Urgent Help Needed Regarding Living In Student Accomodation

JohnSmith_3

Hi

I live in an off-campus student accommodation at Warwick University. I have not signed a formal contract and was just given the house keys due to a clerical mistake by them. Because there is a room spare in the house they are expecting me to pay an under-occupancy charge. Maybe the following email will help clarify my situation (please note the bold typed things):

"Dear John

I apologise for the lack of response you have received regarding this matter. I have
now looked into the matter fully and can provide you with a response regarding the
under occupancy charges for 2 Freeburn Causeway.

I have described the situation below as I see it with regards to people moving in
and out of this property.

The original group which who signed the contract for this property were:

Thomas1
Thomas2
Thomas3
Thomas4

Thomas1 and Thomas2 never moved into the property and are withdrawn from the University and so their contracts were terminated. You moved into the property in place of Thomas1 and have been paying rent from 20th September 2007. Therefore, from 20th
September there were only three people living in a four bed property. As per the terms of the contract the house mates are responsible for the total rent of the
property and so if there are three of you in a four bed property the extra rent for the spare room is split equally between you as an under occupancy charge.

I am aware that you have not signed the contract for this property but you collected
the keys and have been living at the property since 20th September. This is taken as
acceptance of the terms of the contract.

On 12th February Thomas3 took temporary withdrawal and as per the terms of the contract was released from the contract. This left two of you at the property
responsible for four rents.

I have spoken to the Senior Property Manager regarding your under occupancy charges and she has agreed to cancel the second under occupancy charge relating to Thomas3's departure. This leaves you and Thomas4 with the under occupancy for one room at
the property. I am in the office all day tomorrow and so will check your account and
make sure that the correct charges are on your account. If there are any changes to the amounts that you have already paid I will let you know.

Kind regards
Gemma"

Can someone please let me know how I legally stand taking into consideration that I have not actually signed anything.

The University is trying to rip me off!!!

withabix

They can't do that, as you have not signed anything.

Did they provide you with the 'terms of the contract' on or before 20th September?

If not, there aren't any to agree to.

The fac that the property is under-occupied is their fault, not yours.

I would suggest you edit your post to remove all the names though.

JohnSmith_3

withabix wrote: »

I would suggest you edit your post to remove all the names though.

Thanks for the advice.

No they did not provide me with the 'terms of the contract' on or before 20th September? I have not signed or received anything regarding the house other than receiving the keys.

Basically what I think they have said in the email is that because you took the keys from us, you legally accepted the terms of the contract. But how can this be.

How can I legally content this charge? What can I do?

poppysarah

There are two types of contract.

One where you are an individual and only responsible for your own rent.
And one where you are responsible jointly for all the rent.

If you were let a room on your own - without being told you would have to pay all the rent (Say noone else moved in!) then you're only responsible for your own.

You need some serious help - debt for university accomodation may inpact on your graduation - so you need to get this clarified quickly.

To tell you now - so long after is outrageous.

Ring shelter's hotline now.

tbs624

There does not have to be a written contract for a Tenancy to be in existence. Just as the Uni has not followed things up before now, neither have you and most Tenants would want the security of an Agreement that has been formalised, not least to avoid the type of the difficulty you are now facing.

Have you seen a copy of the Tenancy Agreement signed by any of the other Tenants?

Have you ever asked the Uni for a copy of the Tenancy Agreement?

Is the property an HMO (House in Multiple Occupation)? If it is, then the TA is unlikely to be of “joint and several liability” type, but individual responsibility for your own rent only.

Some halls of res. (& other properties owned/managed by Unis) aren’t defined as HMOs but do come under an approved Code of Practice for management purposes. You can check whether your property is listed at: www.universitiesuk.ac.uk/acop and see here for complaints procedure info: http://www.anuk.org.uk/LargeCode/complaints.asp

Have you spoken to anyone at the NUS - nationally or your Uni affiliate?

Does your Uni have a legal advice clinic? (often run by 3rd year law students, under supervision)

You can also seek advice from the TRO (Tenancy Relations Officer - private rentals) within the local Council’s Housing Dept. Ring & ask for an advice interview and have all necessary info with you - their advice is free.

You could also try Shelter, as Poppysarah has suggested, or the CAB (ask for someone with LL & T law experience).