Yellow wrote:

Mark Goodge ] said:
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 23:10:05 +0100, Yellow put finger to keyboard
and typed:

Mark Goodge ] said:
On Fri, 18 Jul 2008 22:30:12 +0100, Les Invalides put finger to
keyboard and typed:

What if the dweller is a leaseholder and the person wishing
entry the freeholder? Does it still apply that the freeholder
should assume he can waltz in whenever he likes? If not, why
not? What is different in principle?

It's different in principle because it's different in law. A
leaseholder has an entirely different set of rights to a tenant.

So you are saying the tenant's rights do not not include a ban on
the landlord et all entering his home with out prior agreement
(excluding emergencies of course)?

The landlord may not enter without permission, except in emergencies
or where at least 24 hours notice has been given. The landlord may
enter with permission at any time.

I do not think anyone is disagreeing with this.

The "24 hour" rule doesn't mean that the landlord must give that
amount of notice before any attempt to enter. It means that the
tenant can refuse to allow access if insufficient notice is given.
So if the landlord knocks on your door one evening, without giving
prior notice, and asks if he can come in to fix something, then you
are entitled to say no if you want to. But, equally, you may choose
to permit him to enter. No law is being broken if you do so, even
though he hasn't given any notice.

I do not think anyone is disagreeing with this.

The issue raised by this particular thread is whether a maintenance
request by the tenant carries with it implied permission to enter in
order to fulfil the request.
Strictly speaking, in legal terms, it probably doesn't.

Exactly. :-)

But, in practical terms, many landlords and tenants
behave as though it does. If the landlord makes that assumption and
the tenant doesn't, then the landlord is, in strict terms, acting
illegally. But it would take more than a simple misunderstanding of
this nature for the landlord to be guilty of harrassment. And, to
answer the specific question posed by the original post, no breach
of contract has occurred because this is an area that is regulated
by law, not by the contract.

If the landlord enters a tenant's home without permission when there
is no emergency (and it is at all hard to define what is, and what is
not, a real emergency - and a dripping tap is not one) then they are
quite simply in the wrong.

It may well be a dripping tap , however how that is conveyed to the
agent or landlord may well give a totally differing response

1) my taps dripping

2) my tap wont turn off properly

3) my taps leaking

All correct discriptions of the same problem from a laypersons pov all
three likely to get a differnt response .

The latter two likely to instill a certain amount of 'speed is of the
essence' into any managing agent or landlord
--