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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To expect a flat that is habitable after shelling out £12k to move in

249 replies

orangefusion · 20/09/2014 22:20

I have posted this in legal but for traffic I am posting here too. I am so upset...

...I have just returned from dropping my son off at his first flat as a tennant- he is in his second year at uni having had halls last year. The flat was found by his friends while he was away over the summer and he did not see it until today.
The place is unibhabitable. There is six inches of damp above all the skirting boards, one bedroom is "being treated" the floor is soaking concrete, the whole place stinks of damp- the air is so humid that nothing will dry, it is insecure and the windows need to be open to breathe but it is a basement in New Cross- there are no bars or proper window locks so the windows have to be kept shut. The b***d landlord has taken 6 months rent off the boys, and a £2100 deposit. There was a dead rat in the bin which had clearly been a live rat when it climbed in. I had to leave him there but I wanted to bring him home again or check him into a hotel.
What rights have these poor kids got? The place is disgusting and I am at a loss to know how calling the agent is going to make any difference because they knew it was like this when they let it. They will fob me off with platitudes but they do not have to live there.
I want to cry- he was so excited about living out of halls but this is just so awful.
Any legal bods out there who can suggest the best thing for me to do to help?

OP posts:
munchkin2902 · 21/09/2014 09:48

Oh - and forgot to say you and your son have my sympathy - it's so difficult to know if you can trust landlords sometimes and they seem to have all the power in situations like this which makes me so angry (and I say this as a landlord myself.)

Laquitar · 21/09/2014 09:55

I dont undetstand. 12K just from you or all of you?

Your son now will learn that he must not rely on others and he must view any house before he pays money, especially 6 m advance. Whatever you do dont do it on your own but with your son, he must make the phone calls etc. he must be at least 20yr old?

plecofjustice · 21/09/2014 09:59

Your son is an adult and will have to deal with this himself. You can informally support him, but cannot contact the university or landlord on his behalf - they cannot talk to you, it is illegal.

If it's New Cross, is he Goldsmith's? If so, he needs to contact their Student Services. If he's going into his second year, he should have all their contact details. If he's not, his own institution will have student services he can contact.

He should also urgently contact University of London Housing for advice, they will be able to provide the specialist legal advice he will need to break the contract.

You need to speak to him and help him plan a strategy for doing this, then help him with the answers he will get. Do not get directly involved on his behalf.

Unfortunately the London student rental market is a minefield, with a lot of unscrupulous people out there. This is unfortunately going to have to be a bit of a life lesson for him and his friends.

pinkdelight · 21/09/2014 10:09

How many boys are there? Just trying to work out if the flat is actually expensive or cheap for the area. My bro has rented his tiny studio flat in New Cross out for a crazy £1k pcm so am wondering if maybe this is all your DS could get in zone 2? Not that it makes an uninhabitable place acceptable but did they go for area rather than habitable property?

Fwiw I remember having a similar hole in Brixton in my first year out of halls. Damp, filthy and crumbling. One mum stopped her DD living there - turned up like you did and left the same day. Me and two mates stuck it for six months but probably shouldn't have. Difference then was it was only £40pw each.

Original poster
orangefusion · 21/09/2014 10:41

I have the landlords name and address it is on the contract. I have been hassling the agent for three weeks for reciepts for the rent and deposit but nothing has been forthcoming. We had to pay the landlord direct into his account so I will start hassling the landlord tomorrow.

I have just spoken to one of the other parents and we will tell the boys to get EH in tomorrow. I have emailed EH with the pictures this morning.

OP posts:
Shockers · 21/09/2014 10:51

My son sorted his own accommodation in his second year and the result was a lung infection because of the spores. He was hospitalised.
The damp wasn't as bad as in that picture.

blanklook · 21/09/2014 10:56

I have the landlords name and address it is on the contract. I have been hassling the agent for three weeks for reciepts for the rent and deposit but nothing has been forthcoming. We had to pay the landlord direct into his account so I will start hassling the landlord tomorrow.

Worth notifying the taxman ? Paying cash into a private account and no receipts....

