Dropping out of student house. Help!

Me1234_2

Hi everyone

Originally I was going to live in private student accommodation with my girlfriend (I know, bad idea) next year. I have paid the deposit as well as signed the contract. However, a couple of weeks ago I broke up with my girlfriend and now want to find alternative accommodation

My dad seems to think that because I haven't moved in yet I would not be liable for the rent for the original house in the event the estate agent cannot find another person. However, the estate agent tells me that I am locked into the original contract and would have to pay rent if another person couldn't be found. The estate agent has not been the most professional of outfits and it's a one man organisation so I'm inclined to be sceptical about his claims.

However, if the estate agent is right, I am in a very difficult situation. If I sign any new contracts for this other house I could then be liable for TWO rents, which I simply cannot afford, I already get paid the minimum amount of student finance.

I'm just wondering if anyone could advise me of my legal rights in this situation, and whether the my dad or the estate agent is right. It seems daft that I would be locked into a contract months in advance before I'd paid any rent

martinsurrey

so lets cut it the other way.

if you had not broken up with your gf, and had rocked up to the house expecting to move in, to find somone else living there, what would you have said?

something along the lines of "you cant live here, I signed a contract and paid a deposit!!"

Your dad is wrong.

dannim12345

Yes you will be liable. Start look for a replacement now! Its pretty early in the year so you should be able to find existing students who are looking. In the Summer, new students will be looking for a room to rent.

If you leave it later & later you possbily will miss out on the other place you now want to rent.

Maggie.Moo_2

Judging by Facebook groups and our Portal noticeboard, there is always someone who has left it until the start of the new term to try and sort out a room. Start advertising on Facebook/Twitter/Gumtree/any internal networks ect and hope you find someone to replace you.

If not, couldn't you just swallow your pride and live with your ex? It may not be pleasant but you don't have to interact with her. My friends shared a house with two people they absolutely hated (were all previously friends from halls but something happened before moving into private), they weren't happy but they dealt with it because that's what they signed up for. It also seems to be that you end up hating the people you live with at some point anyway...

Me1234_2

Maggie.Moo wrote: »

Judging by Facebook groups and our Portal noticeboard, there is always someone who has left it until the start of the new term to try and sort out a room. Start advertising on Facebook/Twitter/Gumtree/any internal networks ect and hope you find someone to replace you.

If not, couldn't you just swallow your pride and live with your ex? It may not be pleasant but you don't have to interact with her. My friends shared a house with two people they absolutely hated (were all previously friends from halls but something happened before moving into private), they weren't happy but they dealt with it because that's what they signed up for. It also seems to be that you end up hating the people you live with at some point anyway...

Well, the good news is that I get along with the other tenants well and they'll help me with finding a replacement (There was going to be four of us) There's no real bad blood between me and my ex, but neither of us want to live with each other now, and the people I want to move in with are housemates I'm with currently, and I get along with them all really well.

The university has had had fewer and fewer students for the past 3 years or so, so it's a buyers' market at the moment, so I'm slightly worried about the prospect of finding a fourth person. The spare room is also a fair bit smaller than the other two rooms. Think I'll just have to put off signing any new documents for a few weeks until we can hopefully find someone.