Landlord Entry Rights: Can They Enter Without Notice?

GOV.UK says that as a private tenant you have the right to live in the property undisturbed. It also says you should give your landlord access to the property to inspect it or carry out repairs.

• Your landlord has to give you at least 24 hours' notice and visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it is an emergency and they need immediate access

The notice depends on where you live:

• England: at least 24 hours' notice, with the visit at a reasonable time of day, unless it is an emergency and the landlord needs immediate access
• Wales: the landlord may enter the dwelling at any reasonable time to inspect its condition and state of repair or to carry out repairs, and must give at least 24 hours' notice to the contract-holder
• Scotland: 48 hours' notice if you have a private residential tenancy, and 24 hours' notice if you have an assured or short assured tenancy
• Northern Ireland: the tenant must permit the landlord to enter at reasonable times and upon reasonable notice to inspect the state of repair and carry out works the landlord is under a duty to execute

In England, GOV.UK's exception to the 24 hours' notice rule is an emergency where the landlord needs immediate access. GOV.UK's guide to the Homes Act says that in an emergency the landlord is allowed to enter the property.

In Scotland, mygov.scot says your landlord can only give you less notice in an emergency, for example stopping flooding into a property below you.

GOV.UK says you should give your landlord access to carry out repairs, with at least 24 hours' notice and a visit at a reasonable time of day. For repairs to make a property fit for human habitation, GOV.UK's guide to the Homes Act says your landlord should usually give you at least 24 hours' notice and the visit should be within reasonable hours. It says that for most people this means not too late at night and not too early in the morning, but may also include other factors such as caring responsibilities.

• If your landlord has not given you reasonable notice, or wants to do repairs at unreasonable hours, GOV.UK says they cannot say they have made reasonable efforts to make the home fit for human habitation
• In Scotland, your landlord cannot enter if you refuse, but can apply to the First-tier Tribunal for Scotland (Housing and Property Chamber), and there is no cost to apply
• In Northern Ireland, if the tenant will not permit a landlord to carry out works they are under a duty to execute, the landlord may apply to the county court for an order

Our housing repairs guide covers what your landlord has to fix.

In England, GOV.UK's rule on access covers inspecting the property or carrying out repairs.

In Scotland, mygov.scot says it is your choice to let your landlord access the property for any reason other than inspections, checking whether repairs are needed, or repair work.

GOV.UK says it is a crime for your landlord to harass you or try to remove you from a property without following the correct process. It says harassment can include:

• stopping services, like electricity
• withholding keys, for example there are 2 tenants in a property, but the landlord will only give 1 key
• refusing to carry out repairs that are the landlord's responsibilities
• antisocial behaviour by someone on the landlord's behalf
• threats and physical violence
• threatening to change the locks
• opening or taking post
• stopping access to temperature control

Under section 1(3A) of the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, the landlord of a residential occupier or an agent of the landlord is guilty of an offence if they do acts likely to interfere with the peace or comfort of the residential occupier or members of their household, or persistently withdraw or withhold services reasonably required for the occupation of the premises as a residence, and they know or have reasonable cause to believe that the conduct is likely to cause the occupier to give up the occupation of the premises or to refrain from exercising any right or pursuing any remedy. Under section 1(3B) they are not guilty if they prove that they had reasonable grounds for the acts.

On conviction on indictment the penalty is a fine or imprisonment for a term not exceeding 2 years or both. GOV.UK says local councils can prosecute landlords or give a fine of up to £40,000 if they harass or illegally evict someone.