Really need some help

KC_92

Basically my boyfriend who has just finished his first year at University is stuck in a very lengthy, long winded housing contract.

However, he has been told he failed and it has to go to an exam board to see whether they let him restart first year again.

This contract was with 3 other people for a student house share from an estate agent. They did all decide before he got told he failed that they didn't want to move in anymore.

I know my boyfriend has been...well idiotic and signed something he actually didn't know was a contract at the time :mad:
He was kinda pressured into it by his friend at the time [but now after he said he didn't want to move in anymore, said friend is no longer friend]
My boyfriend is dyslexic and actually needs purple paper to read off [he did so at college] and the contract is so long, he couldn't have read it all in the barely there minute he was offered by the estate agents.

They asked after he signed it for a guarantor and other details but the only person he could ask is his mum and they have said she couldn't be one. They haven't asked him anything further about that...

We have been to the estate agent and they genuinely seemed to be trying everything to try get other people to take it over but no one seems interested...it is rather pricey at £100 per week. They said some sort of case would be opened up against him if he didn't pay the quarterly rent on the 22nd June [but I have no idea what they meant] and if that failed, it could end up in court

Even if he did pay the rent and the other housemates didn't he wouldn't be allowed a key to the place...so nowhere to live...

It's all such a big mess and I'm horribly stressed, ended up in hospital with bad chest pains because of all this

What can we do?

marliepanda

What exactly has he signed? A tenancy agreement?

Has he been granted a tenancy? if they want a guarantor, and he cannot provide one, then there is no tenancy. When is the tenancy supposed to start?

Had he paid any money?

If, as you say in the last sentence, that he would not be allowed to live in the house if he paid his part of the rent then I do not see how a tenancy has been started. Has he signed up for a whole house where he is liable for all of the rent for the rooms himself, regardless of the other tenants.

He should have a copy of what he signed that you can look at.

KC_92

We do have a copy of the contract and its very lengthy...

He signed the contract, yes a tenancy agreement and he pays the rent 22nd June and meant to move in the 1st July. I don't think he has to pay all the rent for the others, she didn't say that but if he paid and the others didn't he would be locked out.

He has already paid £100 for a deposit and a further £112 to re-advertise the property.

So if he hasn't been able to provide a suitable guarantor that means the contract is broken? Because they didn't ask for one first before he signed which shouldn't have happened.

BitterAndTwisted

I would take the position that as they are re-advertising the property they have accepted that there will be no tenancy. Your boyfriend should not pay them any rent and accept that any money he's paid them so far has been lost.

marliepanda

Well that doesnt make any sense. If he pays his rent for his room he cannot be locked out. Thats illegal eviction.

£112 to readvertise? Is this for breaking the contract that him and the other 3 students were going to move in?

I am not saying that the contract is broken, just that the LL or LA 'MAY' reject the tenancy if he doesnt provide a guarantor.

Honestly you are saying he was pressurised into signing the contract, but he also paid out a big chunk of money AND started discussions with them about guarantors. What he should have done is walk away. If you sign something without reading it thats your own fault, and it may be that he has signed up to rent this room for the duration stated in the tenancy he signed.

What I do not see working is the fact that he will be locked out if these 'other tenants' don't as as far as I can see it is going to be a HMO (separate contracts for separate rooms) and they cannot exclude him from his room on the basis of other tenants actions. Do they even HAVE any other tenants? They cannot throw him out before he was even started living there.

KC_92

Well I have actually remembered that when he said he had no one else as guarantor they said it "didn't really matter" wow really professional.

Also my boyfriend can be highly dumb at times and it is his own mess really....but don't worry I've made sure he'll never sign anything again!!

The £112 was to find another person to take over his contract. He and 3 other guys have all signed it but 1 said they couldn't afford it and then it all fell apart. He thought the £112 meant he could get out of it, but they said no it didn't

Sorry to not know about these things but what is LL and LA?

I know he should have walked away but he is very easily pressurized into things which I know is a very bad thing and I'm trying to get him to break that habit. I think he signed it thinking it was just saying he accepted the terms and conditions and would then sign an actual contract later on.

So it is illegal for them to deny him access?

As much as these estate agents are rather nice, they don't seem to have a clue...

I would also like to say thank you so much for your replies, they have been helpful!

marliepanda

KC_92 wrote: »

Well I have actually remembered that when he said he had no one else as guarantor they said it "didn't really matter" wow really professional.

Also my boyfriend can be highly dumb at times and it is his own mess really....but don't worry I've made sure he'll never sign anything again!!

The £112 was to find another person to take over his contract. He and 3 other guys have all signed it but 1 said they couldn't afford it and then it all fell apart. He thought the £112 meant he could get out of it, but they said no it didn't

Sorry to not know about these things but what is LL and LA?

I know he should have walked away but he is very easily pressurized into things which I know is a very bad thing and I'm trying to get him to break that habit. I think he signed it thinking it was just saying he accepted the terms and conditions and would then sign an actual contract later on.

So it is illegal for them to deny him access?

As much as these estate agents are rather nice, they don't seem to have a clue...

I would also like to say thank you so much for your replies, they have been helpful!

