that over to a tenant without the ability to see periodically how it is being looked after, and be denied the ability to comply with their own duties towards the tenant?

      The worrying thing is that I suspect the government in its misguided wisdom will not ‘hear’ the landlord’s viewpoint.

      I despair over the proposed new reform bill, but that is a rant for another day…

      Reply
  4. John says

    June 22, 2022 at 7:51 PM

    @Judy M

    Banks lend 100s of thousands against an asset they don’t plan to routinely inspect every few months. The fact of the matter is a landlord inspection is an unwelcome intrusion that many tenants are not comfortable with, though they might not object to an impartial professional such as a surveyor and sensibly would likely be happy to allow a properly qualified gas engineer in to do what’s necessary, or any other qualified tradesman for other work.

    “tenants are able to get away with rent arrears, property damage etc with impunity” – this is only true if you can’t successfully sue and recover arrears or damages, but isn’t that simply a result of the risk of being in the lending business, with property being lent rather than money?. If you want an investment with no risk you could always try Govt bonds.

    @Ian

    “The 1st problem tenant I can’t remove due to no longer having S21 will result in me selling the property so I can remove them.”

    You’d have trouble selling with them in situ if they were indeed a “problem tenant” so I don’t really understand the comment, unless you’re referring to the proposed new S8 rules. But selling would presumably land you with a huge CGT bill, so wouldn’t you simply be better off taking the hit and using other S8 grounds such as arrears? I see no sense in using S21 now to sell pre-emptively if they have not so far been a problem. I hear this “threat” all the time, but it seems empty.

    Reply
    • HB Welcome says

      June 24, 2022 at 12:07 PM

      The “threat” is already happening;

      https://landlordlawblog.co.uk/2022/06/24/landlord-law-newsround-248/

      ‘Supply is worsening in the rental sector, with newly available rental properties down by 24 per cent now compared to a year ago.’

      Reply
      • Mike says

        July 1, 2022 at 6:53 PM

        I think it would be harsh to use this as a mandatory ground the first time access was refused. However if a tenant refuses 3 times then having this as an mandatory option would create a little more conversation on when access would be mutually convenient.

        Reply
  5. Mike says

    July 1, 2022 at 9:40 PM

    I think it would be harsh to use this as a mandatory ground the first time access was refused. However if a tenant refuses 3 times then having this as an mandatory option would create a little more conversation on when access would be mutually convenient.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

“Interesting posts on residential landlord & tenant law and practice - in England & Wales UK”

Subscribe to the Landlord Law Blog by email

Never miss another post!

Sign up to our
>> daily updates

If you are new to the blog >> click here

Get Your Free Ebook:

Click to get your Free Ebook

>> Click Here for Your Free Copy

Featured Post

Tessa Shepperson

Why you need and how to get proper legal advice on landlord and tenant issues

Tessa’s Podcast

The Landlord and Lawyer Podcast

Worried about Insurance?

Landlord Law Insurance Mini-Course

Disclaimer

The purpose of this blog is to provide information, comment and discussion.

Although Tessa, or guest bloggers, may from time to time, give helpful comments to readers' questions, these can only be based on the information given by the reader in his or her comment, which may not contain all material facts.

Any comments or suggestions provided by Tessa or any guest bloggers should not, therefore be relied upon as a substitute for legal advice from a qualified lawyer regarding any actual legal issue or dispute.

Nothing on this website should be construed as legal advice or perceived as creating a lawyer-client relationship (apart from the Fast Track block clinic service - so far as the questioners only are concerned).

Please also note that any opinion expressed by a guest blogger is his or hers alone, and does not necessarily reflect the views of Tessa Shepperson, or the other writers on this blog.

Cookies

You can find out more about our use of 'cookies' on this website here.

Associated sites

Landlord Law Services
The Renters Guide
Eco Landlords
Your Law Store

Legal

Landlord Law Blog is © 2006 – 2021 Tessa Shepperson.

Note that Tessa is an introducer for Alan Boswell Insurance Brokers and will get a commission from sales made via links on this website.

© 2006–2022 Tessa Shepperson | Rainmaker Platform | Contact Page | Privacy | Log in

This website or its third-party tools use cookies which are necessary to its functioning and required to improve your experience. By clicking the consent button, you agree to allow the site to use, collect and/or store cookies.
I accept