Student Housing 101: Are You Getting Played By Your Landlord?!

We are not lawyers and are not licensed to give legal advice. All information shared in this blog is for educational and informational purposes and should not be interpreted as legal advice. For guidance on specific situations, please consult a qualified solicitor.

Going into my first year of University, it was no short of daunting, especially when you are - like most of us are - leaving far from home. I always saw accommodations as the symbol of my home away from home; I tend to spend more time there than anywhere else, and to me, it has always been essential that I feel comfortable! Because of this, I have had to trust my landlord, and I often find, from speaking with peers, that this trust is abused by landlords who fail to fulfill their legal obligations. 

For example, in my second year, my front door lock stopped working, and I called the receptionist right away. I was told they'd have someone there in the morning because no workers could help solve the issue right away. It was a sleepless night to say the least, what can I say? I was living in a new area and had no idea how safe or unsafe it was, but I had to trust my landlord would get it fixed in the morning. The next morning came around, they came and fixed it, so my initial trust was validated. However, shortly after this incident, one of the lights in my room stopped working, leaving my room really dark. 

Then again, I found myself contacting the receptionist, a worker came and checked it, then said they'd have another light in a couple of weeks… that never happened. A “couple weeks”?. This illustrates how landlords will fix specific issues right away that may expose them to liability. However, apparently, me not having appropriate lighting wasn't important enough for them, even though it still greatly affected my comfort. 

In my view, students need to be aware of their rights as tenants to ensure they have the best possible experience when away from home for an extended period. I mean, if you’d ask me, I wish SOMEONE, ANYONE at all had warned and advised me about this when I was going through what I did with my accommodation last year! 

But lucky for you and unlike I did, you now have The Student NETwork, where we share our experiences with hope that you learn from them! A good place to start is to do. your. research. I promise you it takes less than 20 minutes to surf the web and browse through some reliable sites, emphasis on reliable, if I was to go into the many horror stories on all unreliable information I have encountered…we might be here a while. So, to save you the hassle I will provide a brief guide to resolving your issues with your landlord. I call it “Get To Know or Find Out 101”. 

To begin, the UK government's guideline and website - GOV.UK -is always a great place to start; they are pretty easy to read and digest, if you ask me!

Tenants Responsibilities:

Firstly, there are responsibilities you have as a tenant, and recognising them early on is the first step to not ending up a loser. If your landlord is indeed taking liberties with their own obligations, you need to make sure you are not in a position where your behaviour can be used against you when you bring a complaint forward…in essence do your part. A few of the essential things to remember are outlined in the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018[1]; some of those responsibilities include[2]: 

• Landlords are not responsible for any problems caused by your or your flatmates' behaviour as tenants. 

• If there is any damage caused by you or your family and friends, you are required to pay for those damages. 

• Paying your rent and bills on time, regardless of whether there are repairs or maintenance that you are waiting to be completed. 

There may be other rules you need to follow, specific to your contract, such as quiet hours or responsibilities during a fire alarm. 

Landlord's responsibilities:

The complexity arises from the responsibilities of a landlord; they are in a position of power, and the UK government has set safeguards to ensure that you are on a level playing field. The following guide for tenants on the UK government website is a great tool to assess whether you have grounds for a complaint and which avenue to take. It also provides guidance on what to look for before entering into an accommodation agreement. This can be accessed here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-to-rent. 

Under "step 2," the landlord's responsibilities are highlighted, some of which include:

• The property's structure and exterior.

• Sanitary fittings (drainage, basins, etc.).

• Heating and hot water.

• Gas appliances and related articles

• Electrical appliances 

• Health and safety obligations (e.g gas safety check)

  
  

The complete list is available on the UK government's guide to the Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Act 2018 service listed earlier. There are also obligations regarding general cleanliness, including, but not limited to, mould, pests, and refuse; electrical hazards; crowding and space; and other safety obligations, such as security (working locks on doors, fire safety, etc.).

Do yourself a huge favour and GET TO KNOW. Because the truth is, landlords do have legal obligations, and you do have the power to hold them accountable, but only if you know exactly what steps to take when things go wrong. 

So what should you do if you have a genuine complaint? Who do you contact first? Do you need evidence? And what if they ignore you altogether? 

Well…the bad news for us is that we’ve been there and had to learn the hard way, BUT the good news for you is, you’re not us and you don’t have to be! We’ve learnt so we can guide you. In the next part of this blog, I’ll walk you through what steps I have taken and you can take to challenge poor maintenance, escalate complaints and win…even when your landlord hopes you’ll give up ;) 

In the meantime, if you would like to make a special request blog post, feel free to shoot me an email @ sj453. 

Till next time!

Author: Sufyan Jawed