Student rental problem

MTW_2

My daughter entered into a contract to stay a year in an 8 bedroom house in Sheffield.

Since being there she has been broken into three times and is petrified. On one occasion she came down from having a bath to find a thief in her room.

After each break in the letting agent came and fixed the locks etc and added a bit more security. This was obviously not enough as the break ins kept occurring.

On the last occasion the thief was banging on the door of her room (its ground floor BTW) trying to get in.

She feels unable to stay in these digs as she can't sleep and it is effecting her health and wellbeing.
We have therefore moved her into somewhere else and stopped the third rental cheque that is due around about now.

I take the view that the vendor/agent is in breach of contract for not providing adequate security and that breach had damaged my daughers health therefore we are entitled to walk away from the contract.

The agent is now talking about putting the matter in the hands of a debt collecting agency.
I believe that if I can put the matter into a disputes process then that will slow things down a bit but at this point am not sure how to do this.

Any thoughts and help on this situation would be appreciated.

Jowo_2

As far as I know, there has been no contractual breach that has frustrated the contract and means the landlord is legally obliged to stop charging rent or end the tenancy early when requested.

What aspect of housing law do you think allows a tenant to abandon their contract if they live in a high crime area?

Is the disputes process the one relating to the deposit being held in a tenancy deposit scheme or are you referring to submitting a defence if your daughter is taken to the small claims court? Does your daughter know which tenancy deposit scheme the deposit is in?

Did she have a guarantor? Did the landlord gain a CCJ in court?

MTW_2

Hi,

This has only happened in the last few months and the issue has not been handed to a debt collecting agency yet. I am hoping to put the issue into dispute to get some thinking/fact gathering time.

I dont know anything about housing law but I do know a bit about safety law. I would have thought a landlord had a duty of care to his tennants.
Surely the agents who promote themselves as experts in student accommodation know where the high crime areas are and fit suitable security measures. (we live a hundred miles away and were told the area was OK)

If this is considered to be safety issue then the land lord would have to demonstrate that they had taken all reasonable measures to ensure their tennants safety. I don't believe they did that.

My reason for posting is that I am unsure of my ground and want advice from anyone prepared to give it. Particularly if they have "been there" etc.

Thanks.

BitterAndTwisted

MTW wrote: »

I don't know anything about housing law

Sorry, but that's pretty obvious
I would have thought a landlord had a duty of care to his tennants.

Nope. What sort of duty of care did you have in mind?

Surely the agents who promote themselves as experts in student accommodation know where the high crime areas are and fit suitable security measures. (we live a hundred miles away and were told the area was OK)

They probably do know exactly what the crime-rate is for the neighbourhood the property is in but it's also the tenant's responsibility to acquaunt themselves with that info if it's important to them.

If this is considered to be safety issue then the land lord would have to demonstrate that they had taken all reasonable measures to ensure their tenants safety. I don't believe they did that.

Measures have been taken to provide additional security. What measures under the circumstances would you have undertaken?

My reason for posting is that I am unsure of my ground and want advice from anyone prepared to give it. Particularly if they have "been there" etc.

Thanks.

In my opinion a poor (or naive) choice was made in deciding to rent this particular property in this particular neighbourhood but that's not a compelling enough reason for a tenant to be released from their contractual obligations. Like paying the rent.

The best and only sensible thing to do is pay the rent due now and then negotiate with the agents and see if the landlord will agree to your child being replaced by another tenant while you or they pay all of the landlord's costs in finding a new tenant and to pay whatever rent falls due while that is happening.

silvercar

Are all the students in the house on separate tenancy agreements, or is it a joint tenancy? If it is a joint tenancy, then the landlord could try and get the rent off the other students.

What do the other students in the house fell about the security? Have they all moved out.

I do have sympathy for you, my son was nearly hit by a brick through the window in last year's student house. He moved to a safer road this year.

Jowo_2

Landlords are subject to a high number of legislative requirements regarding health and safety in their properties. For example, gas safety, safe electrical system, no hazards like damp or missing bannisters.

You might find this document handy as it sets out their specific health and safety responsibilities. The Housing Health and Safety Rating System (HHSRS) is a new risk assessment tool used to assess potential risks to the health and safety of occupants in residential properties in England and Wales. This is how the local council environmental health department would review a property reported to them.

Again, I don't believe that a landlord's failure to honour their obligations means that the tenant can automatically breach their contract. Even tenants in properties where the landlord has been ordered to complete repairs because they've failed a HHSRS inspection can still expect to pay their rent.


http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/housing/pdf/150940.pdf

Some issues, such as neighbourhood disputes or environmental, exterior to the property itself, is seen as outwith the landlord's responsibility - the landlord's can't influence them aand aren't required by law to act, such as noisy neighbours.

Other MSE members should be able to advise you whether you can argue that the contract has been frustrated by the landlord under the conditions you cite.

Do you know if the property was required to have a licence to operate as a HMO? House in Multiple Occupation. If not, contact the local council or look it up on their website. All properties that are composed of 2 or more unrelated households (such as the house share you describe) are classed as HMOs but only a few are subject to a mandatory licencing requirement. Councils can bring in discretionary HMO licensing for properties that fall outwith the mandatory licensing requirement (property of 3 plus habitable storeys of 5 plus tenants composed of two or more households, i.e. not all members of the same family) but many don't.

The rules are complex but it might be worth checking if there's been a HMO licensing breach - these properties have higher health and safety requirements. I don't think that tenants in unlicensed properties have the right to abandon their tenancy, though but if the landlord is dodgy with regards to licence breaches, its worth reporting them.

http://www.sheffield.gov.uk/in-your-area/housing-services/private-sector-housing/private-landlords/houses-in-multiple-occupation

Hump

Stating the obvious but assuming all 8 signed the tenancy which position did your daughter sign at? Only the first 4* will be joint tenants, the other 4 won't be (they may be equitable tenants), which might invalidate some of demands being made by the agent, the relationships between the tenants but probably not the ultimate liabilities.

*s34(2) Law of Property Act 1925