Question

Entry and Refusal (England) | Tenant Obligations (England)

Tenants Change the locks?

13 May 2017 | 1 comment

Can our tenants legally change the entry locks without our permission? Can they withhold a key if they do change the locks?

Answer

1 Comment

  1. guildy

    A tenant has the right to exclude all persons including the landlord. However, that may be a breach of the tenancy, depending on the terms.

    Whether they can change the locks depends on the terms of the tenancy. If the tenancy prohibits changing locks, it will be a breach of the tenancy.

    In reality though, even if they do so in breach, enforcing it can be difficult. If it’s causing a problem in some way, the easiest solution would be to serve a section 21 notice giving no reason. That way you’re not arguing about why you’ve given notice.

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