Landlord won't release DD from contract

[BethAfra]

I'm hoping someone can help/offer advice. DD just finishing 2nd year at uni and wants to change accommodation. Unfortunately she has already signed the contract to stay in the same place for next year. She spoke to the letting agency back in February explaining that she wanted to cancel and they said she could if she found a replacement tenant. So far she has found several but they have rejected each one for various reasons. It's quite annoying because the agency applied a lot of pressure back in September to get the students to sign up for another year, and IMO took advantage of their inexperienced, implying they would be homeless if they didn't. Now she wants to move courses to a different city and is a bit stuck. Does anyone know if there is an ombudsman for this sort of thing? I know she's adult but it all seems a bit exploitative to me, especially as she's had to pay another deposit even though they still have her deposit from last year.

That’s all very well, but if the market requires these sorts of contracts, it’s a case of accept them or don’t rent a flat.

Thanks so much for all the help and kind comments x

Whatever. My Uni student DC and friends don’t have “those sorts of contracts” and it’s a Uni town that was in the national news due to a housing shortage for students such that hundreds had to drop out of their course as they could not find anywhere to live. So I don’t agree “the market” is demanding such contracts.

So maybe the dropping out students did want the jointly and severally liable contracts which common in many university towns and cities? Just because agents in one city/town allegedly do not use them, you can find many that do. For the very simple reason: the rent is the rent irrespective of how many students there are in the property. So not remotely different from any other property rental. If it is £3000 a month between 6, the money has to be paid whether there are 6 in the property or 5. Where it is different is halls of residence which are per person rentals. Also some private halls of residence take 2nd and 3rd year students on this basis. Most rentals are for a monthly sum irrespective of number renting.

Did you DC negotiate such terms out of the their contracts? Or were they just not in there? If the former, very well done, but where my DC studies,any such attempt would just get a shrug as the agent turns to one of the other 2 people who viewed the flat the day it dropped. And if the latter, then their local market is evidentially different.

Do they have your address?

I negotiated these terms out of both their lease and my guaranty when I was sent the guarantor agreement. I don’t think the local market is that different in terms of demand. As I said it’s a Uni town -St Andrews is where they go. Start of term getting them a flat share was hair raising as there is a massive shortage of housing such that many students had to drop out of their course. Many others have gone to towns like Dundee an hour commute by bus/train or more away.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/22632231.protesters-take-streets-rental-accommodation-crisis-bites-students/

The St A situation sounds v grim, and a though local regulations are making it worse

In most areas the contract is between the student and the landlord. The parent is usually not recognised in the contract. Other than as guarantor. So most parents cannot negotiate anything about release from the contract. It was not signed by them and it’s not their contract.