Student Housing Chaos

ultimatedingbat

Hi all! As an ex-student I knew where to come for advice for a brand new student. My baby sisters ( i say baby, 18 years old now) is at university. She was supposed to get her flat keys last week nad was told there was a problem they were being put up in a hotel for a week. They would "definetly" get their keys on the 29th September. Low and behold today they wer etold it will be the 12th of October before they get the keys!

Can anyone help with what we can expect in terms of:
1) Compensation
2) Help
3) What can they not pay e.g. are they entitled NOT to pay their rent for the first few weeks as they have been pushed and messed around

Clearly this guy is in breach of contract, they are paying out for all their food, laundry etc that htey wouldnt be in their own flat.

Any support or advice most appreciated.

Irrate big sister out

Lokolo

This is better to be posted in the Housing forum.

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

But if the LL is supplying them with other temporary accommodation, I don't see any other compensation would be due. They should still be paying rent though.

TurnUpForTheBooks_2

Lokolo wrote: »

This is better to be posted in the Housing forum.

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

From the point of getting a better idea of the legal position, maybe yes, but the thread topic is extremely topical from the point of view of Student Money Saving.

But if the LL is supplying them with other temporary accommodation, I don't see any other compensation would be due. They should still be paying rent though.

So how exactly do you deduce these two "be grateful they have housed you at all" type conclusions ??

rozmister

ultimatedingbat wrote: »

Hi all! As an ex-student I knew where to come for advice for a brand new student. My baby sisters ( i say baby, 18 years old now) is at university. She was supposed to get her flat keys last week nad was told there was a problem they were being put up in a hotel for a week. They would "definetly" get their keys on the 29th September. Low and behold today they wer etold it will be the 12th of October before they get the keys!

Can anyone help with what we can expect in terms of:
1) Compensation
2) Help
3) What can they not pay e.g. are they entitled NOT to pay their rent for the first few weeks as they have been pushed and messed around

Clearly this guy is in breach of contract, they are paying out for all their food, laundry etc that htey wouldnt be in their own flat.

Any support or advice most appreciated.

Irrate big sister out

Shelter's advice in landlord disputes is to always continue to pay rent. As long as you have signed a contract for the property you are contractually obliged to make rent payments every month and if you fail to do so you put your home at risk. I know they haven't got into their home yet but if they don't pay the rent on time the landlord has every right to give them 1 months notice and evict them! You can always try and claim compensation back off the landlord that is equal, or more than, the rent.

Shelter is probably the best person for you to contact in this case. They can provide advice based on legislation and deal with thousands of cases every year. They probably know more than a lot of posters on this forum (unless someone sees this thread who was in the same position or who represented someone in the same position in the last six months!!).

Has the landlord explained what the problem is? Also how reputable are they? I'd be suspicious the problem was in fact something that might mean the property was indefinitely unavailable (eg. been served a notice that it was not fit for habitation or the landlord didn't quite own it yet or something). It's best to find a resolution one way or another as soon as possible because your sister can't live in a hotel all year and the landlord sounds a bit sketchy!