Advice needed urgently re getting out of AST contract- mentally ill daughter.

[Floundering]

Sorry long as don't want to drip feed

20 year old daughter has been diagnosed with severe clinical depression
(at Uni-second year) and part of the problem has been the shithole of a house-share she is living in as she left it too late last year to get something decent & a friend let her down. (with hindsight she was starting to go downhill but hid it well)

We knew the place was shabby but a typical student digs & the agent promised it would be freshened up, repainted & repaired for her moving in with 3 boys. it was barely cleaned. The boys are nice lads but absolute pigs, and while normally she would stand her own about them doing the fair share of chores, (and she is no domestic goddess herself! ) it was yet another thing she became unable to deal with.

She & her GP thought it would be a good thing if she moved back into halls so she is now getting that sorted & her Uni have been brilliant about helping her.

If push comes to shove we will have to find the money to pay her new rent while finishing off her AST which ends in July & TBH part of me thinks why should the landlord should lose out as I doubt they'll be able to let it for 4 months. However, as I am a single parent on low income & she only has a grant I am also wondering if we can cite the force majeur clause in her contract or is that literally only for acts of god, the definition (as I know it) being

"unforeseeable circumstances that prevent someone from fulfilling a contract."

But any advice would be appreciated there is nothing that jumps out at us re penalties or anything but it's a fairly basic contract.

TIA

[holidaysarenice]

Whilst it's unfortunate for your daughter it is not your landlords fault.

You have chosen to pay for two rents.

Is it a joint contract or separate ones and who is guarantor?

Ultimately you will have to absorb this cost as you have chosen to rents halls as well. It's a tough but good lesson to know for students that contracts can't be broken.

Can the disability fund of the uni help with some money if she's struggling with mental health?
What uni is she? Some have better loans/grants than others?

[Floundering]

Holiday thanks for the reply. I agree, the LL should not lose out but I also feel the letting agents should bear some responsibility as they have not done mid term inspections or anything to earn their commision & one other tenant has moved out I now find discover.

We didn't choose to pay 2 rents but it was / is an attempt to get DD into somewhere that will help get her out of the mire she is in before she has complete nervous breakdown.It is not the sole reason obviously but isn't helping & her GP thought it a good idea.

She is well aware of her contractual obligations which is adding to her stress as she doesn't want to put added financial burden on me as her guarantor. (joint contract) She will use her grant to pay the rents, luckily she has been very good with her budget over the last year so can just about do it. I will have to bale her out as & when she needs it in future if needed, her health is the important thing.

Her uni has been very helpful so far & she has an appt with the MH support team on Weds so I will suggest she asks about any extra funding.

[gallicgirl]

Has she signed an individual AST or is she named on a joint AST with the 3 lads she shares with?

If the latter then it's worth bearing in mind that they would be obliged to make up any shortfall in rent. Best scenario would be for them to find someone to take over your daughters room.

[Floundering]

She is named on the joint AST (as they all are) with the parents as guarantors. The agents are supposed to be looking for someone for the room of the boy that has left but they haven't made any effort to do so & won't get anyone I shouldn't think the state it is in. AFAIK his mother is still paying the rent so of course the agent won't make much effort, probably hasn't even told the LL.

[specialsubject]

student houses often end up like this, disgusting as it is. Have you spoken to the landlord directly? It is indeed entirely possible that the agents aren't bothering to pass on the information.

If the landlord doesn't know what is going on, he/she will be very grateful to you for flagging it up. While he doesn't have to let your daughter out of the contract, students that leave is part of the deal with being a student landlord and it doesn't hurt to ask for some kind of compromise. He should also be made aware of the state of the property; he may assume that the agents will do their job. (BZZZT - wrong!!)

(to save effort for the landlord haters, I will say that he may not be bothered and be quite happy to rent out a dump. Of course the other tenants and the previous residents have done their share of wrecking it)

I wish her improved health and hope you can sort this out quickly.

