Renters rights

[Annielou67]

6 students have rented a flat together. They move in to find the place is in a terrible state - dirty, damaged and worse - badly stained ( and smelly) mattresses. Think - previous occupants urinated over the beds when they left and the flat has not been cleaned at all. Doors kicked in etc. The landlord says they should pay for new furniture, beds, redecoration etc and then send her the bill. ( what planet is she on?) . Obviously they are all young and far away from home/ upset. Can anyone advise on their rights. They have paid for the year in advance. One student has already gone to a relatives house. The rent is £65,000 for the year.

Obviously its not acceptable but what does the contract say? Does it say anything about condition on move it?
Problem is that finding something now will be difficult, does The Uni have an advice line or similar that could help?

That's so awful. Is there a letting agent? They should contact them if there is. Take lots of pictures and videos . University may help too. Sorry they are having such a rough time. I don't think they should pay up front.

So rent is 900 a month each? And rhe place is totalled? Is there an agent? They need to tell th4 landlord or agent they need to replace.

If it’s a danger to health they can contact the council environmental health people. Obviously take loads of photos. Why have they paid all the rent up front? Is there an agent?

It sounds as though the LL doesn't know the state of the place. They need to push back and make it clear it's quite a big project to get things fixed and that it's currently unliveable so they expect the LL to cover the cost of alternative accommodation until it is.

Did anyone do an inventory for them? Is there an agent?

That's a bloody big rent cost.

Unwind the contract, find another place to rent.

They have been misled.

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england.shelter.org.uk/housing_advice/private_renting/bad_conditions_when_you_move_in

Did they take photos of situation at start.
Over £5000 a month? How are they funding this in advance as students?
They should have refused to move in and referred to the contract.

They took photos when they moved in. They had visited the flat and it looked fine. It’s a good area. Yes, it is give or take £900 per month each, bigger rooms are paying slightly more, smaller rooms less. I think the place simply hasn’t been checked since the last students moved out. The contract suggests the last tenants would pay for a professional clean, this obviously hasn’t happened. The keys were collected last thing Friday, the letting agent doesn’t open til Monday. They have taken lots of photos.
Re the question , how are they funding this in advance as students? 4 are international students, 2 from the uk. Even in halls in Greenwich ( independent though) last year we paid £11.5k up front for the year.
I wonder how much of this is mistreatment of international students, who don’t have parents around to advocate for them. This flat was booked and paid for 9 months ago through a reputable letting agent recommended by the university. One of the Chinese students had to collect the money and pay all of it together. Ofcourse international students fly in and have nowhere else to go.
Thank you for posting the Shelter info. That is really useful and a reminder I should ask for a gas safety check as well.

If there's an agent then they can sort it out. They don't need a parent to advocate for them they are grown ups and it just needs to be fixed; they agent should take action as soon as they hear.
Suggest they move to a cheapish hotel in the interim and let the agent know they will be billing it back.

Students need a guarantor to be able to pay their rent monthly. If they don't have a UK based guarantor it's rent up front. DD is in a city where there are students from multiple different Unis staying.
Student rent in the South where there is often huge competition for property is high. DD is also paying £900 a month for an unfurnished flat in the South. We are fortunate it's a nice flat in a nice area, but last year she had terrible damp due blocked gutters and poor maintenance if an old building,