Small claims court for student rental not as described?

[Thatsanotherfinemess1]

I'm posting on behalf of my daughter. She is a uni student living in a rented a house for the current academic year with 3 friends and would really appreciate advice about reclaiming some rent via the small claims court as safety issues stopped them moving in straight away.
The house is one of 7 in a converted warehouse and they were shown an adjoining one and told theirs would be the same but it was being refurbished so couldn't be viewed. The tenancy started On 1 July and the inventory was emailed, it said everything was brand new and in excellent condition throughout. On receiving the keys it was clear that it hadn't been refurbished and actually had tenants living in it (high turnover nhs short term shift workers) who'd only moved out the previous day so it hadn't been checked or cleaned by the landlord. We went through and listed 7 pages of defects. The condition was very poor, the 'new' furniture was broken and stained as was the cooker and fridge. There were burn marks through the depth of the worksurfaces and a microwave so rusty that the bottom had a hole in it, leaking taps, etc. They had to delay moving in by 3 weeks because the shower door was broken and dangerous, as was the bathroom extractor, and water had seeped into the electrics below and they were dangerous, burnt light fittings etc. It took another 3 weeks for the filthy mattresses to be replaced. soon after moving in, the electrical safety certificate expired and wasnt renewed for more than 6 weeks. The kitchen still has no extraction (it has no external openings so is very dark, damp and smelly) and I've subsequently discovered it was converted not in accordance with the planning permission, building regs were granted by a private company during covid restrictions (so very limited inspections) and it isn't registered as an HMO (which is required above 3 residents in this city).
The students have paid their final quarterly rent instalment but marked it under protest due to the house not being habitable initially and the condition not being as described. They couldn't withhold payment due to one person paying the year in advance, one person using his dad's employer as guarantor and all of them having deposit money which would be used to cover the shortfall ( they want their deposits back in full). Is it worth them pursuing this in the small claims court as the initial 3 weeks equate to about £500 each, the next 3 weeks they were lacking mattresses and furniture would be another £500, and the subsequent problems have taken months to resolve? Is claiming for approx £1000 each the right approach? Thank you

I won in small claims recently and while the victory was worth it, the reality also involved approx two full days of paperwork (initial filing, compiling evidence folder and the associated faff of printing in triplicate and page numbering as a pdf, completing all the evidence forms, and I'm good at paperwork) plus significant costs for filing.

Then, as my opposition had moved to Wales my hearing was set in Wales (I'm Manchester) which they refused to move. So entailed a four hour drive both ways and an overnight stay. My hotel and petrol WERE refunded but it all added up as a massive logistical ball ache.

Then basically there are horror stories about people just ignoring the court ruling and you have to pay yourself to employ bailiffs, with no guarantee you'll see the money.

So I wouldn't go into it expecting it to be quick and easy, even if your case is clear cut.

Thank you for your experience, that sounds awful. I think they have a lot of photographic evidence, emails etc, but the admin sounds horrendous. The landlord is a huge company and there are so many issues with all their housing, but it's in such short supply they don't care - hopefully owning properties would make it easier to enforce a judgement. The thought of an apology, let alone a refund, has kept my daughters group positive whilst living there - I really can't describe how dire it is and I doubt it meets fire regs. The front door opens into an internal corridor. It has one downstairs external window, through a bedroom, the other three Windows are tiny unreachable skylights or a door onto a 1mx1.5m roof with 2.4m high walls all round (so no escape from fire)- they raised this with building control and were told there was nothing to do as it was signed off by the private co., just use the one bedroom window to escape, not great in a 3 storey building.

They signed the tenancy agreement without having seen the flat post refurbishment?

Yes, in the city she's studying in there is a huge shortage of accommodation and most properties are let in the autumn before the rental starts, the following july with many being internal sight unseen as they are already tenanted and the condition can change a lot in 9 months of student renting. She thought it was worth paying a premium for a newly refurbished house where they were supposed to be the first tenants and they were told it would be the same as the example one that had,already been refurbished next door.

If they could not initially move in as the property didn’t meet applicable legal or regulatory requirements and you have clear cut evidence of that (not just that it wasn’t in good nick but specific legal requirements that were not met) then you’re on solid ground on rent for that period. For any period where there were not there but there is no clear cut breach of a legal requirement or where things were not as advertised / not fixed you may well still have a case but it is always going to be more of a subjective / nuanced analysis based on the evidence and communications which no one here can give you.

Write a letter before action to the landlord setting out in clear terms their legal obligations, how they were breached and the financial implications and then what you want by way of financial compensation. I agree with PP that these things can be drawn out if they go to litigation but there is no harm with testing the water with a legal letter (it can be worth paying a lawyer to do it just to improve the chances it gets taken seriously but obviously there are costs) and make a decision on whether to actually file a claim depending on their response.

Can you talk to the local Fire Brigade about the lack of fire exits? On the whole they're very proactive with advice about fire safety

Can they get legal help from the Student Union?

I would also be in the case with the Fire Service, Local Authority etc