Accomodation nightmare

[Acacia123]

After the disaster that was results day, DD secured a place through clearing. It was the most stressful week I have ever had, and we were so relieved when it seemed to all fall into place.

Went on to the uni website to look at accomodation options, made a shortlist and phoned the accomodation office to book something only to be told there were no halls left.

So we had to go on a Facebook group for other freshers also looking for accomodation, and simply in the basis of a name and picture form a group of 5 and then rent a house through a letting agent. This was the second most stressful week of my life, but were again relieved to pay a holding fee and naively start planning moving day (time off work, car rental, packing etc).

Completed our paperwork, got references in order, signed guarantor forms - due to pay deposit and first months rent tomorrow (nearly £900 in total, massive but no surprise as we knew this from the start).

So in the group chat it has become apparent this evening that one of the girls cant pay tomorrow, she wont have the money till student finance comes through. I am hugely sympathetic as it is a massive amount of money, but she has known the deadline since.the beginning.

So the agent is threatening to put the house back on the market tomorrow and we loose our holding fee. And we have no accomodation.

This just sucks, we have to become hugely financially dependent on 4 other 18 year old girls that we know nothing about, no nothing about their ability or reliability to pay, complete strangers. And of course even though we are only the guarantors for DDs portion of the rent, the rental agreement says that each tenant is jointly and severely responsible for the rent, so in effect we could end up paying if any of the other girls dint meet their rent. We chose the cheapest reasonable house we could find but it is still over £2k per month for all 5 of them. It is terrifying.

It has just been such a massive roller coaster since results day and DD was finally starting to look forward to things again, and is now shattered.

Just want to get DD settled at Uni and for all the uncertainty to be over.

Just praying the other girl manages to get the money together in the meantime. I am not going to sleep tonight.

Great list @needmoresleep !

I'm also a landlord and went through a very similar process with DS this year, as he ended up being the leader/organiser of a flat.

He admitted his eyes were opened to the scare/pressure tactics of lettings agents and also how many mistakes were made by them in legal documents etc.

His flatmates happily signed their contracts and it was only when I made him sit down and compare the 'draft' and 'final' contracts side by side that we saw that they had changed some very important things and added a clause which was potentially detrimental.

For most 18/19 year olds this is the first time they've had to do this stuff, and it's unhelpful (neglectful?) as a parent to just adopt the 'sink or swim' approach, especially where large sums of money are at stake.

Glad it all got sorted, OP.

@felineflutter

Especially as one of the girls has already shown herself to be a bit flakey. My kids generally

How is waiting for Student Finance flakey?
FFS!

Of course it's not flakey to have to wait for student finance but it is flakey to leave it to the last minute and say nothing about it until the rent is actual due.

No need for snarky 'ffs' nonsense.

That's interesting @CornflakeMum , just out of interest what sort of changes did the agent make (whilst I hastily dig out our contract to double check!)

One small tip in these strange Covid times, is to read the bit in the contract about notice periods. At the moment landlords need to give six months notice rather than the normal two, something not all landlords, especially the "hobby" ones will be aware of.

If landlords get it right, tenants will be receiving S21 notices to vacate not too long after Christmas, which might worry them. It should not.

If one is not received you should note when the tenant needs to give notice. Probably two months, perhaps one, before the contract ends. If nothing is in there assume two. Then make a diary date shortly before then for your DC to inform the landlord and fellow tenants, that they are giving notice that they want the contract to end on the formal contract end date. Because of the joint and several nature of most contracts, one giving notice means they have all given notice.

Its an unlikely scenario, but one we are aware of. If no one gives notice the contract is assumed to continue. Which probably does not matter, unless one of the tenants does not want to vacate, or a rogue landlord has not found anyone for the following year.

