Q: My tenant has given me a month's notice, but she refuses to answer her phone or emails when I'm trying to arrange appointments. Can I just show up at the flat and let myself in, because there is a clause in her tenancy agreement that says she has to co-operate with viewings?
Q: My tenant won't tidy up for when I'm showing the flat to other people. I give her 24 hours notice I'll be bringing people round, but when we get there the place is a tip. What can I do about it?
Firstly, with regards to access: you need the existing tenant's permission to enter the property, and you need to give them notice of the viewings. If the tenant refuses to let you in, there is very little you can do. Clauses in tenancy agreements are, in practise, worth very little.
I suspect that these are actually the same problem, it's just that the first one is embarrassed about it and the second one isn't. In both cases, I would offer, as diplomatically as possible, to help tidy up or to hire a cleaner to sort the place out. It's annoying to have to spend time and money on this, but the alternative is waiting til your tenants move out, and only then being able to show the property, which will work out a lot more expensive.
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