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Original poster

Urgent thoughts please!

27 replies

Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 07/05/2022 19:50

dd is at uni and their house has a shared tenancy. One of the tenants (uni student) seems to have lost the plot and has concealed something (very outing so I shall say that it defo breaks the tenancy agreement and their room will be in an absolute state). They’re refusing to let any other tenant into the room and it looks like they’ve just walked out. They’re refusing to bring the keys even. The other tenants could go to the police about this.

The rest of the house is in near perfect order and will be before they phone the emergency line for the management agent as they are very keen to make sure it’s clear that the other tenant has done this (frankly absolutely shitty and cruel thing) on their own and without anyone’s knowledge.

are they likely to get evicted? I am at a loss of what to say to some very upset and young students, feeling a long way from home. Only upside, they have managed to buy the widest range of cleaning products I have ever seen and the house will be amazing if they let them finish the year.

OP posts:
BlanketsBanned · 07/05/2022 19:55

Has anyone been harmed, is it body fluids, an animal, blood, a weapon. I would just tell them to call the police, they can break the door down. I dont see why the others would be evicted. Are they safe.

QuebecBagnet · 07/05/2022 19:57

I don’t think they could be evicted due to the actions of someone else, especially as they’re trying to sort it. They can get advice from the student union though, there will be an SU accommodation person.

Footballsundays6777 · 07/05/2022 20:00

Cannabis grow?

Personally I’d ring the landlord and the police. Cover all bases.

the tenant in the room will solely be responsible for it, I’d imagine their guarantor will be chased for the monetary value, if that fails the other tenants

egrundy1234 · 07/05/2022 20:03

I agree with pp's that it's unlikely they'll get evicted but they need to call the police asap in case the other tenant claims they've tried to frame them etc

Igmum · 07/05/2022 20:06

Cannabis farm? Animal cruelty? The students Union will have some pretty good housing advisers who will probably have seen it all before. Absolutely call the Police and get advice from the Students Union (desperate to know what it is!). Good luck to them and fingers crossed

BelperLawnmower · 07/05/2022 20:07

It depends on whether they've broken the tenancy agreement. No one can advise you on the basis of cryptic euphemisms and without seeing the tenancy agreement!

GoingBacktoSchool123 · 07/05/2022 20:20

If it's a private tenancy and they are all on the lease they are likely to have joint and several liability meaning they are each responsible and can all be pursued by the landlord. They should involve the police if appropriate but they should try to rectify any damage and deal with the locks themselves without alerting the landlord to the issue until they've fixed it.

HollowTalk · 07/05/2022 20:26

Can she get this person to confirm whether they've left or not? Does she think they are having a breakdown? I think whether I reported it to the police or not would depend on whether she had done something stupid e.g. growing weed or something really bad e.g. burying a body underneath the floorboards! For the former I'd be tempted to go in and sort it out. For the latter I've called the police.

QuebecBagnet · 07/05/2022 20:34

They should talk to the student union before the management agency. Remember the agency is not on their side, it will be on the landlords side.

DogsAndGin · 07/05/2022 20:39

The university need to assist, they will have welfare officers who will hopefully advise the remaining tenants. And yes, if it is a legal matter, the police must be informed. If not, the rest of the tenants risk being embroiled in the crime too.

TeaStory · 07/05/2022 20:59

Are they all on the same tenancy agreement, or do they have separate ones?

pastabest · 07/05/2022 21:08

If the bedroom is lockable and not accessible by other people in the house then its a separate tenancy, presumably with an agreement to share communal areas.

If the communal areas are fine and the one locked room is the problem then it is the problem of the sole tenant of that room and their guarantor.

If it is cannabis growing though they need to report it to the police to deal with and not try and clear it themselves.

gothereagain · 07/05/2022 21:09

Chances are with a joint tenancy they have an assured shorthold lease meaning the LL would either need to serve a section 21 notice or a section 8 (section 8 is often used for damage to property). Section 8 is a minimum of 14 days notice, HOWEVER when the 14 days is up, the tenants do not need to leave. It's that the landlord can then apply to court for the eviction. There's currently a huge backlog on evictions with court (between 6 and 12 months on average, up to 22 months in some areas) and only then will the tenants have to leave.