It is also worth checking the paperwork. The landlord really should have an independent inventory carried out, and give the tenant about 10 days to correct/comment. If not make your own record, perhaps using photos, or what is there and the condition, and send it to him. Look up the local HMO licensing requirements and check whether the property is on the HMO register. (Again a lot of Councils have introduced selective additional HMO licensing recently and not all landlords are aware.) The landlord should supply a valid Gas Safe Certificate, an EICR electrical certificate, and a EPC. (No one in history has ever read an EPC, and in a lot of places landlords have zero to nil chance of finding an electrician able to carry out an EICR, as the requirement was only brought in on 1 June 2020 and covers just about every rental property in the country.) There should be a carbon monoxide alarm in an room with a gas appliance. (This is important, and if it isn't there they cost about £20, so buy your own and charge the landlord.) There should also be a working heat alarm in the kitchen and working smoke alarms on each floor. Worth testing them, as tenants often remove batteries. The landlord/agent should also check rights to live in the UK, and provide a Right to Rent leaflet. (I forget the exact name.)

Personally I would not worry too much if some of this is missing as long as the property looks as if it is in good order, especially if the landlord is obviously an amateur and simply has not kept up with spiralling requirements. (There is more, like risk assessments for legionnaires. I am quite cynical, but then I have spent the summer chasing electricians. Slum landlords ignore regulation anyway, so it is effectively a way of driving hobby landlords out of the sector.) Where it can be useful is if there is a later dispute. If any of the regulatory stuff is missing, the tenant has the upper hand. If there are h&s issues like non working alarms, blocked fire escape routes, or threadbare stair carpets, and the landlord/agent fails to respond to reasonable emails, it is a decision call whether to complain to the Council/ University/SU, or to keep it in your back pocket in case of a later dispute.

@Acacia123 - Theirs is a flat in a modern block and there was an additional clause which said the tenants would be liable for any costs arising associated with the property. It was very vague and potentially left them open to unspecified future costs which should be borne by the leaseholder/landlord e.g. maintenance/repair of public areas.

The rent and deposit figures were also wrong!!

The letting agents apologised and said the 'wrong draft' had been sent as the contract person was on holiday. Honestly, it was dreadful - it looked as if an intern had cobbled it together!

I finally got the contract for my sons flat today and son got email saying everything is online now in a quandary do we pay for a flat or does he stay at home aaargh I hate COVID

I'm so glad this has worked out OK for your DD OP. The negative comments were vile, and completely unnecessary. At the very least I'd like to think that my DC could always ask me for help, be they 18 or 48 tbh.

At the st

@Acacia123 Glad it's sorted. We're going through the same - it's very stressful and time consuming. It's not a uni in a town starting with F is it? (Apologies if you've already named it as I've only skimmed and will go back and read properly now!)

Off topic but how did the girls arrange their utility bills? We've been recommended Splitmybills.com but it's coming out at around £75 a month which seems a lot on top of rent.

This is an unusual year and people seem to be unduly hard on the poster. My sons just went into Bristol U halls 2 years ago, no complications, no parent guarantees - easy. This year is very unusual and students will need help from parents.

Houseplant, my sons used Glide in years 2 and 3 (private rentals) which I presume is similar to split my bills. One just got a bill of £800 for each person in the flat (which flat was empty save for one boy from March to July on which we were paying rent - I was paying it personally for my son's share).... we think because the agent gave over the wrong meter reading. My son has tried to raise it with the company and I don't know what has happened as he is 21 and I leave it to him but I would be happy to help if they need it as clearly they did not spend an extra £3k+ on power in a time when the flat was mostly empty.

So it has been decided by him that he will stay at home this semester as all online. I've cancelled the let of the flat it's not centrally heated and would be portable electric so bills if living there 24/7 would be astronomical so maybe dodged a bullet! Got to get used to him living at home for the foreseeable.

Well done OP.

Grumpy posters - how many of us move town and find shared accom with a week’s notice? At 18? It’s not normal times so move along...

I just can't believe there are so many parents who sort out their DC's accommodation for them. No wonder half of them arrive here barely able to cut up an onion or pay a bill

My parents sorted out my final diploma year accommodation for me and I can cut an onion and pay a bill. In fact you'd be disgusted with me, because I was a student for six years and I only found my own accommodation for one year of my undergraduate degree and one semester of my Masters year.

Parents help out their adult children where they can.

Also things have changed. I as never asked for a parental guarantor i year 2 nor my post grad year in the 1980s. These days all private landlords to students want one (in our case I pay their rent - no student loan and their father gives the guarantee - he gets the best deal as it does not cost him a penny! (so far))

@felineflutter

Especially as one of the girls has already shown herself to be a bit flakey. My kids generally

How is waiting for Student Finance flakey?
FFS!

