As you know our tenancy is coming to an end at the end of May. We fully appreciate that you wish to accept viewings but we are finding it quite disruptive at present. We would like to stress that we are under no circumstances refusing to allow viewings but wish to remind you that these viewings need to be convenient for us as well as prospective tenants.
I have previously spoken on the phone about the fact I have anxiety over strangers coming into the house after prior bad experiences. Despite repeatedly asking people to not let themselves in we have had consistent issues with people being given keys and either letting themselves in or knocking once then walking or letting themselves in (this has happened with repairs, house inspection and viewings on several occasions).
This is unacceptable and cannot continue. When we agree to a viewing, repairs or inspection we are not agreeing for people to then enter on their own unless of course for emergencies and work required by the council of which we expect to have written notification where possible. We have consistently stressed that we will make sure we are present and available for such occasions providing we are available to do so. I am a stay at home mother. Dan has currently finished his work contract so there is no reason why anyone should need to use keys to enter the property. Yet on the 23rd of April on a pre-arranged house viewing (that we only received confirmation of on the phone and not in writing) an agent arriving to do a house inspection knocked once only and my partner (who was standing in the kitchen) opened the door where she was ready with her key in the lock to enter. I also have to question why she was entering on her own without the prospective tenants before the agreed time.
On the viewing for 27th of April one of your agents did this again. He was also 45 minutes early. He admitted to not being informed that we were present in the house nor instructed to wait for us to answer. He was told that we had been informed of a change in time to the viewing (this was due to take place at 3pm) but we had received no notice of this at all (again this viewing was only confirmed via telephone with no written notice and we were not informed or asked about changing the time). I did get a call from Diane which went to voicemail apologising and saying she was not aware the property was occupied. Whilst I appreciate the apology I don’t feel this is acceptable. H----- staff should be communicating efficiently and keeping accurate records. This is a massive breach of privacy and trust to think that our home would have been entered without permission or our presence had we been out at the time.
These are only our most recent examples, our inventory took place after we moved in and we arrived at the requested time only to find someone already there noting down our items on the inventory (which then had to be amended). On our six month inspection I was sat waiting in the living room adjacent to the hall waiting for your agent to arrive only to hear a disturbance and find him standing in the hall. We also had numerous occasions in the first few weeks of moving in where we requested workmen ring us to let us know when they were coming to the house only for us to arrive to move in furniture, clean etc and find them already there, on one occasion a workman entered unannounced without calling whilst I was in the shower, thankfully my partner was downstairs and able to warn me to not come down undressed. So lax was the communication between staff at h----- that if I reported a repair until that repair was done I would set the alarm for the downstairs area or put the latch on.
Our eldest daughter has Aspergers syndrome, but is thankfully at school most weekdays. We do not tell her when people view the house as she would find it very distressing (for this reason she must also not be present at our weekend viewings for which we arrange child care, thankfully she was picked up early on 27th).
I have complained about this issue previously on the phone and was told that as long as verbal or written notice had been given then Homebuyers had the right to enter the property with keys. Please clarify whether this is, or is not, the case. I was treated so rudely and disrespectfully at the time but felt unable to take the complaint further as at that time our tenancy changed to a less secure rolling contract and since the repairs beneficial to us that to do so was not worth the stress.
Viewings booked for the 29th of April also proved problematic, one appointment booked over the phone and then later confirmed via text said we had an appointment for Tuesday at 11:00 (even though on the initial phone call I had asked for this to be made before 10:30 text simply stated “He could not do before 10:30). The following text however said “Hi Kelly. Booked another lady in for Monday at 11:30 with pur accompanied viewer. So there is an 11am and an 11:30. Thank You. H----” No one showed up for the 11am appointment so we called the lettings office and my partner spoke with Jocelyn who said there was nothing in the diary for 11am but there was an appointment for 11:30am but again no one showed up. We called Jocelyn and relayed our complaints and concerns with the viewings so far, stressing that we must have 24 hour written notice so miscommunications can be avoided in the future. Despite this I then got a call from Jocelyn at 3pm the same day requesting to add another house viewing for the following day at 11:30 am. When we advise your staff repeatedly that they give us a minimum notice and still get phone calls the same day ignoring our requests this of course makes us feel harassed and bullied into accepting viewings. Again for a second day running on the 30th two appointmemnts and no one turned up, your agent knocked on the door (barely audieable and only answered as I was waiting on the stairs) and had the audacity to try and make me feel guilty telling me the person wishing to view just had her Dad die. Given our treatment thus far by homebuyers particularly with regards to access we are uncomfortable in turning down viewings or insisting they are re-booked as we do not trust H------ to not go ahead and enter without permission (as we have previously been informed by h---- that they can do this). Hence on the 30th we notified you we would not be wishing to do any more viewings.
As far as we are concerned, as tenants we should have the right to quiet enjoyment of this property until our tenancy ends, and that includes not being concerned that people will enter without our permission. It is also not appropriate for viewings to be changed without asking or notifying us. Or for requests for a minimum written notice period for viewings to be disregarded and ignored. In future we wish to request we are notified of viewings in writing via email, text or letter, with a minimum of 24 hours notice. We also expect accurate records or viewings to be kept and communication between Homebuyers staff and between Homebuyers to be of a professional standard.
In addition to the above complaints we would also like to inform you that we have been visited by the police looking for the landlord and people connected to him two separate occasions. The landlord still has not removed the bed from the garage (meaning it has not been used for intended purpose for the duration of our tenancy) and the sunroom roof is still leaking with rotten patches in the floor.
