help from anyone who knows about uni tenancy agreements and special needs, so not niche at all!!!!!! Bit desperate so would really welcome help

[MargoLovebutter]

DS has diagnosis of ASD and a whole host of specific learning difficulties including dyslexia and dyspraxia.

Managed to get a place at Uni to read a subject that he loves. However, we've run into a real issue with his accommodation.

He applied through clearing and when he received notification of his place, there was only one accommodation option left available and the accommodation officer for his uni was helpfully on holiday, so there was no one to speak to. We therefore secured a place at a commercially run halls of residence that was recommended on the university website. The halls were apparently only 15 mins walk from the city centre/uni and seemed ok.

We arrived and the halls are a 45 minute walk out of town and are situated in the most dodgy area. Despite having asked that DS be placed with other students from his university, he is actually with 3rd years from a variety of different unis in the same city.

One of DS's biggest issues is anxiety and being miles out of town in a dodgy area is hugely anxiety provoking for him. He has to carry specialist gear in and out of the university most days, that is worth a lot of money and he has been chased by crack heads with sticks and had 3 attempts to steal his phone.

The other people sharing his flat have no interest in chatting to him, so he eats alone every single night and feels horribly isolated.

He has had lots of meetings with the disability coordinator and the accommodation officer, but there seems to be NOTHING they can do to help him to release him from his contract. He has his room advertised on all the relevant student web sites, but so far no one is interested in taking it.

In the meantime, he gets issued with a fine every single week by the private halls manager because the communal areas aren't properly clean - which means there are unwashed pots, pans and crockery in the kitchen. This sends DS into a further tailspin of anxiety, as he himself is incredibly clean and tidy but he gets massively stressed about having to clean up other people's dirty stuff and he doesn't know how to ask the others, who he never sees, for help.

Does anyone have any idea how we can break the 42 week contract with the halls of residence, so he can take up a place closer into town?

Any advice, suggestion really welcome.

If it’s the company I’m thinking of then little chance of breaking the contract, however, round about now people coming to study for a semester (usually from overseas) are looking for rooms. Most unis have a facebook group where people advertise, he could ask if any rooms have come up in halls.

Mmm if the address is correct you’ll struggle. I’d go with offering a financial compromise for an early surrender if you can.

At what point did you find out the exact address?

The address is on the website. I did look it up but it’s hard to tell on google maps in a city you don’t know.

We had no one to ask either. I feel so bad like I’ve condemned DS to a year of misery by not researching properly.

Get your son to talk to the students union at his uni. There may be others in a similar situation and the possibility of strength in numbers with taking action. There should be a Uni student support service too, and they can often advise on landlord disputes.

Was the 15 minute claim on the accommodation website or the Uni's website. If the latter, remind them that they are legally bound by the Compliance and Marketing Authority to ensure accuracy of such info. Wherever it was, make sure you screenshot it in case it's changed at some point.

Good luck.

I don’t understand the way the accommodation is inspected so often. You can’t do that with a private let! Even if you’ve signed a contract, that doesn’t override the law. I’d argue that he’s being harassed by the landlord with all of these checks and use that as grounds to leave.

Who signed the contract? You or your DS?
Could you argue because of ASD or LD he's not "fit" (wrong word, but I hope you know what I mean and are not offended) to sign a legal contract. This is actually one of the things I fear mist for my DS when growing up. He would sign anything if someone told him to.

Could he defer for a year?