As others have said, she could have opened a student bank account and used the automatic overdraft. This kind of thing is exactly what it is for!

I just can't believe there are so many parents who sort out their DC's accommodation for them. No wonder half of them arrive here barely able to cut up an onion or pay a bill

Far better to provide support and guidance to help them avoid mistakes rather than sitting back and, like watching a car crash, watch them make expensive/damaging mistakes. I don't understand why any parent would sit back and watch their child crash and burn in unfamiliar areas such as renting a house with others. It's high risk re potentially dodgy landlords & letting agents, legal agreements, etc etc. Completely different to paying a bill or chopping an onion.

@madmumofteens

So it has been decided by him that he will stay at home this semester as all online. I've cancelled the let of the flat it's not centrally heated and would be portable electric so bills if living there 24/7 would be astronomical so maybe dodged a bullet! Got to get used to him living at home for the foreseeable.

Good thinking, and yes, you/he have dodged a bullet re heating costs.

Imagine a comfortable middle-class family (inferred from their ability to stump up £900 and act as a guarantor) telling an 18 year old who's completely dependent on student finance to use her overdraft. How disgusting that she is in this position in the first place. How appalling to our this on her as well. Of course she hasn't got much idea how it works on practice; she's never done this before. Why would she think her student loan wouldn't come in time for her to pay her rent?

Put this on her

Salty, I agree but that is one reason I like university owned catered halls in year 1 and then you have time to get to know people and then find somewhere usually the December of the year before year 2 in normal times but this year is different.

However I don't agree with other parents paying for other people's children. My son is owed quite a bit - I think under £1k but even that I am not 100% sure of by a friend. He has not been chasing it nor given the person the full sum and obviously that is up to my son BUT that person's mother does not work full time as I have since since 1983 and I don't really see why I should bust a gut working so hard when someone whose child is very short of money is subsidised in effect by me. obviously my son's fault for going against my advice - neither a borrower nor a lender be amongst your friends but even so......

As others have said, she could have opened a student bank account and used the automatic overdraft. This kind of thing is exactly what it is for

I have a feeling that you can't use the overdraft on a student bank account until the first loan payment has gone in. Otherwise you could simply not enrol or apply for finance and merrily spend the bank's money.

This situation isn’t new. Loans have been late on many occasions and in the second year flat rentals and payments are often required before 1 July. The loans are not there. So parents have to think about how to help. Students have to think about it very seriously if parents are poor. Where is the money coming from to tide over the expense?

Has the government savings scheme matured for this cohort of students? Money Box on radio 4 looked at this. Not sure what it’s worth though.

If students are Lending vast amounts of money they are “rich” and clearly have more than they need. But, they make mistakes and have to, hopefully, learn from them. Even if it’s learning with parental money!

Slightly to one side of the topic.... PP mentioned her DD getting her flat mates to share family contact details with each other.
It is a good plan, DS2 had housemate who developed some serious MH issues. Deliberate self harm, suicide attempts and some risky behaviour. She was admitted to MH unit. He and another housemate then discovered that she had given her GP and the hospital their details as her next of kin. They were expected to find her and take her to appointments if she missed them. (He hadn't been in a relationship with her) They had to go to the unit and ask a nurse to be present while they asked her to change her next of kin. They knew that her relationship with her parents was terrible but they could not cope with the stress being NOK involved.
Details don't have to be a parent, just someone the others can contact in a crisis.

@Acacia123

I would be relieved to be in contact with the other parents because I am now a guarantor (in a crafty, roundabout way) for their daughters....! To the tune of £2k per month.

Fingers crossed for the student bank account then, sounds hopeful.

I'd be the same op! I hope you get it sorted out. You sound a lovely supportive mum!

The first CTF recipients gained control of the money in their fund if they turned 18 on 1st September (DS2 was in the first cohort - and iirc was the first CTF holder at the branch of the building society we decided to use). That is, they are currently in year 13. Assuming that the flakey girl in question wasn't accelerated a year at school, she would have been born between 1 and 365 days before the scheme was launched.