Good evening

I have a property witth two dwellings on it. The one tenant moved out end February. The other tenant refuse that we the owner get excess to the propery. For the month of March he was never at home so the agent could not market he property. He change the lock on the gate and refuse to give the agent a key or allow her to put anotther lock on. He will only allow excess to the property if he is at home. If the agent wants to take a prospective tenant she has to notify him well in advance so that he can be at home. 

Can the tenant demand to be at home when the agent wants to take prospective tenants to the unoccupied dwelling? Can he locked the gate so that no one can enter?

Hi there and thank you for your question,

I assume that the property has a main gate, and that both tenants use this main gate to access the property. And then, once they are inside the property, they would each then access only their dwelling?

If that's the case, then I'm sure that each tenant only has possession of the specific dwelling, and that the tenant can't just claim possession of the whole property - because it was never your intention to rent "the whole property" to any tenant.

If that's right, then your tenant can't just change the locks on the main access gate to stop you (or a future tenant for the 2nd dwelling) from accessing the property. 

The tenant is however entitled to security of his dwelling.

It looks to me as if this tenant is being difficult, and has basically taken over the entire property! Instead of just his dwelling that he has actually rented.

You need to be firm with him. Change the locks on the gate, but give him a key. Tell him in no uncertain terms that he is NOT allowed to change the locks on the gate because people need to use the gate to access the other dwelling. 

Q: Can the tenant demand to be at home when the agent wants to take prospective tenants to the unoccupied dwelling? -- NO, not unless he has rented the entire property, which he hasn't.

Q: Can he locked the gate so that no one can enter? -- No.

If there is a part of the answer which you need more advice on, or clarity please continue in this same thread instead of opening a new question.

Att. Patrick

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