Student Housing

lesleymarr

Please help me if you can.
Anyone. Daughter is at Leeds Uni, 2nd year, rented property. next year she moves house. BOTH, yes, BOTH landlords expect to be paid the full rent for the 3 months of summer when she isn't there so that's two lots of £900 for nothing. This is standard practice; the letting agent informs me. The Uni won't help. If she doesn't pay money-grubber 1 she'll lose her deposit of £250 and if she doesn't pay #2 she can't move in. Is there anything I:mad: can do?
Lesley

Lokolo

This is the complete wrong section... however, no theres nothing she can do.

If she signed a contract for 12 months then thats how it is.

evespikey

surely if it's a question of the former house: 'loosing' 900 or loosing 250, doesn't it make sense not to pay rent and loose deposit?

poet123

I think that if it says she pays for 12 months there will not be get out clause. Landlords sometimes take half rent over summer, but in Leeds I understand full rent is the norm, so I think you need to check the contract, but would doubt you have anywhere to go with it.

Savvy_Sue

evespikey wrote: »

surely if it's a question of the former house: 'loosing' 900 or loosing 250, doesn't it make sense not to pay rent and loose deposit?

that will also mean she doesn't get a reference from that landlord, which may or may not matter in future.

Savvy_Sue

I'm just wondering though, do all the landlords charge rent over the summer at both ends of the tenancy? That's a good trick ... rent from the students moving out, and rent from the students moving in!

My lads have usually had their tenancy ending at the end of July, so any works can be done in August, but they then paid half rent on the new property from the start of August.

lorweld

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minerva_windsong

Savvy_Sue wrote: »

I'm just wondering though, do all the landlords charge rent over the summer at both ends of the tenancy? That's a good trick ... rent from the students moving out, and rent from the students moving out!

My lads have usually had their tenancy ending at the end of July, so any works can be done in August, but they then paid half rent on the new property from the start of August.

No. Both my uni houses (in York, rented from the same agency) started charging in the summer before we moved in, but the contract finished at the end of the summer term the year after. However I know some people whose contracts were September to August so think it's up to the agency/landlord.

Much as I hate to say it, for the sake of a good reference I'd cough up. If she gets the £250 back then it may be worth thinking of one of the two payments is 'only' £650 to soften the blow a bit.

Oldernotwiser

If the original tenancy is for 12 months, presumably the OP's daughter didn't pay for the summer at the start.

melancholly

unfortunately, if she's signed the contract, it's a little late now. paying for the full year is more common that it used to be. i'd suggest looking around for other options, unless all the LL in leeds do this when there's no point! i think the number of new halls of residence being built everywhere have hit the private student houses hard, so they can't afford to give the summer off.... if they did, they'd just charge more for the rest of the year as no-one will rent it for a few weeks over the summer.

often students stay around until early July and move back early Sept, so it ends up only being a month that it's not used.

just also worth checking if you signed as a guarantor for her when she signed the contract, in case her not paying rent had any implications for you....?

sarahevie

I don't understand this at all. I rent a student property in Leeds and the contracts are typically 1st July - 30th June. So the students pay for the full 12 months, but don't pay to two landlords at the same time.

All I can think has happened is that the daughter initially was renting 1st of Sept 2010 - 30th of August 2011 (12 months) but then this year has signed up 1st of July 2011 - 30th of June 2012 (12 months). Hence the over lap. It is the daughters choice to have an overlap of tenancies, probably due to renting within a different friendship group.

I currently have post grads in 1st Sept - 30th August. Mine was vacant July and August last year as I needed to do maintenance. These back to back tenancies don't do the properties any good.

For next year, I have new tenants signed up from 1st of Sept 2011 - 30th of June 2012.

I then expect let 1st July 2012 - 30th June 2013. Although if it needs maintenance I will have it vacant over the summer again.