Tenant's rights - advice sought

[ChasW]

My daughter rented a room in a 3 bedroom London basement flat in August paying £700 per month. The other occupants are the owner (landlord) and another tenant. These have been a succession of issues in the first six weeks. My daughter's room is poorly ventilated and only has a glass door leading to a garden, no windows. So in the interests of security my daughter keeps the door locked at night. The first issue has been slugs in the room. This has happened a couple of times and the owner has promised to sort it out. The second issue is that they allowed another person to use my daughter's room one weekend while she was on holiday. My daughter was furious when she found out. At first the owner denied it but the evidence was so clear she finally confessed, apologised and promised not let it happen again. Finally, now that cold nights have arrived it's clear that the room has a damp problem. You can imagine that my daughter is fed up and want to leave.

The rental agreement stipulates that she is committed to three months before she can give notice; one month. This means putting up with this highly unpleasant situation for another 10 weeks unless she takes a financial hit which she cannot afford.

Any advice on where she stands and whether there are grounds for getting out early due to the circumstances?

[_Deano]

What sort of contract has been written up between the landlord and your daughter?
Was it one created by an estate agent, which also holds the deposit? Or something knocked up by the landlord?

Also how much of a deposit and what details have been given to the landlord/estate agent, as security?

[ChasW]

I don't have a copy of the rental agreement though I did read it before she signed it. I have asked for a copy. From memory it looked like an off-the-shelf standard agreement between her and the landlord. I say this because I recently witnessed one for my neighbour's son and it looked identical to hers. There is no agent involved. The deposit was 6 weeks rent.

[hornetrider]

ChasW said:

The second issue is that they allowed another person to use my daughter's room one weekend while she was on holiday. My daughter was furious when she found out. At first the owner denied it but the evidence was so clear she finally confessed, apologised and promised not let it happen again.

That is outrageous. Frankly I would be using that as a reason for getting out now.

[ChasW]

Also how much of a deposit and what details have been given to the landlord/estate agent, as security?


[/quote]

Sorry

I meant to ask what do you mean by the point about security?

[anonymous-user]

Your daughter is not a tenant, she is a lodger. The fact that she shares the house with the owner is enough to prove this point and that would definitely make a difference as to the agreement she signed.

Tell her to talk to shelter, great advice on here http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/sharing_a... or else use this site which has a lot of great advice http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/forumdisplay.p...

Edited by anonymous-user on Tuesday 23 September 11:46

[Simpo Two]

If the external door has to be shut for security (not unreasonable), how is she supposed to breathe?

[Petrus1983]

The fact someone used her room is beyond acceptable. I'd get a solicitor to quickly draft a letter along the lines of "I'm off due to the fact you entered my room without permission and hope this letter ceases our dealings without further legal action against you".

[BrabusMog]

In this instance, especially as the landlord has admitted someone entered the room without permission, I'm sure a polite chat highlighting the issues, ending the tenancy and receiving the deposit back would not be a problem. I'd be pretty sure the deposit won't be held in the TDS, which is a nice bit blackmail ammo should it be required.

[BoRED S2upid]

The landlord using the room for a weekend should be enough to break a clause in the contract and a couple of days refund for subletting her room

£700 for one room! Holy cow I rent a 3 bed house for less London is in a different league.

[ChasW]

Thanks all of you.

As you can imagine as a parent I worry for my kids.

I now have a copy of the agreement she signed and it's titled "Assured Shorthold Tenancy" whether this makes any difference or not.

I agree £700 is ridiculous but the youngsters want to be in the capital.

[anonymous-user]

ChasW said:

Thanks all of you.

As you can imagine as a parent I worry for my kids.

I now have a copy of the agreement she signed and it's titled "Assured Shorthold Tenancy" whether this makes any difference or not.

I agree £700 is ridiculous but the youngsters want to be in the capital.

An AST is bogus because she is a LODGER. See my post above.

[ChasW]

I have been on the shelter site and her status is an "excluded occupier" which includes lodger. I don't believe the AST is deliberately bogus. I think it's more out of ignorance. I get the impression that the this is a first-time landlord, similar age to my daughter, who is a bit naïve.

[paulrockliffe]

garyhun said:

ChasW said:

Thanks all of you.

As you can imagine as a parent I worry for my kids.

I now have a copy of the agreement she signed and it's titled "Assured Shorthold Tenancy" whether this makes any difference or not.

I agree £700 is ridiculous but the youngsters want to be in the capital.

An AST is bogus because she is a LODGER. See my post above.

I was going to say exactly this. I looked to the deposit protection scheme a while ago when I had problems getting a refund on a deposit. (I did eventually get it) I discovered that you can't have an AST if the other party lives in the property, so the deposit guarantee scheme doesn't apply.

So on the one hand, great, because your daughter isn't bound by any contract, but she is less protected in respect of any deposit. By that I mean it may be less straightforward to recover a deposit, rather than being less entitled to the money back.

[ChasW]

Thanks all. She has given notice and is looking for a new place. I have told her to insist on receiving full deposit back when she hands in the keys. I think the landlord might struggle a bit now with the colder nights. When my daughter viewed the place it was during the heatwave.