University 2019/20 intake: Gearing up to graduation (for some but not all)

[NewModelArmyMayhem18]

Previous thread

Good for your DD @bigTillyMint . I'd say landlords reckon students are 'easy prey' for exploitation.

There's been a lot of not-sorted-out-by-the-landlord 'snags' with DS's house this past year, so I think they will kick up a fuss if any opportunistic penalties against deposits materialise.

Any houses with damp issues should be condemned until properly sorted out and signed off by the local council.

TBF the rental cartels in Durham do seem to work quite well. DS said they send tradesmen out to sort problems quickly and as bills are included it is a lot easier, if not “real life”

Changing the subject slightly (based on a nother thread, if I'm allowed to do this).
Have many posters on here heard of Russel Group Universities outside of mumsnet?

I had because DD's school promoted the idea that RG universities were something to aim for.

I have been sent pics of the mattress. It has got lots of old looking stains. So I have no choice to pay. £360 for a new one (king size) plus £20 to take the old to the dump. The landlord has photos of the dirty mattress so there's not much I can do. I don't suppose he has photos of the mattresses before they went in. They all had protectors on when we arrived so didn't check. Ds had s thick mattress topper on the last year or so. So nothing would get through. He's been a good landlord. Kept the place well maintained etc. Ds said there would be no issues and the deposit would come back.

@icanbewhatiwant if your son had a thick topper I don’t see how the landlord can hold him responsible. I would be fighting this.
DD’s landlord was the same as second year house so god knows why they went to another of his holes! The house is a beautiful old property close to the library but next door to an old lady and on the other side an old people’s home. There were complaints when they hosted the netball team social in the street and rightly so. A friend has a son at Sheffield and the whole of his street is owned by a landlord. I thought there were rules against that.

@RampantIvy, yes both DCs schools (state comps) promoted RG unis as something to aim for. Plus we are both teachers. It’s a certain group of unis that joined together to promote themselves.

They have been a thing for ages, but maybe if your DC is the first in the family to go to uni, parents may not of heard of them?

I thought RG’s were research based and that’s why they have kudos.

RGs

@Benjispruce4, when we were in Durham, an Uber driver was telling us that nearly all the city centre properties are student rentals and that you have to get some sort of permit to rent out. DS said they are all rented through certain agents.

But Russell Groups aren't the be-all-and-end-all, are they? They are a self-selecting group. There are some universities consistently higher up the league tables (thinking Bath and Lancaster) than many RG ones (Cardiff and Newcastle comes to mind). But they've come to represent 'prestige' and schools help perpetuate that because it helps them look good too. And then on lots of MN threads (not this one), you'll find parents saying they'd never consider anything else for their DC.

I guess it’s because they have more power as part of a group and can attract more investment which in turn will add to the facilities and opportunities at their universities. But yes I agree there are fantastic unis that are not RG.

As for parents choosing, that’s just wrong. I’ve had nothing to do with my DD’s choices.

I really don't think anyone should be allowed to have more than a certain number of buy-to-let properties (five would seem a reasonable number) because it has the potential to be an exploitative enterprise, particularly if dealing with vulnerable people and students. I'm sure there are some altruistic and very fair landlords out there but not enough to ensure that people necessarily get what they pay for. Also, with the current system there's the potential for landlords to have the monopoly on rentals in given areas (as alluded to in a previous post) which presumably means rents can be set higher than they should be?

Definitely needs to be their choice as it's them that has to live with the decision. Also, better it's their error of judgement (if there is one) rather than yours.

DD is still enjoying her year abroad. She's had three presentations recently and has a number of essays to write over the summer. She's planning on returning home briefly in early August and then again for two weeks in September, before returning to Edinburgh.

I always tell my DC to photograph everything when they move into a new flat, and to make sure that the pictures are dated. DS can't get his deposit back (yet) because one of his housemates was in rent arrears and nobody gets anything until this is paid. Also, this particular student (slob!) had 7 bags of rubbish in his room, the removal of which has to be deducted from the tenants. It was reported to the landlord that this lad was responsible and they agreed to take all of it out of his deposit - only it turns out that he was the only one in the house not to pay a deposit at all, for some unfathomable reason! Hopefully they will get something back, eventually.

That sounds bad @simbobs

Wear and tear means a mattress of 1 year won't be perfect. What state was it in when dc moved in? I'd take it to dispute, doubt they'll take £380 out the deposit.

That is grim @simbobs, and very shoddy that a deposit wasn't ever collected from him. Good luck to the agent and landlord with getting that back from the 'slob boy'. Total PITA.

I entirely agree with @RedHelenB . A lot of what landlords chance their arm with charging students is really 'wear and tear' worthy. I totally believe they bank on students being sufficiently unassertive or not bothered to challenge the deposit deductions.

Also make sure you take final meter readings before the landlord uses loads of electricity on power tools etc in preparation for the next tenants.

Hi @ZandathePanda how is your younger DD doing?

I know a couple have asked before - I have to be careful as it’s very outing but she managed her exams (touch and go for a while). Two staff members cried when she managed to finish her last exam!

Ah @ZandathePanda thats amazing! What an achievement, very well done to her. What a battler, you must all be very proud and relieved. Wishing her well.

We will just pay the price for the mattress. The photos looked like someone had done a full wee on the bed. Right through both sides. It looked an old stain though. I didn't look at the mattress when Ds moved in. It had a cover on. So it may have been there already. I don't know. Lesson learned there. All Ds could say when I said we have to pay was "well that bed needs a new mattress. It was so lumpy" but I have no proof what happened. Ds said his gf spilled hot chocolate on the bed, I could see that, that was a different stain that looked much newer. He split up with the gf almost 2 years ago. The other dad says he's taking the landlord to court. I'm sure he won't though.

Ds is about to board his flight home from USA the reality will hit home soon. University over, holiday over. Now he needs to start job hunting.

@ZandathePanda great to hear about your younger dd completing her A levels.

So well done to your DD @ZandathePanda!

Well done to your DD @ZandathePanda. Graduation day is tomorrow for DD. We had an email from the university yesterday with an itinerary. As the hall isn't that big the actual graduation ceremony will take about 45 minutes. If you need to know anything else PM me and I will fill you in.