[Floundering]

Thanks special , yes I'm sure student digs do & if she were well I'd probably make her stick it out -TBF she wouldn't have let it get that bad but its yet another thing that has been easier to let go.

I was thinking of asking to speak to the landlord direct - he bought the place 15 years ago when his son was at uni & has kept it on. At £1000 a month he's probably paid off the mortgage & has clearly not spent much on the place

Maybe as a parent of an ex uni student he'll be sympathetic, worth a try. Got to get past the gorgon at the estate agents first.

!

[specialsubject]

what the landlord paid for the property is irrelevant, as is the mortgage status. You have no idea what his/her financial status is. He may also have had it wrecked so often that he has given up making it look good, although obviously it should be safe with everything working.

but you are legally entitled to his/her contact details so demand them. Remember agents need no qualifications or insurance, so the 'gorgon' may not actually know the rules. There have been letting agents posting on here that think they can just walk into properties, for example.

I agree that circumstances are not normal and your daughter needs to get out of this place.

[Floundering]

Special, I am well aware I have no knowledge of the LL's specific financial position although the agent has told me a bit about him, and the state of the house leads me to deduce he has not spent much if anything on the property.
I am also aware of the trashed state some students leave properties in, but that's the risk you take as a LL & should insure / furnish with basic but cheap furnishings that do the job. This LL has done neither & a lot of the fittings are dubious safety wise and very old & tatty at best so forgive me for thinking he is not re- investing in his nest egg.

I am a LL myself so I'm, not having a go at reasonable ones, but this was not a good one. I am contacting the Uni accomodations office with the info as they have a black list of agents just to give them the heads up as they are very good with the advice they give students moving out. She has never done an inspection for example & repairs take an age to get rectified. I have a rented home & I have a routine inspection by arrangement every 6 weeks by the agents & repairs are OK;d with my LL & actioned within a week.

My DD has now secured a room in halls so her father is helping her move out, then he is going with her to the agents, to see what can be done if anythng.

Thanks for the advice.

[LadyRainicorn]

Is there no break clause in the contract? I've been living on 12month ASTs for all of my adult live and I struggle to remember a contract where once the first 6months were up you couldn't give 2 months notice- this would at least cut down the time you'd be paying two rents for. And definitely sort out whether she's done a seperately and severally liable contract or not as that will have a big impact on whether she can be chased for money or not.

[specialsubject]

ok. I assumed this was going towards the 'all-landlords-have-too-much-money-and-should-be-shot' which is normal on here.

having read your further info it sounds like a real dump, and the Uni accommodation office should indeed blacklist it. Having the place wrecked is indeed par for the course with student letting - which is why I would never touch it.

glad your daughter has somewhere else to go.

BTW six-weekly inspections?? Really?

[Floundering]

Special know what you mean

Yes I think you have to be very lucky or have nerves of steel to do student lets.

She's moved in now & the agent is actually being very helpful to be fair, think she could see DD was/is genuine when she went in with ExH.

Yes 6 weekly inspections, they come round v quickly!! But helps the agents tell the LL's hand on heart all is well & no marijuana farms

Also means the house gets a good sort out so forces me to be tidier so all good!!!

LadyR I don't think so but the agent is contacting the LL to see if there is any compromise. Her dad has said he'l cover the shortfall if push comes to shove so thats a welcome surprise!

[specialsubject]

hang on - YOU are the tenant and get six weekly inspections? Wowser. If you are happy, fine, but as a landlord I work on a check after a month or so to make sure all is well, then every six months or so. All with plenty of notice and tenant permission of course.

six-weekly sounds a serious disruption of your right to 'peaceful enjoyment'.

[Floundering]

shrugs I know sounds like it but they are very polite & mindful of privacy, arranged by mutual agreement, dates rearranged if not convenient & they're in & out in 5 minutes so doesn't bother me.