Estate agent false advertising

[Peachbabymum]

My daughter viewed a property in Brighton, she is a student at Brighton university, it was a 7 bedroom student accommodation, before she could sign the lease her current lease ran out so she moved back home. The next day she rang the estate agent and they said only room 3 was still available, she asked if it came with a chair and desk and also if it was a double room, the agent said it was, so she paid the holding fee and then the 1st months rent. She signed the lease and when she checked online the room is a single box room with a double bed and wardrobe and no room to walk around. The estate agent advert clearly states all rooms come with a double bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and chair. Is there anything she can do, she moves in this week and has been stressing out about this room. I've added an picture of the room. How is this a double room?

It has a double bed. Can she work in the library? Probably best when sharing a house anyway.

The point is that the real estate agent is falsely advertising the room. This is a good lesson for your daughter, not to sign a lease EVER without viewing the place and having everything in writing!!!

Having said that, your dd has a few options. She can contact the real estate agent to cancel the contract or ask for a reduction in rent (depending on what your dd wants). If the real estate agent refuses to do this, then your dd's options are to file a complaint with the "approved redress scheme" that the real estate agent participates in and if the real estate agent has not joined one of these schemes, then she should make a complaint to the LA as that will result in sanctions/fines for the agent. Your dd should of course make clear to the agent that she is planning to take this further and that might be enough to get some action out of the agent. (All of the above I got from Googling...maybe someone with actual experience can weigh in here.)

No advice from me I'm afraid but that's shocking. The headboard is against the radiator, which must be awful for sleeping AND it looks like the door opens inwards, but it is blocked by the bed????
I hope your DD is able to get sorted.

I would also contact the university accommodation section and ask for advice

She did view the property and viewed all the rooms, 6 double rooms and the box room, when she put the holding fee down she asked if the room was a double and did it come with a bed, wardrobe, chest of drawers, desk and chair, she was told it was and did come with all started furniture. We're taking her down on Thursday so we will have it out with the estate agent and try to sort something.

The local trading standards officer might also be interested in the misleading advert and information. More sticks to beat the EA with.

Is it safe to rent the room as is? I'd be wondering if the local fire brigade can offer advice from an evacuation point of view.

Where did you get the picture from?
It looks like your daughter could view it online. Did she check before she signed?

It's definitely not a box room, but it is a single room. That would fit a single bed, wardrobe, drawers and a desk nicely.

See is your daughter can pay less, as it cannot fit all the furniture advertised when there is a double bed in there.

However, your DD did view the property and could also see this picture online if she had checked before signing, so buyer beware!

I'd say to make the most of it. Push the bed further towards the window, and you might fit a slim chest of drawers against the opposite walk.

Oh my. The last time I saw a room like that was back in the 80s when a friend was quite literally renting a room from an estate agent landlord. Fabulous area of London, but the room was basically a bed and walls. Hope you sort it OP.

I can see the edge of a wardrobe on the right so perhaps the desk and chair etc is on opp side to bed?

How do you get in?

im sure doors are supposed to open inwards not outwards for safety purposes (ie you can they blocked in).

That's shocking, but surely when your daughter viewed the house she saw that room and knew that it isn't suitable? I hope her interactions with the estate agent have been via email so you can have a record of what she was expecting in the room.

Thanks for all the advice, dropped of DD today at university. The picture of the room that was sent to her was for a different student house, her room, still the smallest in the house, came with a small double bed, desk, chair, chest of drawers and a wardrobe and quite a bit of extra space.So all's good. The estate agent said there has been a mix up, quite a few students were sent pictures of the wrong room, so they've been dealing with angry parents all day. But everything sorted for us ☺️

Oh no! Glad your daughter is sorted, I can imagine the grief the estate agent has been dealing with😂