Student Housing Threatening Court- Advice needed please

willow-tree

Hi there,
I would be more than grateful if anyone is able to offer me any advice.
My son started Uni in September 2019, by Christmas he had locked himself away, stopped attending lectures, due to severe anxiety. He left the Uni formally the first week of January 2020, and the keys were returned to student housing. I contacted student housing to advise he was no longer in the property due to having left the University. They advised me they would attempt to market the studio flat for the remaining term. Needless to say then Covid hit, and obviously this became an impossibility. 
I wrote several emails to the Student housing company to chase up, as I was uncertain what the rules were regarding rent, due to a) my son not actually allowed to stay there due to no longer attending the UNI and b) many of the properties being vacated due to Covid. On each occasion my telephone voicemails were never returned, neither were my e-mails. 
In approx July I was sent a demand for the remainder of the rent Apr 2020-Sep 2020 a sum of 2385.52 via e-amil. Again I wrote to the company advising, my son was not working, my husband self employed and critically vulnerable so unable to work - leaving me a part time employee for the NHS to pay all the bills as well as support a family of six. I offered payments of a nominal amount £50 per month, again the email was not responded to. 
On the 21st December we have now received a letter from the solicitors stating if we don't pay we'll be taken to court, and to fill out the form, stating the reasons that we don't think we should pay. 
Times are difficult and stressful enough, without this hanging over my head. We as a family are struggling to keep our heads above water. My son on leaving University did visit the doctor and was put on anti anxiety medication, which he still takes, unfortunately the letter from the solicitors was addressed to him, so this has exasperated his anxiety.

If there is any advice you maybe able to offer me it would be appreciated, thank you.  

silvercar

Some questions if I may.

1. what sort of accommodation is this? University owned halls of residence? Privately owned halls of residence? 

2. You say ‘the student housing company’ it isn’t really clear who this is and who they are acting for, they could be estate agents acting for a landlord or the admin offices of the university or the offices of the privately owned halls.
3. when your son handed the keys back, did he receive any acknowledgment of (a) the keys being returned or (b) the contract ending?

4. Look up his original contract, what does it say about terminating early?
5. try to find out what the landlord/ hall/ company policy was on students leaving due to covid, your son shouldn’t have been treated any worse than students who went home due to the situation.
6. what deposit did your son give? Was it protected as required by law?

7. You talk about your financial situation, at the end of the day this is your son’s contract not a family obligation. Of course you want to help your son, but you don’t need to feed that information to anyone demanding money.
8. did you or anyone else sign as a guarantor for the rent?

9. The university will have a housing department that should be able to offer some assistance.

I know this is a lot of questions, but the more info you are prepared to give the easier it will be to give accurate replies. Some private halls eg unite were very helpful in cancelling rent for students that went home early because of covid, others less so. Universities were also more understanding. We need to understand who the contract was made with and whether it was terminated properly.

willow-tree

Hello Silvercar,
Thank you for your response, in answer to your questions;
1.It is owned and operated by Bournemouth Uni's private accommodation partner, The Student Housing Company.
3. When the key's were returned, I called the Accommodation Ambassador for the site, who confirmed he was in receipt of the keys. There was no mention of termination of contract, just that they would attempt to lease the property for the remaining term.
4. There is no mention in the contract of early termination of contract.
5. There is limited info on their policy regarding the 1st lock down - I have found the info below. 

Students at the University of Bournemouth have rounded on one of the institution’s student accommodation partners, claiming that they are being made to divulge sensitive information in order to have their claims for rent release assessed. 

Across the UK, students who are spending the coronavirus lockdown away from their university are reluctant to hand over money for student accommodation while it remains unclear if and when they will return to continue their studies.

Several students at the University of Bournemouth have contacted Research Professional News after being asked for what they believe to be unnecessary, personal information in order for their rent appeals to be processed. The students have also complained of frustrating waits for responses to their requests.

They are all residents of Bailey Point, a residence operated by The Student Housing Company, described on the University of Bournemouth’s website as its “private accommodation partner”. Research Professional News has made several attempts to contact The Student Housing Company for a response to the allegations.

Research Professional News has seen correspondence apparently sent from the company to individual students which says loan information and employment details—both for the student and their parents—along with medical documentation, including prescriptions and parental hospital letters, are needed in order to proceed with rent appeal cases.

Jasmine Morris, a first-year law student at Bournemouth, says she moved out of Bailey Point on 8 March—before the ongoing coronavirus lockdown had come into force. 

“I went back because the first case of coronavirus had been confirmed in Bournemouth, and that was enough for me,” she told Research Professional News.

“I had to go home because my dad had cancer a few years ago and still doesn’t have a brilliant immune system, like many after chemotherapy. It was either I go home and isolate with him as quickly as possible to reduce the risk of bringing it home or stay in Bournemouth.”

Morris says she emailed The Student Housing Company to tell them she had left, and ask if a reduction in rent was a possibility.

“I emailed them again two weeks later telling them if they didn’t reply I wasn’t going to pay the rent because I’ve had no contact at all,” she told us. She says the firm responded with a request for detailed information about her situation.