Please consider this an official complaint for which we would like a reply in writing to clarify our position.
I have previously spoken on the phone about the fact I have anxiety over strangers coming into the house after prior bad experiences. Despite repeatedly asking people to not let themselves in we have had consistent issues with people being given keys and either letting themselves in or knocking once then walking or letting themselves in (this has happened with repairs, house inspection and viewings on several occasions).
This is unacceptable and cannot continue. When we agree to a viewing, repairs or inspection we are not agreeing for people to then enter on their own unless of course for emergencies and work required by the council of which we expect to have written notification where possible. We have consistently stressed that we will make sure we are present and available for such occasions providing we are available to do so. I am a stay at home mother. Dan has currently finished his work contract so there is no reason why anyone should need to use keys to enter the property. Yet on the 23rd of April on a pre-arranged house viewing (that we only received confirmation of on the phone and not in writing) an agent arriving to do a house inspection knocked once only and my partner (who was standing in the kitchen) opened the door where she was ready with her key in the lock to enter. I also have to question why she was entering on her own without the prospective tenants before the agreed time.
On the viewing for 27th of April one of your agents did this again. He was also 45 minutes early. He admitted to not being informed that we were present in the house nor instructed to wait for us to answer. He was told that we had been informed of a change in time to the viewing (this was due to take place at 3pm) but we had received no notice of this at all (again this viewing was only confirmed via telephone with no written notice and we were not informed or asked about changing the time). I did get a call from Diane which went to voicemail apologising and saying she was not aware the property was occupied. Whilst I appreciate the apology I don’t feel this is acceptable. H----- staff should be communicating efficiently and keeping accurate records. This is a massive breach of privacy and trust to think that our home would have been entered without permission or our presence had we been out at the time.
These are only our most recent examples, our inventory took place after we moved in and we arrived at the requested time only to find someone already there noting down our items on the inventory (which then had to be amended). On our six month inspection I was sat waiting in the living room adjacent to the hall waiting for your agent to arrive only to hear a disturbance and find him standing in the hall. We also had numerous occasions in the first few weeks of moving in where we requested workmen ring us to let us know when they were coming to the house only for us to arrive to move in furniture, clean etc and find them already there, on one occasion a workman entered unannounced without calling whilst I was in the shower, thankfully my partner was downstairs and able to warn me to not come down undressed. So lax was the communication between staff at h----- that if I reported a repair until that repair was done I would set the alarm for the downstairs area or put the latch on.
Our eldest daughter has Aspergers syndrome, but is thankfully at school most weekdays. We do not tell her when people view the house as she would find it very distressing (for this reason she must also not be present at our weekend viewings for which we arrange child care, thankfully she was picked up early on 27th).
I have complained about this issue previously on the phone and was told that as long as verbal or written notice had been given then Homebuyers had the right to enter the property with keys. Please clarify whether this is, or is not, the case. I was treated so rudely and disrespectfully at the time but felt unable to take the complaint further as at that time our tenancy changed to a less secure rolling contract and since the repairs beneficial to us that to do so was not worth the stress.
Viewings booked for the 29th of April also proved problematic, one appointment booked over the phone and then later confirmed via text said we had an appointment for Tuesday at 11:00 (even though on the initial phone call I had asked for this to be made before 10:30 text simply stated “He could not do before 10:30). The following text however said “Hi Kelly. Booked another lady in for Monday at 11:30 with pur accompanied viewer. So there is an 11am and an 11:30. Thank You. H----” No one showed up for the 11am appointment so we called the lettings office and my partner spoke with Jocelyn who said there was nothing in the diary for 11am but there was an appointment for 11:30am but again no one showed up. We called Jocelyn and relayed our complaints and concerns with the viewings so far, stressing that we must have 24 hour written notice so miscommunications can be avoided in the future. Despite this I then got a call from Jocelyn at 3pm the same day requesting to add another house viewing for the following day at 11:30 am. When we advise your staff repeatedly that they give us a minimum notice and still get phone calls the same day ignoring our requests this of course makes us feel harassed and bullied into accepting viewings. Again for a second day running on the 30th two appointmemnts and no one turned up, your agent knocked on the door (barely audieable and only answered as I was waiting on the stairs) and had the audacity to try and make me feel guilty telling me the person wishing to view just had her Dad die. Given our treatment thus far by homebuyers particularly with regards to access we are uncomfortable in turning down viewings or insisting they are re-booked as we do not trust H------ to not go ahead and enter without permission (as we have previously been informed by h---- that they can do this). Hence on the 30th we notified you we would not be wishing to do any more viewings.
As far as we are concerned, as tenants we should have the right to quiet enjoyment of this property until our tenancy ends, and that includes not being concerned that people will enter without our permission. It is also not appropriate for viewings to be changed without asking or notifying us. Or for requests for a minimum written notice period for viewings to be disregarded and ignored. In future we wish to request we are notified of viewings in writing via email, text or letter, with a minimum of 24 hours notice. We also expect accurate records or viewings to be kept and communication between Homebuyers staff and between Homebuyers to be of a professional standard.
In addition to the above complaints we would also like to inform you that we have been visited by the police looking for the landlord and people connected to him two separate occasions. The landlord still has not removed the bed from the garage (meaning it has not been used for intended purpose for the duration of our tenancy) and the sunroom roof is still leaking with rotten patches in the floor.
Please consider this an official complaint for which we would like a reply in writing to clarify our position.