So even if they get a notice of eviction, they won't legally have to leave until the end of the academic year.

Loginmystery · 07/05/2022 21:14

What I’m the world has happened in that room? We all just have to be left with horrible images?

Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 07/05/2022 21:14

Thanks for all your thoughts - it involves animal cruelty and death of one animal. Police have been called and have been super helpful. It’s joint and several tenancy and they’ve found the details of who might help at the uni.

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Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 07/05/2022 21:15

Loginmystery · 07/05/2022 21:14

What I’m the world has happened in that room? We all just have to be left with horrible images?

Err not doing it to traumatise you. Genuinely needed some advice, thankfully given and much appreciated.

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Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 07/05/2022 21:17

gothereagain · 07/05/2022 21:09

Chances are with a joint tenancy they have an assured shorthold lease meaning the LL would either need to serve a section 21 notice or a section 8 (section 8 is often used for damage to property). Section 8 is a minimum of 14 days notice, HOWEVER when the 14 days is up, the tenants do not need to leave. It's that the landlord can then apply to court for the eviction. There's currently a huge backlog on evictions with court (between 6 and 12 months on average, up to 22 months in some areas) and only then will the tenants have to leave.

So even if they get a notice of eviction, they won't legally have to leave until the end of the academic year.

Thank you so much for this.

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Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 07/05/2022 21:19

HollowTalk · 07/05/2022 20:26

Can she get this person to confirm whether they've left or not? Does she think they are having a breakdown? I think whether I reported it to the police or not would depend on whether she had done something stupid e.g. growing weed or something really bad e.g. burying a body underneath the floorboards! For the former I'd be tempted to go in and sort it out. For the latter I've called the police.

She’s safe and angry with them for asking about what happened. She’s basically buggered off and blocked them all. She’s not on her own.

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gothereagain · 07/05/2022 21:28

Also, do they need to get in the room? Can they just not keep it locked until the end of the year? Or until the tenant returns after they've received help?

LumpyandBumps · 07/05/2022 21:55

Are they sure that there is no animal still suffering in the room?

If it is a standard Yale type lock on an internal door it may well be quite easy to open with a thin bladed knife.

Do they think that the condition of the room is such that it will become a health hazard if not dealt with by them before the end of the tenancy?

As we are in May and most student tenancies run from September to August, or thereabouts, it wouldn’t be possible to evict them before the end of their tenancy.

It is unlikely that the landlord would even try to evict all of them due to the actions of one. If they are still within their ‘fixed term’, which is quite possible with this type of tenancy, a Section 21 notice cannot be used and that is often chosen as the most straightforward and quickest route.

I would be concerned about how the deposit is dealt with at the end of the tenancy though, and whether they can afford the full rent now that one person has left, and is presumably not paying her share.

BlanketsBanned · 07/05/2022 23:12

Sounds absolutely horrific. The police will trace her. The locks need to be changed. Poor animal.

Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 08/05/2022 00:38

There’s no animal left in the room, but they can’t get access. RSPCA will be called first thing - they called the police for advice on what to do. They’ve tried everything to access up to breaking or drilling the lock, because that’s expressly against their tenancy agreement. Rent is all paid.

really appreciate your thoughts - terribly upsetting situation. Going to sleep on it and hopefully they’ll be big a bit calmer in the morning.

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BlanketsBanned · 08/05/2022 09:26

My priority would be to get the room sorted out, the rspca and police should come out surely, why cant the police and the managing agent break the door down.

PragmaticWench · 11/05/2022 14:10

Have they managed to resolve it @Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals ?

Original poster
Purplepeoniesdroppingpetals · 11/05/2022 20:05

To some degree. Heard today the reassuring news that they’ve gained access. They had been assured the animals weren’t there (which they didn’t completely believe as she’s a pathological liar) but having seen her Snapchat story through a friend they accounted for the animals except the one that died. They will defo lose their deposit. RSPCA and police say there’s nothing that they can do - no body to examine.

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