Flat rented - unfair room prices

bergenhaus

Hi

My girlfriend has just moved into a 2 bedroom flat which she was quite happy with. She's going to paying £313 per month for a fairly small room with a single bed and no desk (she's a nursing student) but it's a nice little flat in a good location.

She's not quite so happy now as she has discovered that the girl in the other room pays exactly the same for a room that is double the size (at least), has a lovely big desk, a double bed and more storage.

When she found this out she offered to pay more than the other girl if they swapped room but the other girl didn't want to. She then asked her landlady about the rent but was told it couldn't be changed because it had been agreed by the solicitor. My girlfriend has said if she wasn't so busy working and she had internet in her flat she would look for another flat as she hasn't signed the contract on this one.

It does seem very unfair to me. All I can think of as a solution is if she discusses money with the other girl to even it up.

Has anybody got any other suggestions?

Thanks

Mike

maninthestreet

Mike,

As she hasn't signed any contract (has she paid any money yet???), and you have access to the internet, why don't you search for another room for her??

bergenhaus

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

I will if it comes to that but she spent a lot of effort finding and moving in to the flat in the first place and it is quite nice and in a very good location for her to get to the hospital.

My dad has made quite a good suggestion of them swapping rooms after half the contract. This sounds fair but involves a bit of hassle.

alfiesmum

The other girl might just say first come first served. It sounds awful, but I'll have to admit it - I would! Your girlfried was happy with everything until she discovered someone else had better. That's life. Good luck with her studies .

seven-day-weekend

agree with alfiesmum.

It really is none of her business what the other person pays if she agreed to the rent on her room .

Idiophreak

alfiesmum wrote: »

Your girlfried was happy with everything until she discovered someone else had better.

Exactly what I was going to say - it doesn't seem that your girlfriend is paying an "unfair" price for the room - just that the other person has a better deal.

When I shared houses at uni we all paid the same and had a variety of different sized rooms - it's just life. Fortunately we all moved in together, so drew the rooms out of a hat and nobody felt harddoneby...I imagine in OP's situation, the other girl just says "well, I was here first...I'm not moving rooms for you" and that's that.

If your girlfriend really thinks she can get a better room for the money, surely she'd have done that before moving into this place?

chucknorris

bergenhaus wrote: »

Hi

My girlfriend has just moved into a 2 bedroom flat which she was quite happy with. She's going to paying £313 per month for a fairly small room with a single bed and no desk (she's a nursing student) but it's a nice little flat in a good location.

She's not quite so happy now as she has discovered that the girl in the other room pays exactly the same for a room that is double the size (at least), has a lovely big desk, a double bed and more storage.

When she found this out she offered to pay more than the other girl if they swapped room but the other girl didn't want to. She then asked her landlady about the rent but was told it couldn't be changed because it had been agreed by the solicitor. My girlfriend has said if she wasn't so busy working and she had internet in her flat she would look for another flat as she hasn't signed the contract on this one.

It does seem very unfair to me. All I can think of as a solution is if she discusses money with the other girl to even it up.

Has anybody got any other suggestions?

Thanks

Mike

Hi, I'm a landlord and have been since 1991. From your post I am assuming your GF has a very small sinlge room if so your Gf has learnt a valuable lesson ie she should have looked at quite few places and got a good idea of the market before agreeing on a room. That may not have been possible due to having to move at short notice or rent somewhere far away. However that is done and nothing can be done about that now. What can be done is that she finds somewhere that represents much better value, do not listen to the posters saying she has agreed the rent and should just pay it. She should start looking around with a view to moving as soon as her contract allows. This time though look at plenty of rooms and understand what represents value to her before agreeing to rent.

Although you say she hasn't signed the contract yet, a contract still exists because she has moved in and presumably started paying rent (even if she hasn't she has moved in and promised to pay rent verbally), it's too late to try and renegotiate the terms of that contract, so as I said look to move as soon as the contract allows.

greenmoneysaver_2

I thought if you let to students you had to provide a desk?? Or am I really old school?

tbs624

chucknorris wrote: »

.... What can be done is that she finds somewhere that represents much better value, do not listen to the posters saying she has agreed the rent and should just pay it.

Perhaps what ChuckNorris means is that his own view of how to deal with it differs from that of previous posters On a forum its often useful to have a cross-section of personal views and then the OP can simply make up their own mind who they want to "listen" to.

chucknorris wrote: »

She should start looking around with a view to moving as soon as her contract allows. This time though look at plenty of rooms and understand what represents value to her before agreeing to rent.

She must have thought that the current rent represented value to her, initially. Renting your own home is a learning curve - it's all part and parcel of adult life.

Mike - had your GF been first in , she presumably would have bagged the larger room herself? As others have said, life isn't always fair, it's not for ever and she'll learn from it. Are you perhaps concerned that there is less space for you when you visit?;)

chucknorris

tbs624 wrote: »

She must have thought that the current rent represented value to her, initially. Renting your own home is a learning curve - it's all part and parcel of adult life.

Exactly why I said she has learnt a valuable lesson, but it's only a valuable lesson if you learn AND act upon it.

Riq

I worked out a £ per sqft price of all the rooms in my house when I was uni renting a room.

Let's just say I had a lot of spare time. Anyways, my room was tiny, I bartered and agreed a rent reduction.

For future: Research is key!