LL - Landlord LA - letting agent

I dont understand why he has paid a readvertising fee and a deposit. Was the deposit made before the tenancy fell apart with the other students?

Also he shouldnt be paying a readvertising fee if they are expecting him to move in as its not his rooms they are readvertising, but the ones who have pulled out...

IF he goes ahead with the tenancy then it would be illegal for them to deny him access based on the other tenants not paying. But from the info so far its not clear at all what is going on.

G_M

My guess (and it is just a guess) is that he and the other tenants have all signed a "joint and several" tenancy.

Which means the entire rent for the property must be paid by one or more of them, and it does not matter who.

This might explain the "if he did pay the rent and the other housemates didn't he wouldn't be allowed a key" - in other words they will only hand over a key for the property if the full rent is paid, not if just his 'share' is paid.

However this would be illegal I believe. Either they grant a tenancy, accept rent, and hand over a key (and then deal with any rent arrears appropriately OR
they do NOT grant a tenancy, therefore do NOT accept any rent at all, and do not hand over a key.

They cannot accept PART rent but also refuse to grant a tenancy by denying a key!

The guarantor issue is irrelevant. If a tenancy agreement has been signed without a guarantor, then the landlord/agent has agreed to grant a tenancy without a guarantor!

If your boyfriend is dyslexic, he should not sign documents and hand over money without taking advice/getting help reading. I take it he is mentally capable, just has reading issues? If he were mentally incapable (or whatever the correct terminology is these days) it could be claimed to a court he was not legally able to sign for himself, but this does not appear to be the case.

What about the other 3 tenants? They are also not moving in? So they are equally liable for breaching the contract (I assume they all signed a single "joint and several" tenancy agreement?)

Bitterandtwisted suggests that by re-advertising they have accepted that there will be no tenancy, but this may not be the case. The £112 re-advertising fee may be part of their condition for surrendering the contract - the other part being that rent is paid until a replacement tenant is in place. Which fom what you say may be difficult.

(incidentally - have the other 3 also paid £112 each?)

However I agree the best course of action is for all 4 tenants to write stating they do not intend to take up the tenancy. The money paid to date will be lost, and there is a high likelyhood the landlord/agent will not bother with legal action, but will just seek to find new tenants.

[Deleted User]

I would strongly advise you to take whatever agreement he signed, and go with him to the CAB. See if you can get a specialist appointment with an advisor that deals with housing. Explain the situation, the situation when he signed (i.e. he wasn't totally aware of what he was signing) and find out
1)what the estate agent (who are the Letting Agency or LA) should be doing.., and
2)what your friend's legal obligations are.

Another option is to phone your local civic centre and ask if there are any organisations (charities) who advise on housing that attend the civic centre. You can also try phoning Shelter for advice.

We can't advise accurately because we can't see the documents and aren't involved in the conversations with the LA. Try and get both of yourselves as wised up as you can on a tenants rights and obligations. You could start by reading the Tenancy sticky above.

By the way LL is the Land Lord.

killerpeaty

Hi,
I don't know an awful lot about this kind of thing but your boyfriend's university will have an advice service that can help him. Get him (not you, sorry they will usually only speak to the person directly involved, mine once wouldn't talk to me because although I was paying a bill my name wasn't on it!) to email them straight away and he might be able to get an appointment soon.
I hope he gets it all sorted soon.

KC_92

I dont understand why he has paid a readvertising fee and a deposit. Was the deposit made before the tenancy fell apart with the other students?

Yes it was

"Also he shouldnt be paying a readvertising fee if they are expecting him to move in as its not his rooms they are readvertising, but the ones who have pulled out..."

It's only for his room I think, not the others


"IF he goes ahead with the tenancy then it would be illegal for them to deny him access based on the other tenants not paying. But from the info so far its not clear at all what is going on."

I don't have a clue what's going on either, it's a total utter mess.



"Which means the entire rent for the property must be paid by one or more of them, and it does not matter who.

This might explain the "if he did pay the rent and the other housemates didn't he wouldn't be allowed a key" - in other words they will only hand over a key for the property if the full rent is paid, not if just his 'share' is paid."

Yes they want all the rent from everyone on the 22nd June


"(incidentally - have the other 3 also paid £112 each?)"
I think at least one of them has. I know the whole property is advertised again so maybe they all have. But one is a bit of an a** and not messaging back.

"However I agree the best course of action is for all 4 tenants to write stating they do not intend to take up the tenancy. The money paid to date will be lost, and there is a high likelyhood the landlord/agent will not bother with legal action, but will just seek to find new tenants."

I really hope so! but the lady did say it could go to court
I have also asked she speak with the landlord and explain my boyfriends situation, right now he doesn't even know if he can carry on!!

"I would strongly advise you to take whatever agreement he signed, and go with him to the CAB. See if you can get a specialist appointment with an advisor that deals with housing. Explain the situation, the situation when he signed (i.e. he wasn't totally aware of what he was signing) and find out
1)what the estate agent (who are the Letting Agency or LA) should be doing.., and
2)what your friend's legal obligations are."

Thank you I will try that


Do you think these letting agents just don't have a clue what they are doing based on what I have said?
I may phone them up Wednesday and ask more questions, any suggestions?