@BananaDrama589
The issues are as follows:

1. OP's DS was told they were 15 minutes away. This is not the case, they are 3 times that distance, and regardless of what is and is not reasonable, that is not what he was offered.
2. The OP's DS has ASD. This comes with many sub problems. 2a. Moving out of his safe space away from those that make him comfortable is hugely anxiety inducing. The very fact that he's now alone will be kicking this into overdrive. 2b. The poor kid's completely alone because his flat mates have no interest in him. People with ASD often have trouble making and keeping friends, and are often bullied and isolated. Thus, if he's alone every single night this is going to have ramifications for his mental health. 2c. In 6-9 weeks this kid has been chased and had 3 attempts made to steal his possessions. A neurotypical person might feel anxious after that, an autistic person will certainly be scared shitless, particularly knowing how vulnerable it can feel when you're autistic. 2d. The kid is getting slapped with fines for shit he isn't doing. That's not right on many levels, but for someone with autism that takes yet another thing out of his control, when he has next to no control as it is. That's going to cause massive anxiety because he's doing everything he can and he's still getting fined. 2e. People with autism often find it hard to deal with anxiety because it's hard for them to pin point it, and often can push them very close to a massive meltdown because they can't deal with the anxiety anymore. This means it's going to be hard for him to study, hard for him to maintain his grades which will cause even more anxiety for him.

Now do you understand?

Thank you DrPeppersPhd. Everything you’ve said applies, you explained it better than I could.

As the OP is likely to be a guarantor, it's the OP who will be hit with the year's bill if he leaves!

From what you've said, the accommodation wasn't arranged through the University so unfortunately, they will be limited in what help they can offer.

Yes, I’m the guarantor and definitely don’t want any bailiffs turning up to take all my belongings in lieu of rent payment.

Lots of good advice here. Just wanted to add my oldest DS was in a similar position and that I empathise hugely- the anxiety/shyness/problems dealing with conflict/depression that comes with ASD are underestimated by people who haven't had to support a kid in that position. Uni accommodation arrangements are not set up for this but bloody well should be.

Thank you Spannablue. Empathy appreciated.

OP this is very tough.

I am a uni HoD and this type of situation makes me tear my hair out because it absolutely destroys students' degrees when they are living in awful places but there is just nothing we can do a lot of the time if a student has signed a contract with a private LL.

Has he approached the SU legal advice service? They probably cannot help but worth a go.

Also if it is on a list of recommended providers, tell someone at the accommodation office!

Thinking outside the box, does the uni have a law course? Maybe a law society or something can offer advice.

You would need to look at things like the terms of the contract and whether the landlord is in breach. Which I reckon they won’t be. The contract won’t say that it’s 15 mins away etc. But a law society might be able to guide you better

One potential angle you could go for is that he lacks capacity to enter the contract because of his autism and as such it is a simple licence not a fixed term AST, which I assume it is. In which case he would only need to give 4 weeks notice and would not be liable for any extra rent.

I agree with the person up thread who said that the penalties are unlikely unfair terms and also, as a disabled person the landlord, who has knowledge of the disability is obliged to comply with various sections of the Equality Act, in particular s35 (managing premises) and s20 (reasonable adjustments).

You might be able to suggest that they have negligently misstated the proximity of the accommodation to the town which if known he would never have taken up the same.

Go and see CAB or the students services off speak to a legal lawyer specialising in housing. A couple of hundred quid of a letter might extricate him from the agreement. Alternatively if the landlord is reliant on recommendations from the uni perhaps they can persuade the landlord to release him.

Huge sympathy to you and your son - what a stressful situation for you both. Personally I would be doing everything possible to get him out of this situation.

There is some useful information on the Citizens advice website

www.citizensadvice.org.uk/housing/renting-a-home/student-housing/students-in-private-rented-accommodation/student-housing-different-ways-to-rent-privately/

Assuming it is a Assured Shorthold tenancy there does seem to be a voluntary Code of Practice for private student halls which might be worth investigating.

www.nationalcode.org/Upload/File/NationalCode_Private.pdf

Section 3 on marketing certainly looks relevant in your case?

I also think you/your son should seek support from the NUS, and also access any support the Uni can offer for anxiety etc.
I hope you and your son get help to resolve this very unfair situation.

Thank you for more good suggestions. He’s in touch with the the disability support officer and the accommodation officer. I’m going to look into the legal side of things.