how to obtain access when refused?

Am having one of those yuck months of being a landlord.

A unit we have is in a building undergoing remediation works. We moved out in February and all that was needed to be done was new carpet in 2 of the bedrooms and one wall in the bedroom had to be painted.

The head engineer has just called and advised that they have been unable to obtain access to our unit to do these jobs. Turns out they've been trying for a while but decide to only tell us now, a few days out from the final date for all repairs to be completed.

Do we have any right to gain access for these works or is it just bad luck if they won't let the builders in? There haven't been any periodic inspections on the place yet so I assume we can use that excuse to at least get the builders in at the same time.

Any suggestions? Thanks in advance.
 
Hi Beachgurl

What was the agreement with your tenants in the first place? Were they aware that these repairs had to be conducted by a particular date?
If so, did you offer any compensation for the fact that they may be inconvenienced by having to move furniture etc?

Using the excuse of inspections to get the builders in at the same time won't work here unless the tenants are first willing to cooperate so I'd be finding out from them first the reasons for their unwillingness. There's always a solution. Best of luck
 
You have the right of entry after giving suitable notice to the tenant. Check with the regulations in the State where the IP is situated for notice periods.
Marg
 
Thanks all for the advice.

Of the 3 tenants, one is willing to let the builders in on Saturday. One of the jobs can't be done on the Saturday as those contractors don't work then, but at least it gets the builders in to do the main job which is to determine the source of a water leak (which we only found out about yesterday). Fingers crossed the tenant doesn't change her mind in the meantime. So we have a small win here. Builder says he needs two days to finish the job but the PM doesn't want to push too hard as she said the tribunal will ask if we have tried to accommodate the tenant's wishes before legally obtaining access that way.

If they do let the tradies in on the weekend I think I'll send them some movie tickets to thank them. Regardless of how difficult they are, it's still a PITA to have workers through your home so I can see their reluctance to allow access. Wanna keep on their good side for future inspections. Problem with renting out your PPR I guess, the attachment is a bit too strong sometimes.
 
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