“They wanted my medical records, my dad’s medical records, my ID, proof of student finance, proof of financial hardship. My family and I live in and run a pub, so as you can imagine they are not earning any money at the moment.”

Morris emailed again, asking why such “sensitive information” needed to be obtained when due to the coronavirus pandemic she was “not allowed to go to the doctors unless it is an emergency”.

“They said they couldn’t answer my question and directed me back to Bailey Point’s support team.” Morris was then asked again to upload the documents that had originally been requested, she said.

“With rent being due in a week, and no other way they were going to consider me for rent release, I uploaded those documents they asked for,” Morris said.

“I sent them a picture of my dad’s first test results which are proof that he’d had leukaemia, but they wanted another document that had a name, address, date and an official stamp,” she added. 

“I’m currently at a loss for words as to how they are treating me.” 

As Research Professional News has covered previously, some universities and halls of residence owners are letting students break their contracts if the coronavirus outbreak has forced them to return home.

Hannah Shone, a first-year psychology student also living at Bailey Point, said she was also uncomfortable after being asked to provide details about how much she receives in student loan payments as part of her rent appeal.
 
“[The Student Housing Company] will not explain why they need to know how much student loan we get,” she told us. “My student loan is being used to ensure I can buy food and pay rent to my parents, as I am now living back at home. I do not have a spare £2,235 to be given to The Student Housing Company when I am not even living there.”

A third student, who asked to remain anonymous, told Research Professional News she had asked The Student Housing Company if she could reclaim her possessions, move out, and not be liable for rent for next term—a total of around £2,300. Her self-employed parents—who are classed as vulnerable to the virus because of existing health conditions—had lost a significant amount of income as a result of the Covid-19 fallout, she said.

In response, she was asked to upload proof of her student loan status, and evidence that her mother and father were self-employed and had applied for the government’s income support scheme. After providing as much information as possible, she said she received another email requesting that she provide similar information again via an online ‘portal’. 

The email, seen by Research Professional News, said: “We recognise there may be uncertainty regarding your current lease with us, as your plans for education this year have been disrupted. We have been working hard to ensure that we can support each of our residents and understand their unique situation to assess how we can best support them.” It went on to say that the firm could “reassure you that we are still open for business” and that students should complete requests on the portal no later than 15 May 2020.

On its website, The Student Housing Company says it has created a ‘student support programme’ to support students over the impact of Covid-19 on issues including tenancy agreements.

A statement on the website says: “We recognise there is a lot of uncertainty regarding the plans you have made this year for your education, and we have been working hard behind the scenes to best support you…We understand that everyone’s situation is different, so we have put a programme in place to support each of you on an individual basis.”

A spokesperson for the University of Bournemouth said the situation with its halls of residence was “complicated, as many of our halls are owned and run by external accommodation providers and only a few are managed by [the university]”. 

“We are in discussions with the accommodation providers and our legal team to see what can be done in terms of rent payments for the third term,” he said. “For that reason, we have put a temporary halt on issuing any further invoices for rent in university-managed accommodation until we have reached our final decision.” 

He added: “Along with other universities, we are talking to the government and other sector bodies to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on student accommodation. It is a complex issue, but we are working hard to come to a solution to support our students as soon as possible.” 

6. The deposit was £250 it was protected by law. 

7. It is my son's contract, however I am listed as a guarantor. 

Again thank you for taking the time to reply. 

tacpot12

Based on the information you have given, legally both he and you are jointly and severally liable for the debt, unless the creditor is prepared to write it off, which they don't appear to be prepared to do at the moment. 

I would suggest you contact the University asap to explain the difficulty you are having getting The Student Housing Company to process your son's application under the Student Support Programme, taking into account his individual circumstances.  I don't see why he shouldn't benefit from any Covid-19 policy after the pandemic hit, although his situation is different as he dropped out before the pandemic hit. 

I would suggest you need to make a formal complaint to The Student Housing Company, in writing, saying that you don't think that they have responded to your adequately OR taken your son's individual circumstances into account as per their Student Support Programme. I would suggest that you ask them to reduce the debt, and make an offer to pay the reduced debt. Send copies of your letter to the Solicitors, so they know you have written to the creditor.

 If the solicitor continues to threaten legal action, this might get to court before The Student Housing Company has responded to you,  in which case, you can ask the court not to make an order until they do respond. If the court won't do this, you will need to pay the amount of the claim (which will have further costs added) within 30 days to avoid it impacting on your credit record (You can avoid the CCJ being recorded against your credit records if you pay within 30 days). If you can repay by getting a personal loan or putting household spending onto credit cards. The court will take your income into account, and will allow you to pay what you can afford, but you will have the CCJ recorded against your name and your son's name. 

I think it likely that they will not reduce the debt  and continue to pursue you both for it. Your son is not working so should be claiming Universal Credit which means that he should be able to repay at the rate of around £200 a month. Your offer of £50 does look like you are letting him off the hook and shouldering all the burden yourself.