Your landlord wants to come in: when they may, and why they must give 24 hours' notice

A rented flat is your home for as long as you rent it. Many tenants assume that because the landlord owns the property and holds a key, they can come in whenever they like. They cannot. A landlord has no right to enter an occupied home without your agreement, and doing it to drive a tenant out is a criminal offence. Here is what the law allows and what to do when it is broken.

The right to quiet enjoyment

At the heart of it is an implied term of every tenancy: the tenant's right to quiet enjoyment of the home. While the tenancy runs, it is the tenant, not the owner, who decides who comes in and when. The landlord having a key does not change that: the key is for agreed access and genuine emergencies, not for visits on a whim.

When a landlord may enter

The law gives the owner a narrow right of access — to inspect the condition of the home and to carry out repairs. Section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 lets the landlord (or someone authorised in writing) enter "at reasonable times of the day" and "on giving 24 hours' notice in writing", and only to view the condition and state of repair. So three conditions must be met together: a reasonable time, 24 hours' written notice and a proper reason — inspection or repair.

The same section explains why: under section 11 the landlord must keep in repair the structure and exterior, the installations for water, gas, electricity and sanitation, and those for heating and hot water. The inspection exists to meet those duties, not to keep tabs on the tenant.

What a landlord may not do

Turning up unannounced, entering while you are out without consent, running "checks" on their own schedule, changing the locks, or cutting off water or heating to pressure you — all of this is outside the law. Even with a key, the landlord gains no right to enter without 24 hours' notice. Showing the flat to new tenants or buyers also needs your agreement and notice — the section 11 inspection right does not cover it.

Emergencies are the exception

A genuine emergency — fire, a gas leak, a burst pipe, a risk to life or of serious damage — is different: to prevent danger the landlord may enter at once, without 24 hours. But "emergency" means an emergency, not a reason the landlord forgot to give. A suspicion that the tenant is breaking a rule is not an emergency.

When visits become harassment

If a landlord keeps coming without notice, lies in wait, withholds services or otherwise pressures you, it can be a criminal offence. Section 1 of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977 makes it harassment to do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the occupier, or to persistently withhold services reasonably required to live there, where the aim is to make the tenant leave or give up a right. It states separately that a landlord or their agent is guilty even where they "knew, or had reasonable cause to believe" their conduct would have that effect. Unlawful eviction — putting your things out, changing the locks, shutting you out — is also an offence under the same Act.

What to do if it happens

Remind the landlord in writing (by message or letter) of your right to quiet enjoyment and that inspection needs 24 hours' notice. Record every visit: date, time, what happened. If the pressure continues, contact the council's Tenancy Relations team or Environmental Health — local authorities have power to prosecute harassment and unlawful eviction. If you are threatened, call the police (101, or 999 in danger).

In short

A landlord may enter your rented home only on three conditions together: 24 hours' notice in writing, a reasonable time, and for inspection or repair (section 11(6) of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985). Otherwise entry needs your consent, or a genuine emergency. Unannounced visits, changing locks and cutting off services to pressure you are harassment and an offence under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977; record them and go to the council.