Student tenancy agreement Landlord breach

MPPG

Just after some advice.  My son signed a tenancy agreement for a room and shared communal areas Inc bathrooms and kitchen.  He signed in good faith after a viewing 3 months ago.  The landlord assured him the existing were clean and tidy and he had encountered no issues with them.  He collected the key 2 weeks ago and went to the move in to the room.  It had mould inthe walls a broken bed and broken wardrobe.  More importantly the communal areas were filthy and toilet seats were broken etc.

The landlord has replaced the furniture in his room and despite emailing to say the communal areas were fine he later emailed to state that they were not and had been vandalised.  He also emailed the existing tenants to let them know that my son was reluctant to move in due to the state of the communal areas.

My son paid a deposit of £175.00 as confirmed in a text by the landlord.  The contract stated £99.00.  The landlord has now returned £76.00 and is holding my son to the tenacy and us looking for payment for his first term at uni. Is the landlord in breach of the agreement for misleading my son regarding the character of the existing tenants and the state his room and the communal areas 

Bluebell1000

This is my personal opinion not based on contract law.
Your son raised the problems with the room and communal areas with the landlord. He's resolved them, reminded the other people of their responsibility, and the room is ready. I appreciate it feels like a breach of trust, but the only reason you have for breaking the contract seems to be 'he said the other tenants were clean and tidy, and they're not'. 
I would expect a rent discount for the 2 weeks he's not been able to move in, but otherwise I think he'll just have to give it a try. Keep reporting problems, if there are any, to the landlord. It sounds like the landlord is responsive and wants things to work in the house, so that's actually quite a good sign.

pinkshoes

Your son has a tenancy agreement for X months and is liable for the full period.

The LL has now fixed the problem.

So technically your son is in breach of his contract now. Perhaps the LL is willing to allow him out of this contract but has deducted a fee for re-advertising the room??

As above, a reduction in the first months rent should have been requested due to the room not being available.

You will need to speak to the LL to clarify why the money has been deducted, but be polite as technically he could charge you for the full contract.

saajan_12

MPPG said:

Just after some advice.  My son signed a tenancy agreement for a room and shared communal areas Inc bathrooms and kitchen.  He signed in good faith after a viewing 3 months ago.  The landlord assured him the existing were clean and tidy and he had encountered no issues with them.  - okay, thats subjective and not something that can really be relied on.. the other tenants may change their behaviour, or move out and new people move in etc. 
He collected the key 2 weeks ago and went to the move in to the room.  It had mould inthe walls a broken bed and broken wardrobe.  More importantly the communal areas were filthy and toilet seats were broken etc. - the repairs issues should be reported in writing and the LL should fix. If the property is still habitable, then rent continues. If the property is temporarily not habitable, then the LL should either provide accommodation elsewhere or refund rent for that period, but the entire contract is still in place. 

The landlord has replaced the furniture in his room and despite emailing to say the communal areas were fine he later emailed to state that they were not and had been vandalised.  He also emailed the existing tenants to let them know that my son was reluctant to move in due to the state of the communal areas. - okay great, that's what is supposed to happen. Are there any issues remaining? 

My son paid a deposit of £175.00 as confirmed in a text by the landlord.  The contract stated £99.00.  - why did he pay £175 then? The landlord has now returned £76.00 and is holding my son to the tenacy and us looking for payment for his first term at uni. Is the landlord in breach of the agreement for misleading my son regarding the character of the existing tenants and the state his room and the communal areas  - breaches are initially dealt with by fixing the breach itself, eg replacing the furniture, sorting the mould etc. That isn't enough to cancel the contract. Theres no 'misleading', its just subjective opinions which are not binding. 

Comments in line. Report any remaining issues in writing and follow up to get them fixed. This does not change the status of the full contract, which is still valid. Son can try to negotiate an early termination, but would have to cover the LL's costs and this isn't' guaranteed anyway. The default is son should move in and must pay rent. 

FreeBear

Gas Safe certificate & electrical installation condition report (EICR) ?

Smoke alarms and CO alarm (if needed) working ?

Deposit protected with an authorised scheme ?

If the answer is no to any/all of the above, you might have grounds for terminating the contract (or negotiating an early release).

Ratkin007

I cannot answer your question but will add, it sounds like a HMO to me. If there are 3 or more people it is a HMO which means it is subject to HMO regulations. 
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2006/372/contents/made
Reg 8 states "the manager must ensure that each unit of living accommodation within the HMO and any furniture supplied with it are in clean condition at the beginning of a person’s occupation of it." amongst other things. Reg 7 covers communal areas. If there are 5 or more people the property should be licensed. If there are 3 or 4 people, you would need to check the Council's website to see if it should be licensed under an Additional scheme. The Council will also have a register of licensed properties.
It won't get your son out of his tenancy but could be useful tools. Also, if it turns out the property should be licensed but is not, he may have the opportunity to apply for a rent repayment order. Another option is for the Council to undertake an inspection of the property.