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Hi Guys
Hoping someone 'in the know' can help. There have been similar posts to this before but none quite fit my circumstances, so please bear with me.
I am the landlord of a property which became tenanted in October 2013. The management of this is dealt with by a letting agent who informed British Gas before the tenant had moved in who I was,and who the tenant was, and what day they would be moving in. The letting agent provided full contact details.
A year later, after a pretty uneventful tenancy, the tenant texted the letting agent (!) (on 29 October 2014) to say she had vacated that day. The letting agent informed British Gas that the tenant had vacated on 31 October by email.
The tenant had said she was looking to move elsewhere 2 weeks prior to her vacating, but would give a months notice (but didn't) and I had instructed my letting agent plus another one, to start marketing the property so there were 2 to let signs outside the property.
On the 31 October, the letting agent informed me that because the tenant had not paid her gas bill, British Gas, that same day, had entered the property using a locksmith and changed the meter over to a prepaid meter. The first the letting agent knew of this was when they came and delivered the new keys. They told the letting agent they knew to bring the keys to them as they had seen the to let signs.
I believe, from what I have read, if they have a warrant British Gas are perfectly within their rights to enter a property, change locks and meters if there is a debt owing and if the occupier is unresponsive to correspondence, providing that British gas follow a set of procedures correctly.
However, and I know there is no requirement for them to do this, I was just surprised that given all the notification they have had by the letting agent, and the fact there were 2 to let signs outside clearly displaying both letting agents phone number that they did not bother to make contact with the letting agent first. I would have thought this was common sense, and ultimately would have saved them the cost of a locksmith.
Also even if they failed to see the to let boards, once they entered the property, then they would have realised it was empty (no furniture, post around the door etc) yet they still proceeded to go in and replace the meter to a prepaid one.
My questions are:
1) as the warrant was surely with them and the tenant ,and the tenant had (obviously) vacated then has the liability now gone, and they are now trespassing, and have changed the meter illegally?
2) I am now paying a higher standing charge on something didn't ask for...I have read that this would be forcing me into an adhesion contract. Is this correct?
3)Someone suggested I look into law surrounding claim of rights. Tried to google this and it seems a Scottish law (the property is in England). Does anyone know if a claim of rights would be relevant to my case?
4) I have also read in another forum that if the Landlord has evidence he owns property and debt was not his and British Gas knew this then warrant not legal anyhow?
As a starting point, I intend to request to see a copy of the warrant and all relevant paperwork, although I am not hopeful this will happen., but would just like clarity on the above points, before I raise them.
Many thanks for any help...I feel I am going round in circles and not sure if I have a case or not.
Hoping someone 'in the know' can help. There have been similar posts to this before but none quite fit my circumstances, so please bear with me.
I am the landlord of a property which became tenanted in October 2013. The management of this is dealt with by a letting agent who informed British Gas before the tenant had moved in who I was,and who the tenant was, and what day they would be moving in. The letting agent provided full contact details.
A year later, after a pretty uneventful tenancy, the tenant texted the letting agent (!) (on 29 October 2014) to say she had vacated that day. The letting agent informed British Gas that the tenant had vacated on 31 October by email.
The tenant had said she was looking to move elsewhere 2 weeks prior to her vacating, but would give a months notice (but didn't) and I had instructed my letting agent plus another one, to start marketing the property so there were 2 to let signs outside the property.
On the 31 October, the letting agent informed me that because the tenant had not paid her gas bill, British Gas, that same day, had entered the property using a locksmith and changed the meter over to a prepaid meter. The first the letting agent knew of this was when they came and delivered the new keys. They told the letting agent they knew to bring the keys to them as they had seen the to let signs.
I believe, from what I have read, if they have a warrant British Gas are perfectly within their rights to enter a property, change locks and meters if there is a debt owing and if the occupier is unresponsive to correspondence, providing that British gas follow a set of procedures correctly.
However, and I know there is no requirement for them to do this, I was just surprised that given all the notification they have had by the letting agent, and the fact there were 2 to let signs outside clearly displaying both letting agents phone number that they did not bother to make contact with the letting agent first. I would have thought this was common sense, and ultimately would have saved them the cost of a locksmith.
Also even if they failed to see the to let boards, once they entered the property, then they would have realised it was empty (no furniture, post around the door etc) yet they still proceeded to go in and replace the meter to a prepaid one.
My questions are:
1) as the warrant was surely with them and the tenant ,and the tenant had (obviously) vacated then has the liability now gone, and they are now trespassing, and have changed the meter illegally?
2) I am now paying a higher standing charge on something didn't ask for...I have read that this would be forcing me into an adhesion contract. Is this correct?
3)Someone suggested I look into law surrounding claim of rights. Tried to google this and it seems a Scottish law (the property is in England). Does anyone know if a claim of rights would be relevant to my case?
4) I have also read in another forum that if the Landlord has evidence he owns property and debt was not his and British Gas knew this then warrant not legal anyhow?
As a starting point, I intend to request to see a copy of the warrant and all relevant paperwork, although I am not hopeful this will happen., but would just like clarity on the above points, before I raise them.
Many thanks for any help...I feel I am going round in circles and not sure if I have a case or not.
