Student threatened eviction by Landlord

clutton_2

i left home at 16 and moved into a bedsit and quickly leanred how to fight my own corner with landlords - maybe that is why i ended up as a LL - i fyou dont give young people some challenges and opportunities they will not learn how to become truly independent

MissMoneypenny

tripleh wrote: »

if you were in my shoes would you have just come home and told your son "ooh by the way, your house is awful" or would you have stood up for him and contacted the LL there and then?

When I saw the filthy stinking state of my son's first student house, I went straight round to the letting agents and as it was packed, I stood on a chair and asked who had rented my son that disgusting house. The owner of the letting agents came straight round to the house with me and got the landord out to come round immediately to clean their house.

Act on what is right in your heart. Those children that have parental support grow up into well rounded individuals. Sadly, not all children have that backing.

My son’s first student landlord was a bad one and I did sort it out for all the students in the house. My son's second student landlord was a professional who had lots of student houses and sons' trained as electrician and plumber for these houses. This professional landlord told me that the bad landlords don't like it when the parents get involved as they know they will have to comply with the law then as parents are not so easy to bully.

As to the suggestions that your son might not grow up to be independent if you help him....forget that;) My son left university at 21 and started on a 44k salary. Soon promoted and got a 47k salary. Then his firm sent him abroad to set up a new department and while there, he decided to go backpacking. He is only 23 now:-)

I helped my daughter too and she is a BBC presenter now and you don't get anywhere in that world if you can't stick up for yourself.

Your son should be studying and enjoying the university experience, not having to sort out a scumbag landlord.

tripleh_2

MissMoneypenny wrote: »

When I saw the filthy stinking state of my son's first student house, I went straight round to the letting agents and as it was packed, I stood on a chair and asked who had rented my son that disgusting house. The owner of the letting agents came straight round to the house with me and got the landord out to come round immediately to clean their house.

Act on what is right in your heart. Those children that have parental support grow up into well rounded individuals. Sadly, not all children have that backing.

My son’s first student landlord was a bad one and I did sort it out for all the students in the house. My son's second student landlord was a professional who had lots of student houses and sons' trained as electrician and plumber for these houses. This professional landlord told me that the bad landlords don't like it when the parents get involved as they know they will have to comply with the law then as parents are not so easy to bully.

As to the suggestions that your son might not grow up to be independent if you help him....forget that;) My son left university at 21 and started on a 44k salary. Soon promoted and got a 47k salary. Then his firm sent him abroad to set up a new department and while there, he decided to go backpacking. He is only 23 now:-)

I helped my daughter too and she is a BBC presenter now and you don't get anywhere in that world if you can't stick up for yourself.

Your son should be studying and enjoying the university experience, not having to sort out a scumbag landlord.

Thank you again, I was beginning to think I was ruining my kids life, reading some threads on here!!

MissMoneypenny

tripleh wrote: »

Thank you again, I was beginning to think I was ruining my kids life, reading some threads on here!!

You are just being a good parent. Some children don't have that help, as life is a lucky bag.

princeofpounds

All these comments about students, parents and housing are kind of missing an important point- no-one actually teaches you how to rent. Landlords won't. Agents certainly won't, and often misdirect. Schools don't. The government doesn't.

So who has to? Parents, of course, which is how it should be. And when do they do it? When their children move out. So almost by definition parents are involved in children's first independent housing, which is normally- surprise - at university.

Now that's not to say that they should run the process, but there is nothing wrong with them being available for consultation. Or even accompanying them. If you have never seen an AST in your life before, you have no basis to judge things on without assistance.

Parenting is not an age-specific activity, it is about imparting life experience at the right time. Just imagine if parents weren't allowed to contribute to raising of grandchildren 'because their kids are adults and should know how it is done'!

Of course I wouldn't advocate parents 'taking point' as practice is needed to learn, but working together to solve issues is totally logical

MissMoneypenny

princeofpounds wrote: »

Parenting is not an age-specific activity, it is about imparting life experience at the right time. Just imagine if parents weren't allowed to contribute to raising of grandchildren 'because their kids are adults and should know how it is done'!

Of course I wouldn't advocate parents 'taking point' as practice is needed to learn, but working together to solve issues is totally logical

I think that depends on how professional their landlord is. When I dropped my son off at university just after one Christmas and the heating had stopped working, I was quite happy to drive off and let my son sort it with the landlord. I knew that landlord was a true professional and not one of those type of landlord who thinks it is ok to leave a tenant without heating for a week or two or even worse than that. The landlord got the heating fixed the same day and apologised to the students that the heating had stopped working too. He was a true professional landlord and not just one of those who called themselves a 'professional' because they make a living as a landlord.

I still ask my elderly relatives for their advice. No point in making a mistake when someone else has already made it and learned from it.