Your landlord has some rights which you need to know about.

1) The right to access the property so he/she can do repairs or arrange to have them done and deal effectively with any emergency such as a fire or flood.

However the landlord must:

• Give you fair notice that he/she is coming and preferably agree a time
• Allow you to be there if you want to.
• Have access without notice if there is a serious threat to the property

2) The right, via the rental agreement, to be paid the agreed rent on the date stated in the agreement.

If this does not happen:

• He can write and let you know that you are in breach of your tenancy agreement.
• He can set a date for you to respond to him by.
• If you do not respond or pay the rent he can apply to the courts for the money or start proceedings to have you evicted.

It will be part of your agreement to ensure that you don’t cause any problems to the property’s neighbours, such as late night noisy parties that cause complaints.

Finally, you must take care of the property’s fixtures and fittings and let the landlord know if any of them go wrong, so they can fix them in time. Typically the landlord takes a deposit to cover any damage disputes or lack of payment of rent.

If you don’t ensure that you take care of the landlord’s rights, then they may have recourse against you and even evict you if you don’t abide by the agreement.

Before you move find out more about:

• Tenant property checklist
• Rental budget
• Tenancy agreements
• Lettings insurance
• Your rights as a tenant

Ready to move?

• Set up home services
• Organise removals
• Get a reliable man with a van
• Update your address details