Student accommodation problems

[clopper]

My DD has signed an agreement to rent a house with two other girls at the university. One girl says she will have to drop out as her loan is less than she thought it would be for the 2nd year ( plus I think she wants to leave uni). Not sure how this leaves us as we have to guarantee the rent, which the three parent guarantors have.

After having bad experiences with flatmates in halls during the first year, both girls left do not want to live with a random unknown. The leaving girl just says ‘get someone else’ which is not easy to do.

The letting agent has amended the contract several times and a few days ago sent another contract to sign ( each time just changing the moving in and out dates by 1 or two days!) I am wondering where we stand with this now as they have issued another contract a few days ago, changing the dates again? Could DD and her friend get out of the contract because of this. I am so worried about my daughter, she had such a terrible time in senior school being bullied and ostracised and then her flat at hall was drugs and party central, not her scene at all. She is remarkably resilient but this is breaking us.

Is it that the agent can change the contract but we have to abide by it ? It will financially cripple us if I had to pay 2 lots of rent. I suspect they will pursue me as I am the higher earner of the two girls remaining. The whole issue of student tenancies seems to stink to me. I would appreciate any advice about this, many thanks.

They should be pursuing the girl who has dropped out. She will be chased first I would think. She can't just drop out if she's signed the agreement as well.

is it a joint tenancy or had each girl only agreed to rent their own room?

have all three signed the new contracts?

how does it keep being amended if it has been signed?

Thanks for your reply. I think they should chase her as well. I think my DD would be better off scrapping this one or looking for a 2 bed, but she can’t with this hanging over her.

Read your guarantor agreement. The one I signed for my DC stated that I had no joint or several liability to cover any unpaid rent of any flat mate or any damage caused by any flat mate. What I sighed as guarantor for was only my DCs share of the rent and any damage directly caused by my DC that exceeds the deposit amount. The guarantor agreement should state the exact monthly share of the rent your DC is being charged. You cannot be charged more than that unless you signed as guarantor with joint or several liability for other flat mates….I hope you didn’t this would be very unusual if you were sent such an agreement to sign.

Any vacancy of a flat mate is up to the letting agent or landlord to advertise, find and fill. Usually the sitting tenants meet any prospective tenants and have a say in who is chosen to join as a new flat mate. How much say depends on demand and how nice the letting agent is. My DC was interviews by the sitting tenants and chosen out of a dozen applicants.

So while a disappointment one girl cannot join them in the flat as planned, it shouldn’t affect you or your DC too terribly much. That bedroom just stays vacant until a new flat mate moves in.

Not sure why it keeps being amended but they keep changing the in/ out dates. No one has signed the one they sent last week yet. Does the new one supersede the old one they all signed or can the agents fall back on that?

A new tenancy agreement will supersede an old one once both parties have signed it. While the new agreement stays unsigned, the most recent one signed by both parties is still in force. You can’t get out of a signed tenancy agreement just because a new amendment has been sent for you to consuder & if agree with sign.

I’d recommend your daughter speaks to the University’s accommodation department - they will have experience of this.

With only 3 bedrooms it won’t be a HMO which means they could have signed a joint tenancy which means the advice from @Discovereads may not apply.

Csn your daughter or her flatmate find a third person to join them? Given that the other girl is most likely not going to pay under any circumstances (regardless of the contract) I’m not sure it’s reasonable to expect the landlord to leave the third room empty for a year. If your daughter and her flatmate want to live with an empty room rather than a “random” person they can split the cost.

The girl who moved out is liable to either pay for the whole year or find a replacement herself.

It isn’t clear from the photos @clopper if it’s a joint tenancy or not. Does your DD have the tenancy agreement? If they are all separately renting individual rooms then the girl who is leaving could, with the landlord’s agreement, sever her tenancy early and have someone else take over. If it’s a joint tenancy then it would need the agreement of the remaining two girls so they could say no but then they may find themselves liable for the remaining rent if the departing girl doesn’t pay up.

Agree with PPs that you need to find out what you are liable for. In my experience they are often unfortunately joint tenancy agreements leaving the others liable - this was the case with me. One of my house mates did not pay for 3 months and they were going to use our deposits to cover it.

Agree it all depends on the type of tenancy agreement your DC signed.

Since you mentioned all 3 parents signing the guarantor agreement you uploaded, it appears you are only liable for your DC’s share of the rent.

However, if it is a joint tenancy, then it would now be that the whole house is now split two ways instead of three and so your DC’s share of the rent would now be 1/2 instead of the originally planned 1/3rd.

Since the tenancy hasn’t started yet…this is for next school year starting in September correct? They can’t realistically go after the other girl either as you have the right to get out of a tenancy up until the day you pick up the keys to move in. The LL can only come after you if there is any loss…and with months to go until September it would be hard to prove loss of rental income…plenty of time to readvertise.

Hopefully they can get a 3rd person to move in. They can advertise on places like Spare Room or the University’s own accommodation website…universities usually have a web page listing private rentals or flat shares that are available submitted by landlord or students seeking house/flat mates. After results day. A new batch of freshers will be looking for accommodation so you have time to do this.

