AleisterCrowley wrote:Hmm, I pay rent in advance,monthly, round about the 25th of the preceding month.
Going back a few posts- I assume I don't have to accept viewings etc until they have given me formal notice? The letting agent was talking about viewings but the landlord doesn't seem to have decided on action yet
When and if you are required to accept viewings depends entirely on what your tenancy agreement says. As a tenant you benefit from the implied convenant of "quiet enjoyment" (which you can look up on Google). The effect of this is that, unless your tenancy agreement provides for it, you are perfectly within your rights to refuse your landlord or any agent acting on his/her behalf entry to your home.
Typically, tenancy agreements will provide a landlord with right of entry for specified reasons such as inspection, maintenance and viewings provided the landlord gives the tenant a specified amount of notice (typically 24 or 48 hours) in writing. There is often an additional clause which provides for entry without notice to cater for emergency situations.
A landlord's rights of entry are entirely separate from rights that may be held by others such as utility services, council officers and police.
For a definitive answer to your question, you need to consult your tenancy agreement to see a) if it gives the landlord any rights of entry for viewings to prospective tenants/purchasers and b) if it imposes any limitations on when these can take place, such as within the last month of the tenancy.
If there is a limitation such as the last month or last two months of the tenancy, then you will only know that is the case if you have been served with notice to quit. Otherwise, because your tenancy is now periodic, the default case is that the tenancy will continue to run until either party gives the other notice to terminate the tenancy agreement.
Of course, it is up to you how you play matters. You can choose to allow viewings even if you are not obliged to do so. Similarly as I implied around 20 posts back, you can choose (or not) to use the leverage you have as a sitting tenant to try and extend the period of notice beyond the statutory two months period you are entitled to.
If you do choose to assert your position, you may well get some pushback from the landlord/agent. In my experience, as a landlord of nearly 20 years, most tenants and a disappointingly high proportion of landlords and agents are ignorant of what the law actually says. This ignorance allows landlords and particularly the more unscrupulous type of agent to push tenants around. Your only real defence against this is to arm yourself with knowledge of what the law provides. There are plenty of useful sources around (but beware a lot are out of date and don't reflect changes brought in by e.g. the Deregulation Act in 2015). Shelter's website and Landlordlawzone are pretty good sources if you go down this route.
