Unite Accommodation Problems

clozza_90

Hi,
I moved into Unite accommodation just over six weeks ago to find that my window wouldn't open. When I reported this, they sent someone who came and opened it whilst I was out. When I got back in and wanted to shut the window later that day, I found that I couldn't and it was now stuck open! I reported this again to maintenance, and they came and told me that it was a problem with the mechanisms, they had ordered the parts and were waiting for them to be delivered. This wasn't too much of a problem for the first week or so (at the end of Sept/beginning of Oct) as the heater in the room kept it warm enough. After four weeks I went to reception to ask why it still hadn't been fixed, only to be told that the company they normally ordered the parts from had stopped making them, and they would have to find a new supplier, so they basically had no idea how long it would be before it was fixed. By this time, the nights were getting VERY cold, and my little heater was definitely not sufficient! I went to see them again today, after six weeks, when I was told that the parts have arrived and the appropriate people were on site, and they would "make sure" my window was fixed today. They never showed up.
To make matters worse, I believe they should have sorted this all out before I even moved in, since they regularly do checks on the rooms. At the very least they do room inspections before anyone moves in, which would have been approximately two weeks before I moved in, so they should have known about the window at this point and started sorting it out then.
I will be going to see them again tomorrow to try and find out what is going on, but I'm wondering if anybody knows if I have any rights of any sort? It seems to me like I should be entitled to some sort of compensation given the inconvenience they have caused. I intend to complain to the company about this, but would like to know where I stand beforehand.

Thank you in advance

Lokolo

Complain now and it might get done quicker

clozza_90

Their "contact centre" is only open until 8pm so I have to wait until the morning, but I intend to phone then! I'm just hoping to find out if they're likely to actually do anything about it, which I'm not expecting to be honest, given their reputation!

Lokolo

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.php?f=16

You might want to repost here. There are a few expert tenants and landlords who know the law.

Personally, I would go and see CAB (https://www.citizensadvice.org.uk/) and they maybe able to help push things.

Lokolo

FYI:

http://www.tenancyagreementservice.co.uk/repairing-obligations.htm

The landlord is responsible for the exterior of the property and any structural repairs that may be needed, but this excludes garden walls, gates and outdoor paving.
The landlord would be required to repair any structural problems to the property which may occur. This could include damage to the:

• The roof
• The guttering
• Drains and exterior pipes
• Exterior walls
• Windows and doors (only as a result of structural problems, not damage by the tenant)

clozza_90

Thanks Lokolo, that's really useful. They have said that they'll do it, it's just a case of it dragging on for this long now! Having to sleep fully clothed to stay warm is getting to be a pain to say the least. I'll have a look at CAB and repost, thanks

melancholly

might also be worth involving your student accommodation office - even if it's unite accommodation rather than uni owned, they can sometimes help things to happen more quickly!

pig_let_cool

Unite are awful! i moved in this year too, and weve had loads of issues, we were locked out of the flat for hours because the lock on the door broke itself (the key barrel collapsed) out oven door is always falling off and our water is cold during the day etc... our reception is only open 2-4 which is so annoying as thats usually when people are in uni!

Hate it wouldnt reccomend them, i mean the rooms are nice and big etc but the way they deal with issues is ridiculous! we had no lock on our door for a week! and that was the second week here! so we had people running up and down the hall and chucking crap around whenever they felt it funny

But yeah i would say contact unite direct and complain, then speak to your uni's accom office, and perhaps even contact the students union see if they can find out how other students feel about it etc

clozza_90

Thanks everyone, after chasing it up again yesterday one of the people on reception finally realised how bad it was and took pity on me! She made some calls and managed to get it fixed today, such a relief!

pig_let_cool wrote: »

Unite are awful! i moved in this year too, and weve had loads of issues, we were locked out of the flat for hours because the lock on the door broke itself (the key barrel collapsed) out oven door is always falling off and our water is cold during the day etc... our reception is only open 2-4 which is so annoying as thats usually when people are in uni!

Hate it wouldnt reccomend them, i mean the rooms are nice and big etc but the way they deal with issues is ridiculous! we had no lock on our door for a week! and that was the second week here! so we had people running up and down the hall and chucking crap around whenever they felt it funny

But yeah i would say contact unite direct and complain, then speak to your uni's accom office, and perhaps even contact the students union see if they can find out how other students feel about it etc

That does sound awful! Yeah I definitely wouldn't recommend them either, I stayed with them last year as well and didn't have any major issues, but after this... You'd think we pay enough that they could deal with things quicker! So many people seem to have problems with them each year, but they just never seem to take note! I think I will still write a letter of complaint just so they know how ridiculous it was and maybe it won't happen again to someone else!