Can my landlord enter my home without my permission?
Short answer
No — outside a genuine emergency, your landlord must give at least 24 hours’ written notice and come at a reasonable time, even for repairs or inspections. Having a key changes nothing. Repeated unannounced entry can amount to harassment, which is a criminal offence.
Once a tenancy is granted, you have exclusive possession and a legal right to quiet enjoyment of your home — implied into every tenancy agreement regardless of what the contract says. Your landlord still owns the property, but they cannot treat it as somewhere they can drop in.
When entry is allowed
- Repairs and inspections: with at least 24 hours' written notice (a text or email counts) at a reasonable time — normal daytime hours unless you agree otherwise.
- Annual gas safety checks: required by law. If you unreasonably refuse access the landlord can seek a court order — but you are entitled to reasonable notice and to propose a convenient time; one refusal of a short-notice request is not "unreasonable".
- Viewings: only with your consent and reasonable notice. Check whether your agreement contains a viewings clause; even then you can refuse unreasonable times.
- Genuine emergencies: a burst pipe, fire or suspected gas leak justifies entry without notice. A pre-planned inspection dressed up as "urgent" does not.
A key does not create a right of entry: using it to let themselves in without notice or permission is likely to be harassment. And a tenancy clause claiming unrestricted access rights is unenforceable as an unfair term under the Consumer Rights Act 2015.
If your landlord keeps letting themselves in
Keep a log of every incident — dates, times, witnesses — and write to the landlord citing your right to quiet enjoyment, stating that further unauthorised entry is unacceptable. If it continues, report it to your council's housing enforcement team: persistent unannounced entry can constitute harassment under the Protection from Eviction Act 1977, a criminal offence. You can also seek an injunction through the civil courts, and under the Renters' Rights Act 2025 the new Private Rented Sector Ombudsman will be able to award compensation for repeated breaches of quiet enjoyment. If entry escalates to lock-changing or removing your belongings, that is illegal eviction — call the police.
Related guides
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