Couple ‘shocked’ to seek out landlord secretly climbing over backyard fence
A couple were astonished to come home to the sight of their landlord climbing over the fence to get into their home.
Tenant Brian Liang said he and his wife thought there was an intruder trying to break into the property when they spotted the man clambering over their wooden fence in Gloucestershire.
However, on closer inspection they were stunned to see that it was their landlord, Mohammed Dulaimi.
They had only left the house in Stoke Gifford for a walk into town, claiming they had not received any notice of the visit.
However, Mr Dulaimi said he wrote to his tenants giving notice of a planned inspection, adding that he had tried to enter the property with his keys, but they were not working.
Brian Liang revealed that his wife has been left frightened and wanting to leave their two-bed, £1,440-a-month Gloucestershire property as she no longer feels safe after seeing their landlord climbing over their fence for an ‘inspection’
The couple live in Stoke Gifford (pictured) – a Bristol suburb to the north of the city
Mr Laing said his wife was left frightened by the incident and wants to leave their two-bed, £1,440-a-month property as she no longer feels safe.
He told Bristol Live he let his landlord in ‘out of courtesy’ despite apparently not receiving the WhatsApp his landlord claims to have sent.
He said: ‘We were informed by our neighbour that he tried to use the spare keys. At the time myself and my wife were out for a walk in the neighbourhood and from a distance we saw a man trying to enter the property with keys.
‘After several attempts, he tried to go over the fence and the neighbour tried to stop him from across the road but he didn’t pay attention to her and continued to climb the fence.
‘For some reason he could not enter with the keys, I think he was not very familiar with them.
‘At first we were very frightened but we later realised it was the landlord. We asked him the purpose of his visit and he said he was there to do an inspection.’
Landlords are required to give 24 hours written notice of any visit, otherwise tenants are entitled to refuse entry.
Mr Dulaimi claimed that as the married couple’s lease is coming up for renewal, the home had to be visited. with July 26 the proposed date.
The residents noticed somebody trying to open the door from a distance before they moved round to the side of the property.
The landlord revealed that there is a door in the fence at the side of the property which he himself reinforced with a dead bolt lock.
Testing out his security handiwork, Mr Dulaimi said he tried to reach over the fence to unlock the gate.
‘A neighbour tried to stop him from across the road but he didn’t pay attention to her and continued to climb the fence,’ Mr Liang said.
But as he struggled, the landlord saw the tenants through the opposite window which prompted him to abandon his mission and return to the front of the property.
Mr Dulaimi said the inspection was then finally carried out.
