Stuck in potentially v expensive limbo re next year's accommodation

[DrMadelineMaxwell]

DD has decided after y1 that Uni isn't for her. Living away from home isn't for her. She'd rather take the apprenticeship/trainee route into the same career. Partly also because the Uni course didn't really offer what it seemed to on the offer day (too many unrelated units required to be taken that aren't needed in the career).

We are all fine with this. Better than ploughing on when not enjoying it and adding to her debt.

Unfortunately she made the decision very late and had already signed up for accommodation in a Unite student flat for this year. They have offered it to one person already who didn't complete the booking, and then have offered it to someone else but no info yet as to whether that's going through.

Could be potentially very expensive!

It may sound harsh, but as soon as she finds a job she should be paying the Unite rent until a new tenant is found. There will be a lot of movement over the next couple of months. Visiting students may also be interested after Christmas.

I'm sure we'll be asking her to help. But she and we as guarantors will be paying 3k in Sept that she won't be able to afford to help much with on an apprenticeship wage of approx £7 an hour.

It is promising that as soon as the first person didn't finish their booking, there was someone else for them to offer it to next. They also said that if they haven't completed their booking by Thurs, that it will be offered to someone else, so I hope that means they have a long enough waiting list, now it's post-results day for someone to be able to take it, even if not straight away in Sept.

We had to swallow up paying double rent for a few months. You will need to keep pushing, as Unite doesn't care who pays the bill.

Have you put it on student room and reddit? You can try and find someone yourself to take over the contract, I don't think you have to wait for unite to find someone.
There will be people without guaranteed accommodation (insurance offer holders, second years etc) who might still be looking. This continues right into the first couple of weeks of term.

And double-check the contract. Most student accommodation contracts stipulate that the tenant/resident must be a student.
You can cancel the contract pretty much immediately if the contract stipulates that and your DC is no longer a student. You will lose the deposit but at least you are out of contract.
Imagine if your DC did go and live there and wasn't even a student but working in an office job etc - Unite don't usually allow this and so it tends to be included as a term in the contract.

Has she advertised it everywhere - Facebook parents groups, wiwikau etc.

She's no longer a student she cannot live there she doesnt need a replacement .. send an email to rhe cancellations team.

Mine successfully got out of a unite contract 3 years ago (Edinburgh). She was lucky that they were sure that they could sell the room for more (my DD had signed up to an early bird rate) so they released her immediately and just put the room back into the general sale. Could you ask if they would consider this. If the uni has a partnership with Unite (eg Unite runs halls for first years on behalf of uni) then ask student welfare to appeal to them on behalf of your DD as they will have more clout.

Sadly, reading the contract, no longer being a student means that you cannot stay in the accommodation, but it doesn't release her from the contract or the requirement to pay.

They had offered it to 2 separate people who had been pending with their applications, but both of those have fallen through. They don't have a waiting list for others to have the room offered to them. It's on the private side of the block, so no link to the university.

We have advertised the need for a lease takeover on every facebook site etc that they suggested. But time will tell whether anyone steps up.

We will sweeten the deal by paying for a month or two worth of rent if that's what it takes to get it shifted!

Sounds a bit odd that they expect to be paid for accommodation that they won't allow you to live in. Not sure how legally binding that kind of contract would be.

Happy to report the limbo is over!

The 2nd person's booking also wasn't completed and fell through.
They didn't have anyone on their waiting list to offer it to.
We advertised it everywhere.
We offered to pay some of the first term's rent to sweeten the deal. No takers.

Then DD got an email saying a 3rd person had been offered the booking. AND we had someone contact asking about it, with the offer of the rent, but we had to tell them to hang fire as it was on offer to someone else.

Last Sun they hadn't completed the booking (I've been on live chat A LOT keeping an eye on where it was up to with it all) so they emailed them.

Mon we found out they did complete the booking and then there was a 7 day cooling off period. It's not legally required for accommodation, but the company offered it.

The cooling off period was due to end tonight at midnight but if they moved in to the property it would trigger the end of the cooling off period early.

They must have moved in today as DD has been emailed to say the tenancy is cancelled and the deposit is being refunded.

Halleluiah.

Excellent news 😊