Unihabitable Flat- what can be done?

[orangefusion]

I have just returned from dropping my son off at his first flat as a tennant- he is in his second year at uni having had halls last year. The flat was found by his friends while he was away over the summer and he did not see it until today.

The place is unibhabitable. There is six inches of damp above all the skirting boards, one bedroom is "being treated" the floor is soaking concrete, the whole place stinks of damp- the air is so humid that nothing will dry, it is insecure and the windows need to be open to breathe but it is a basement in New Cross- there are no bars or proper window locks so the windows have to be kept shut. The b***d landlord has taken 6 months rent off the boys, and a £2100 deposit. There was a dead rat in the bin which had clearly been a live rat when it climbed in. I had to leave him there but I wanted to bring him home again or check him into a hotel.
What rights have these poor kids got? The place is disgusting and I am at a loss to know how calling the agent is going to make any difference because they knew it was like this when they let it. They will fob me off with platitudes but they do not have to live there.
I want to cry- he was so excited about living out of halls but this is just so awful.
Any property lawyers out there who can suggest the best thing for me to do to help?

Actually the boys have paid out more than £12k to move into this place- six months rent each plus the deposit.

I am not a legal person, but didn't any of the boys actually see the flat before they agreed to it? What do they think?

Hope you got lots of video footage.

Try Shelter for advice. Probably best to call them but this page might be useful
england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/repairs_and_bad_conditions/responsibility_for_repairs/repairs_in_rented_homes_-_whos_responsible_for_what

Does the uni have a housing officer? Similar thing happened to DH and although it was a private rental the liaison officer at the uni did everything for them, with the end result being the LL being taken to court, fined and paying their money back. He still had to live in it all year though, and it was shit.

I'm sorry this has happened to your ds. I think it is disgusting the way students are treated by a lot of LLs and estate agencies. Is there any way you can get alternative accommodation for him, as the process might be a slow one.

Thanks all I made the mistake of posting in two places and missed these responses. I just posted a pic of the room in AIBU.

I am all fired up and upset right now. I think I need to go to sleep and let it settle a bit. I have the number of one of the other boy's parents and I will call them in the morning.

We cant afford another lot of 6 months to move them, but as the agent is also the developer maybe we can get another property from them.

Also, Lewisham Council are supposed to be cracking down on rogue landlords. Its website says
"If you are a tenant renting privately and need help call the tenancy relations officer on 020 8314 8688 or 020 8314 8689.

And it might be worth getting in touch with Lewisham's Environmental Health (residential) department
Tel: 020 8314 6420
Email: [email protected]

as a landlord - I HATE rogues like this, who are clearly preying on the uninformed. Despicable. Agents are unregulated and our government seems neither to notice or care.

get on to the council and shelter as well as the uni.

have they signed anything? Do they have the prescribed information for the deposit in its protection scheme? (yeah, right...) Because the landlord is legally obliged to protect the deposit and not doing so means his arse can be sued for 3 times its value.

take no prisoners.

Special- I like your tone- take no prisoners indeed.

I also posted this in AIBU and there is a longer version of the full story.

Thanks so much for your help everyone.

Patty- thanks for the numbers I have send them to my boy and will call them myself too.

Any update OP? I hope you and/or your son are ringing the landlord, agent, local council and the uni accommodation office today to get this sorted. Its appalling.

Hi Happyyoni
I have moved the thread to AIBU, it got a lot more traffic... there is an update there. Thanks for looking in :) It is comforting to know there are people who care.