You are right an option is to scrap this house and your DC and the other DC find a two bedroom place. But student private rentals are going like hotcakes in most uni towns now and there is risk they may not find a suitable place.

Not necessarily, HMOs don’t always have lots of bedrooms. My DCs flat that I wrote about has only 3 bedrooms/2 flatmates.

I think it is a joint tenancy

Discoverreads thanks some good advice there. I did say to them you might be able to find a fresher or a person that comes through clearing. I guess they are just nervous, the exposure to drugs and excessive drinking in their uni accommodation has made them nervous. I think she has ASD traits ( not diagnosed) and is recovering from an eating disorder. I feel just so sad about it all. She’s been let down yet again.

I just want her to have a happy year. She was suicidal before uni through the bullying and exclusion. I feel at this point I would happily just get a loan for the remaining third and pay it myself so that she has some peace of mind.

this is probably due to the fact that’s my DSis committed suicide in her early 20s, it has coloured my view somewhat.

In some council areas, 3 beds is an HMO and most student lets are for the house, not by room. Most student lets are therefore on a joint tenancy, for both rent and property damage, and the parent acting as guarantor is guaranteeing the liability of their child under the tenancy. This liability is the whole rent if anyone doesn’t pay and any damage, even if caused by someone else, unless a clause is added to the contrary. There is the risk that the landlord will simply pursue the guarantor most likely to pay. For this reason, many parents acting as guarantors take out guarantor insurance.

We had someone pull out and the landlord was very understanding, confirming the departing student would be the one he chased if a replacement student, that the remaining tenants liked, couldn’t be found. Maybe a chat with the landlord to explain the situation and they may be very understanding.

If you’re on Facebook, join What I Wish I’d Known About University. There have been plenty of discussions on there about similar issues and someone there may be able to advise what course of action they took. There are also suggestions about how to find a replacement and, occasionally, a parent desperately trying to find a room for their child who is unhappy with their current house. Hope things work out.

After a 2nd year from hell with "friends" from first year my DD decided to move into a flat with two girls she didn't know. They had been let down like your DD. DD wanted a business arrangement, not friends falling out ganging up. She said it was the best thing she ever did and the two girls became friends but no expectations, no let downs.

I wouldn't write off the idea of finding someone.

Oh I understand your worry, having been through that with your sister it is a nightmare for you.

The girl not paying should be chased first I think, then her guarantor. I don't imagine they will want negatives on their credit record so it might not come down to you. I think you need to speak to the letting agent, they have loads of experience with this sort of thing so will be able to give accurate advice.

When I had issues with the house one of mine was in we went through the student welfare office and they were helpful.

I do hope you get it sorted.

Im so sorry you lost your sister to suicide. 💐

I completely understand your worries. Your DD has one person she knows she can live with, I’d be trying to make that happen in your shoes as well. You could contact the other guarantor and discuss them covering half of the leaving girls share so the house is split 50/50 if at worst case they can’t find anyone instead of you paying 2/3rds to their 1/3rd.

I think you are right to be worried that they will chase you for the money. They are unlikely to chase the student as they don’t tend to have much money, they will go for which ever guarantor they think they can get the money from. I would tell the girl that has dropped out that she has to pay until she finds a replacement tenant. Morally that is the way to deal with a situation like this although I don’t think you can enforce it. Alternatively, the remaining students find someone that the landlord is prepared to accept as a replacement tenant. You’d be very lucky to get released from the signed contract although obviously no harm in asking. In the future, either take out guarantor’s insurance or you can often pay some rent upfront so your daughter doesn’t need a guarantor at all.

When my DS dropped out of Uni having signed a tenancy agreement for a house with 3 others, we tried to let the room out again but when we failed we just had to suck it up and pay the rent for the whole year he wasn't living there. DS couldn't even live there as he was no longer a student either.
The girl dropping out needs to pay the rent if she's signed a contract, unless she can sub let to someone else. Has anyone actually spoken to the letting agent (is it private or Uni accommodation?)

Thanks for everyone’s comments about my DSis. It was a long time ago now, but it still feels raw and nerve wracking when my own DC feel vulnerable in a similar way.

It seemed such hard work when they were babies and toddlers but I felt like I could protect them better. The emotional stresses of teens and young adults seem so much worse. All this online stuff and social media I swear have changed how teens interact with each other, texting rather than talking. The various lockdowns I don’t think have helped although my DD said it was OK as at least now others were lonely and isolated like she was, so she didn’t feel such an outcast. How sad is that?

When I went to uni ( about 40 years ago!) I sorted out accommodation, a levels, uni choices and jobs without any real involvement from my parents at all. I had a grant and they didn’t have to contribute or guarantee anything for me let alone other students as well.

I have spoken to the parent of the other girl who is keen to go ahead on FaceTime tonight and that was really great. We both want them to try and keep the house as it is perfect for them, tidy clean, modern and near the uni,. And as Discoverreads says the houses are being snapped up quickly. So will encourage them to find another person through the different ways you have suggested, so thank you for all the helpful suggestions.

Thanks to all who commented.

Check the terms of your guarantor. It is usually for a specific contract (start date and terms). You mention that the contract has been amended and re-signed several times. This change of terms could make the guarantor you have signed null and void.

Would this help?