► ULU Housing Campaign

Introduction

Housing is one of the major crises of life in London, for everyone. Students are often at the sharp end of this: as people on low incomes, often new to the city and living in short term lets, we pay an astronomical sum of money - more than our loans - for poor quality housing.

Meanwhile, universities and colleges are making profits in their Halls at our expense, and private providers are raking it in.

One major problem is that students, often new to the city or to the UK, are not aware of their rights. This allows unscrupulous landlords to rip us off and get away with practices that are often illegal.

We have put together this booklet to bring information about tenants’ rights together in one place and in an easy-to-read format. It is not exhaustive and, in the case of serious problems, it is no substitute for professional advice or organising together with other tenants dealing with the same landlord. 

Nevertheless, we hope it makes people aware of what their rights are, when they are being infringed and provides some pointers of the sorts of action that can be taken.
In solidarity,

Michael Chessum, ULU President
Daniel Cooper, ULU Vice President

 

Tenancy agreements

Written tenancy agreements are preferable to verbal agreements because they are easier to enforce in the case of a dispute. However, prospective tenants are often presented with large written tenancy agreements with little time to read them.
Many of these contain provisions that later seem unfair. The key thing to remember is tenancy agreements can give you extra rights but they cannot remove any rights enshrined by law.

What to check in your tenancy agreement

Any written agreement should set out your rights and responsibilities, and the conditions which you and your landlord must abide by. Check that your tenancy agreement contains the following information:
• Names of the tenant(s) and address of the property
• Name and address of the landlord, and letting agent if applicable
• Duration of tenancy, whether you can leave before it ends and, if so, what notice you must give
• The amount of rent, when it is due and how it is to be paid
• What is included in the rent ie. bills, council tax, water rates
• Amount of deposit, what it covers and under what circumstances you may not get it back
• Responsibility for repairs (regardless of what the agreement says, your landlord will always be responsible for structural repairs and safety)
• Furnishing
• Rules on subletting, pets, smoking, lodging, guests etc.

The agreement should not contain unfair clauses which say that the landlord can change the terms and conditions whenever they like, that the tenant is responsible for structural repairs, or that the landlord can come around without giving notice.

Such unfair terms are not legally binding and you may want to ask an adviser to take a look at the agreement for you before you sign it.

Inventories

You should also ask for a detailed inventory from and the landlord or agent of everything that is in the house and what condition it is in. Make sure to check that everything in the property is included on the inventory and that there is nothing listed on the inventory that you can't find in the property.
Before signing the inventory, make a note of any damage that is not listed. It is useful to take photographs of any existing damage or wear to prove at the end of the tenancy that you weren’t responsible.

Tenancy deposit scheme

Your landlord must pay your deposit into a Government-approved tenancy deposit protection scheme. This is to ensure that it is kept safe and that tenants get their deposits back provided there has been no breach of the tenancy agreement, such as damage or unpaid rent.

Within 30 days of receiving your deposit, the landlord must provide you with:
• Landlord’s name and contact details
• Amount of deposit paid and address of tenancy
• Details of the protection scheme being used and its purpose
• A copy of the deposit protection certificate signed by the landlord
• How to get your deposit back and what to do if there’s a dispute

As of April 2012, courts are able to order landlords who fail to comply with the law on tenancy deposit schemes to pay compensation to tenants. A court can order landlords to pay between 1 and 3 times the value of the deposit if the landlord does not protect the deposit or fails to give the tenants details of the scheme used within 30 days, or fails to protect the deposit at all. Going through the courts is often complicated and expensive though, so it should be a last resort.

Getting your deposit back

Provided that you and your landlord or agent agree how much of the deposit you should get back, you should receive it within 10 days.
In the case of deductions, ask your landlord for an itemised breakdown of all costs, including receipts for any repair or cleaning work.

Your landlord cannot deduct from or keep your deposit for general wear and tear, only for issues such as damage, cleaning, unpaid rent or missing items. In the case of broken items missing items, the landlord can only replace like for like ie. they cannot replace an old worn item with a brand new one and charge you the full price.

Tenancy agreements often state that curtains and carpets must be cleaned to a professional standard. However, this does not mean that they have to be as clean or cleaner than when you moved in. You are only required to clean any items soiled above normal wear and tear. Make sure to keep records or receipts of any cleaning you do pay for.

Deposit protection schemes come with an alternative dispute resolution (ADR) service. In the event of a dispute, if both parties agree to use ADR, you will have to abide by any decisions made as part of the process and cannot go to the courts if you disagree with the outcome. If either you or your landlord does not wish to use the ADR then you may need to go to the courts to get your deposit back.

Disrepair

For most tenancies, the landlord is obliged to:
• Maintain the structure and exterior of the property, including the foundations, roof, drains, gutters, and external pipes.
• To keep in proper working order the water, gas, electricity and sanitation, including: basins, sinks, baths, toilets and drains.
• Keep the heating system in good working order.

These obligations extent to common parts of the building such as hallways and stairwells for tenancies that started on or after 15 January 1989.

You must give notice of any disrepair because it will not be the landlord’s responsibility until they are aware of it. The landlord should respond to the notice within a reasonable time, show the tenant any relevant documents, indicate whether they take responsibility, and what actions they will take to fix the problem.

 

Problems with landlords

Going into dispute with your landlord needs to be carefully considered so make sure you read your tenancy agreement carefully to find out your rights and responsibilities, research your housing rights and record any and all correspondence with your landlord.
If you have a problem with your landlord regarding repairs, deposits or any other dispute, it is best to seek professional advice from Citizens Advice or a solicitor before you make any decisions (see useful contacts section).

Eviction

If you are a private tenant, your landlord needs ‘grounds’ to evict you before the end of a fixed-term contract. Your landlord must first give you written notice (usually a Section 21 notice, after Section 21 of the Housing Act 1988). They must then obtain a court order saying when you should leave the property or pay rent. You do not have to leave immediately. At this stage you may put your case in writing and go to the court hearing.

If your landlord or anyone else tries to evict you before following this procedure, it is almost certainly an illegal eviction and a criminal offence. After seeking a court order, the only person who is legally allowed to remove you physically is a court bailiff. It is very likely to be illegal if your landlord changes the locks while you are out, threatens or forces you to leave, physically removes you or stops you from getting to part of your home.

 

The London Student Tenants’ Union

Being aware of your rights as individuals is important but it is not the whole story. On Thursday 31st January 2013, ULU and the National Campaign Against Fees and Cuts (NCAFC) hosted the first planning meeting for a tenants union of students in London. 

The union is necessary because housing is a crisis for everyone in London, and students would be a good place to start the work of organising.
We need to move beyond the present state of affairs, in which everyone says that high rents are bad. The crisis in housing is happening partly because we’re not organised enough. And it’s about time that we got organised – because our landlords and bosses certainly are! The new organisation exists not just to complain, but to share information on bad landlords and agencies, and to collectively bargain as a union.

This initiative is absolutely not limited to University of London colleges: although it is being initiated by ULU, activists and students from other campuses (and none!) in the city are encouraged to attend meetings and get involved. Neither is this project limited to students: eventually, we want a union for everyone.

 

Get involved!

Contact [email protected] to receive details of future meetings and initiatives.

Useful contacts

Before taking any action against your landlord that could be costly or result in an attempt to evict you, it is recommended that you seek advice:

Shelter UK: www.shelter.org.uk
Citizens Advice Bureau: www.citizensadvice.org.uk
Community Legal Advice: www.gov.uk/community-legal-advice
Local Councils: www.gov.uk/find-your-local-council