House share student dropped out before start of tenancy

[LindorDoubleChoc]

Any ideas gratefully received.

My son is in year 2 going into year 3 and had found a house share for six with five friends/fellow students. They got as far as tenancy agreements being drawn up but one of the six has now dropped out (I'm not sure if they signed the agreement or not).

The remainder have been advertising and putting the word out but no luck with finding a replacement so far. It's getting stressful as the new tenancy starts on 5th September (from memory).

WWYD as a concerned parent (and guarantor!) without taking over or trying to solve the problem for them? If there are any helpful pointers I'd like to nudge them in the right direction.

TIA.

I'm afraid I'm completely at a loss as to what you are advising SadTeacher?

If I gave the impression that I wasn't worried about the increased rent for the remaining 5 tenants, that's wrong @PinkFrogss. I actually hadn't mentioned it. It's not the most pressing issue just at the moment.

I wonder what sort of contract your child has. Both of my children have had numerous house shares, they have a contract for their share of the rent which I am a guarantor for. Their housemates have their own contract, they have to pay or find their own replacement. I’m not sure why you have the stress of finding a replacement for a person who is not your own child,
Hope you get it resolved anyway!

I'm just trying to help my son and his fellow flat mates out. If a new tenant isn't found they will each be paying £100 more per month in rent.

Are in any of the people he is sharing with in third year the same as he shared with in second year?

Why did this person drop out of the house share?

Yes, he shares with one of them currently.

I'm not sure why the 6th person dropped out but ds says she didn't like the idea of drawing straws for the best rooms.

It's often called tenancy takeover, Google for any local sites or Facebook pages where people advertise or look for tenancy takeovers, particularly Facebook groups for new students or parents of students at your university.

First I would establish if they had actually signed the agreement, if they didn't then finding a replacement would be your best solution, as you are probably liable as a guarantor. (check your contract, it may say joint & several liability)

If they did sign, then they are liable, and so is their guarantor assuming they had one. You may also find it problematic to install a replacement without the agreement of the landlord or agent, I would speak to them asap.

Whilst this may sound like a disaster, it probably won't be and you should be able to resolve it, I wish you luck.

Probably already thought of this but presumably the others he was sharing with have all found other places for this year, do they know anyone who might be looking? Maybe someone who didn’t agree in time and may now have nowhere to stay?

It sounds like she didn’t drop out but found somewhere else to live, if so they could try and find out where she found her current place and do the same thing.

If some rooms are better than others is it the worst room they’re currently advertising?

Also who has paid her share of the deposit?

There are lots of performing arts colleges in Brighton who don’t have their own halls for first years. Places like BIMM & Waterbear. Get into their Facebook groups & advertise.

Thanks everyone for the useful advice on this thread. I will share with my son when I see him tomorrow.

This happened to one of our sons and they advertised on the student net.
If the rent is for the whole house then the other students still have to foot the bill ( or their guarantors)
If the rent is by room then the tenants won’t have to but
I wouldn’t leave it up to the LL to find a new tenant in this situation. Your dc will want someone they get on with

Just advertise

Lots of students will have just gone through clearing now and won’t necessarily have hall accommodation

Will they?
Won't the person who has dropped out or their guarantor be responsible for it, not the remaining tenants?

If she didn’t sign the contract no and OP said she wasn’t sure if she did.