How often should landlords or agents visit their rental property?

A tenant contacted me to say their managing agent had contacted them to tell them about the ‘new law’ that means they must visit her property every 2 months? Is this correct?

There are no laws that govern the periodicity of property visits.

Q. What is the purpose of a periodic visit?

A. View the condition and state of repair of the property:

• Verifying compliance with the terms of the tenancy agreement
• Identifying any repairs 
• Complying with health and safety legislation
• Verifying compliance with the terms of the landlord’s mortgage and insurance policy
• Checking the tenant is happy with the property

So the answer to the question is that is depends on the terms of the landlord’s mortgage and insurance policy, the risk of non-compliance with the terms of the tenancy agreement, the property needing repair and non-compliance with health and safety legislation. Here are some tips:

• First visit the property no later than 2 months after the start date of the tenancy.
• After the first visit, re-visit the property at a periodicity of no longer than 6 months thereafter.
• The tenant has a right to ‘quiet enjoyment’ of the property so do not be tempted to visit the property too often.
• Don’t leave it too long between visits as you cannot always rely on a tenant to report any repairs or maintenance issue at the property – the sooner you find out about that leaking roof the better. As a landlord you have repairing obligations and inspections are your eyes and ears.
• Always give the tenant at least 24 hours written notice of any visit.
• Do not be too picky when visiting the property. Last night’s take-away trays on the worktop are harmless (as long as they are not still there when the tenant leaves!).
• Always document the visit in a report copied to the landlord.
• The landlord has statutory obligations (e.g. Defective Premises Act 1972) to address defects if he ought in all the circumstances to have known of the relevant defect and the only way to be sure this duty is complied with is through regular visits – relying on the tenant alone to report defects is not a good defence.