Student sue landlords and win the case

A student recently booked accommodation with a landlord provider and found it wasn’t all that it seemed. They booked accommodation and turned up to in effect a building site.

A university student booked accommodation and then when they turned up he described it as a “building site”. He then decided that as he was a law student, he would take the landlord to court to apply for compensation. The 19 year old was in his first year at university in East Anglia in 2020. He had decided to move into velocity student accommodation which is in Norridge. He got his university place with clearing and didn’t get a chance to view it beforehand. Thinking what he was going to get was the same as in the photos which were “nice, upmarket student accommodation rooms”.

However, when he turned up to the property it was a completely different picture. The property itself was “a building site”. The property was being developed by the Freedman project LLP and managed by Estateducation. “”There were skips everywhere, tradesmen everywhere, hammering the ceiling, hammering the walls. The place was covered in dust from sanding. “

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“It was almost ironic and funny that people were moving into this place because it looked awful. It was just a bit of a dire state really.” Is what the student said. The student himself moved out after a week and stopped paying his rent. Despite being threatened with recovery action by a debt collector, he turned to his textbooks and started his case against the landlord.

The student collected witness statements, put together the case law and statute law surrounding contract representation, and sued for breach of contract and misrepresentation. He felt it was quite easy trying to resolve it. He said “I studied contract law at the time. To me it was quite an easy case of opening my contract law textbook and looking through some of the relevant law and applied it to the situation.” He added “We sued for our money back our deposit our first month’s rent. They sued for the entire tenancy agreement – around £7,000.”

At an online hearing at Newcastle County Court on 2 November, his dad spoke in court for him, and Jack won what he paid them plus court fees, totalling £999.00 and the counterclaim was dismissed.

It shows you that it is important whenever you have a property to ensure that it is completely finished before anybody moves in. It was an extreme case but landlords should be aware that building works are now the most important items when it comes to having these carried out as soon as is possible. There are new laws under the Unfit for Human Habitation Bill that require landlords to carry out works within a set reasonable period of time. If you need advise on anything then please don’t hesitate to let us know.

Did you know there has been 127 new laws over the past 5 years?

There are more regulations due this year.

The Government recently announces white paper called levelling up and will put even more legalisation on landlords. Such as, a landlords national register, property redress, more standards for homes as well as scrapping the section 21 notice. Can you afford not to now have a letting agent deal with your property for you?

We deal with all types of property throughout the Brighton and Hove area. As well as Hove seafront and the surrounding areas. We have a fantastic level of customer service and will make your property completely stress free when renting it out. Why not let us manage your property for you? You can relax while we deal with it for you. Don’t hesitate to contact us on 01273 724000 or admin@harringtonslettings.co.uk to discuss a free valuation.

Would you like a free property valuation?

Would you like to get an accurate house valuation and find out how much your property is worth? Why not book a Free House valuation from us as property experts. Our experience and marketing knowledge will enable to equip you with all the information you need.

We are local property experts and are available to help you understand the value of your property and give you any property advice required no matter what the situation.

We are able to provide an in person house valuation to know the value of your property. Following strict social distancing guidelines. As experts we can give you an accurate market valuation. Providing you the information you need to be able to understand what your budget is and make the right move for you.

Our valuer will provide you with an accurate property price, advice and proposal based on the local market trends, tenant demand and our experience in letting properties in your area. They will give you advice on how to maximize your letting potential and information on how to get the best possible effort in the time frame that suites you.

Whether you are moving or looking to rent out your investment then we can help you with giving you the best possible property advice. If you would like Harringtons to let your home out, we can work with you to arrange photography and videos to list your property online. We have the facility to provide a 3D tour and extensive professional photographs for your property. We will then send this to our tenant database. There are still a lot of people looking to rent property. When it comes to letting your home, Harringtons is the go to choice in order to get the maximum from your investment.

Why are accurate house valuations so important?

It is always natural for a landlord to choice a local estate agent who gives the highest valuation. However, landlords often find that they haven’t let the property within the first 2 weeks and it is starting to become very stale very quickly. Don’t fall into the trap of just going for the highest valuation. Sometimes something that sounds too good to be true often is. We are experienced letting agents in the Brighton and Hove market and have been for 29 years.

It is therefore important that correct and realistic pricing is key to letting your property quickly it is important to be mindful that valuing a property is not always an exact science. Whilst you are the owner along with our local expert we may set an asking price but it is ultimately the tenant that will look to take the property from you. We will always ensure you get the maximum possible rent that your property can generate. Without overvaluing it and leaving you with a void period. Why not contact for a free valuation for your student or residential property on 01273 724000 or viewings@harringtonslettings.co.uk

iInsure 365

Have you been introduced to our sister company iInsure 365 who deal with all types of insurance? You wont have to worry about filing out a long lengthy forms to find cheap landlord insurance. With iInsure 365 you can speak to one of the team and they will find you a quote through their panel of provider. They deal with all types of level of cover and have various different insurer who can offer quotes for you. There are legal requirements for landlords and it is important that you have the right insurance company to deal with your insurance cover.

A landlord may have one or more properties in the United Kingdom that they rent out. It is important for landlords to spend time looking for the right insurance. Make sure you find an insurance policy specifically designed for landlords. They can ensure properties from all over the United Kingdom for you.

Landlords often believe that a new home policy will suffice. This is not the case and they will then make a claim which virtually all insurers will turn down. Standard home insurance policy mostly cover homeowners or property owners, not landlords. If you stick with your normal house insurance policy you can find yourself with no cover at all.

Landlords building insurance

Landlord building insurance is specifically tailored for landlords and their requirements. iInsure 365 will insure what you need for your policy.

Are you aware of the growing risk of underinsurance?

In the words of the financial conduct authority “there is already an alarming degree of underinsurance”. With both the UK businesses and consumers creating issues throughout each of the property sectors.

It is the responsibility of landlords to ensure they take out sufficient levels for cover for the insured risk of having insurance.

If they fail to take out sufficient level of cover this can have devastating consequences for you. It can result in significant reductions to any insurance pay outs and potentially in the worst case scenario, it may void the policy. Resulting in no pay out at all.

A practical example is as follows;

If the rebuild cost of your premises is £200,000 but the property is only insured for £100,000. You are underinsured by 50%. Every insurance company will have an average clause in the policy. Which is standard and therefore it reduces the sum insured by leaving the policy holder with 50% of an insurance pay out of just £50,000.

We understand from iInsure that they recently had one of their clients check their rebuild costs. iInsure have an ability to be able to check a policy for the correct sum insured for only £160.00. Substantially more than what most surveyors charge.

The client was insured for £630,000. Once the report was carried out it stated that it should have been £856,000. There was an underinsurance of £226,000 which would have been taken off any claim.

They can provide you with a RICKS certified up to date revaluation. Ensuring that your property is correctly insured for the right amount. The cost is minimal compared to what the situation would be if you weren’t paid out to the correct amount.