UK Landlord Forum / Life

We rent a farm at the going rate and pay council tax Band G; all the land is rented out to a local farmer (who is no bother).  A small business is run from one of the buildings on the farm Monday to Friday (who is no bother).  However, the landlady has several other outbuilding basically full of old furniture, old farm equipment and two caravans (no animals). 

Currently the landlady and her husband comes up to the farm between 1 to 3 times per day at various times - every day! including the weekend and bank holidays.  For example, yesterday they arrived at 16:00 to 16:30 for half an hour and then again last night for 6 minutes from 20:11 to 20:17. We have a hot tub in the garden and every time they drive pasted our front garden which has a low fence they can check out what we are doing. 

We have no back garden, so when the landlady goes for her walk around the farm she walks past our living room / study / kitchen windows... I'm sure she will look in when we are not home.  Its uncomfortable when you are sitting watching television or we have friends around....

They do not come in to the house they just drive past it or walk around the perimeter of the house almost every day....

Some good advice would be appreciated.   

It's not clear... but it seems like they're on their land, not land that you are renting. Is that correct?

If so, it's just like it would be for anyone else... it's difficult to stop someone monitoring their own land (if they want to). You would think they must be doing something useful (at least to them) otherwise it would get boring quickly. Harassment of the nature I'm inferring here requires a lot of effort on their part.

Looking in when you're not home doesn't affect you, right?

Erect a higher fence or put some big bushy plants in pots?

Hello Hippogriff - Thank you

Yes, they are on their land, we only rent the house and the front garden.  I have no idea what they do or are doing but this has been going on for months now, when we first moved in we didn't see them for 3 months.  They said that if they needed to come up on a weekend or an evening that they would notify us, this happened for approximately a further 3 months. However, since then they have created a variety of different reasons for walking past the house etc., now they come and go as and when.  I guess it is cheaper than paying a security guard, but it's just madness? 

What I don't know doesn't harm me your correct, I'm not bothered about them looking in the house, it is always tidy and we have nothing to hide.  I doubt they would let us put a permanent high fence up, we asked to put a stove in as the living room has an open stone fire place with an unused dog grate in, full of logs (we would pay and have it installed professionally) as the house is freezing in the winter and has an energy efficient rating of F.  The landlady said no - she said she did not want a living flame and has now removed the gas fire that we did have and put an electric fire in.  This now means we have no independent source of heat and the electric bills are very expensive - we do on average get a 2 to 3 power cuts per year.

The main power play Tenants have is to vote with their feet. I see no benefit in researching the legal aspects to whatever is going on. If you communicate some legal position to your Landlord as a warning then the situation, as a whole, is simply going to deteriorate... rapidly. Right now you have a Landlord who's doing a few weird things and, potentially, invading your privacy (certainly encroaching in your space) but in the future you could end up with one who has a vendetta against you.

Anyway, you probably want to look up the concept of Quiet Enjoyment if you haven't already. However, this is usually useful when an overbearing Landlord is intent on visiting the property and interfering with the lives of Tenants. Take a look.

You are totally right, we would have liked to buy the farm, that was the reason for us renting it in the first place - as the landlady said that she would probably sell within the next two years.  We have been here for nearly two years and I'm guessing the only reason she was renting in the first place was because of money, she will soon find that she will be footing the bills soon enough.

I've have already looked at quiet enjoyment and some parts fit but like you say... what is the point!  We are in a very good position to buy now, so when the right place comes up were off.

thank you for your advice

Kind regards