PragmaticWench · 21/09/2014 10:57

As it may take some time to find another flat to rent, your son should ask his university housing if they have any emergency accommodation available. I had a similar situation and turned up at the start of term to find the property had no running water, no internal doors, no heating and no toilet or shower fitted. Student services and housing worked together and got me a spare place in halls.

LoxleyBarrett · 21/09/2014 11:31

I lived in some hell holes as a student, but even i am shocked by that. One of our houses was condemned as uninhabitable by EH for a lot less - we got our money back in full.

extremepie · 21/09/2014 11:37

I would be very very concerned about the landlord getting the money direct into his account, they are not allowed to do that for, deposits at least :/

Good luck, hope your son gets something sorted :)

VestaCurry · 21/09/2014 11:45

Good advice from pieceofjustice, but I do think it being clear that an adult (ie parent) with a lot more life experience is visibly supporting the complaints process. I lived in London as a student and yes there were some dives, but rents in London (1980's) were not the crazy prices of today. There were unscrupulous landlords, just as there are now, but today, ripping off tenants has become spectacularly lucrative.
Hope this get sorted, the place looks beyond uninhabitable.

VestaCurry · 21/09/2014 11:49

Just read the money went straight into the landlord's account Sad. Any deposit should have gone into the Deposit Protection system. It going straight into his account screams dodgy straight away. Did the friends arrange all this? They may well not have known this is not how scrupulous landlords operate Sad.

HavanaSlife · 21/09/2014 12:27

Thats awful, I hope you manage to get something sorted

Mintyy · 21/09/2014 12:32

Go to the newspapers. What about South London Press?

Sorry if you've already answered this and I've missed it, but why did they pay 6 months upfront?

Who are the Agents?

plecofjustice · 21/09/2014 13:13

Mintyy

Because that's what London landlords expect from students nowadays.

Mintyy · 21/09/2014 13:17

Shocking!

PhaedraIsMyName · 21/09/2014 13:24

Just read the money went straight into the landlord's account . Any deposit should have gone into the Deposit Protection system. It going straight into his account screams dodgy

Not necessarily. My letting agency sends the deposit to me it goes into my account and then into the deposit protection scheme. The deposit has to be dealt with under one of the schemes and landlord has to tell them which but stick to facts. Paying it to the landlord in the first instance is not of itself wrong.

bumpiesonamission · 21/09/2014 13:30

In my 2nd year, we sued our ll for less than that. Take pictures, contact environmental health, the uni, nus and the agents.

Get all correspondence in written and time frames as well.

Good luck

Aeroflotgirl · 21/09/2014 13:45

Gosh it is bad, it has to meet a certain requirement fit for living, it does not. Windows that cannot open are illegal, I would definitely go to the Agent and environmental health.

Quangle · 21/09/2014 13:50

Deposits stay in the ll's account but under protection of the deposit protection scheme. So that bit is normal but the flat is not. Awful. I would def contact university and local authority. Good luck!

VestaCurry · 21/09/2014 13:51

Phaedra, even if this happens, we would not be happy as tenants. There's no reason for the money to go to the landlord before it goes to the scheme. We have been landlords and as far as we were concerned, deposit going straight into the scheme was good practice. This is what our tenants expected too.

CarmineRose1978 · 21/09/2014 13:52

In the 90s, we paid our landlord direct by cheque, a term in advance... Never really thought before about how dodgy this was!

That place isn't remotely inhabitable, OP! Your son should definitely get on to the his university housing office/student centre. When does term actually start? Could he come home for another week or so?

Quangle · 21/09/2014 13:53

Vesta that's how the scheme I use works too. The money goes to my account and I protect it from there. I used the scheme my agent recommended to me.

AnotherStitchInTime · 21/09/2014 13:54

Housing Health and Safety Rating System. You may find this helpful OP.

Quangle · 21/09/2014 13:55

I think the rules are that it has to be protected within 30 days of receipt.

Only pointing out that there are different schemes in operation so OP shouldn't necessarily focus on that being dodgy but that the flat is absolutely horrendous. How much is the flat altogether OP?

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