Student houses from hell!!! (Private accommodation in general)

Member Name: nicola21

Product:	Private accommodation in general
Date:	19/03/01 (307 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Only available source of student accommodation

Disadvantages: Watch your back!

At university, most people live in halls for the first year, then go on to rent private accommodation for the next two to three years. Depending on the area in which you are studying, much student digs are in good condition, with affordable rent and decent landlords, but in other areas, more so closer to London, in my experience and experiences of friends, the renting can be a nightmare.

I went to university as a naive and trusting individual, and over two years, I lived in three different "student" houses, and in each case, myself and my housemates were taken for the ride of our lives.

The first landlord was a cowboy. British Gas shut down our central heating boiler as it was leaking carbon monoxide fumes, and had been for many months. I wondered why I had been feeling so ill for such a long time beforehand. My bedroom was directly above the boiler and I was slowly being poisoned! For the remaining two months in the house, the landlord refused to repair the boiler and we went without hot water or heating.

The second landlady was another phoney. She spent the rent, didn't pay the mortgage, so Halifax repossessed our house. She sent the eviction notice around on Christmas Eve. She skipped off with our deposit of nearly £1000 after screwing us over with the rent by standing order from our seperate rent account. She contacted the other housemates to pay her directly over Christmas, after she had told them that she had told me to cancel that standing order, so the bank still paid out the full amount of rent with only my money in there. She did not call me at all. Myself and the housemate whose names were on the account were given black marks against our credit rating for the next six years. The landlady of the third house was okay, but the house was in the most disgusting state, with cracked windows, holes in the walls, damp, and an invasion of slugs! Mind you, all the houses were in a poor state, with mould, damp, and no
security whatsoever.

As you can imagine, moving around so much and being ripped off financially by landlords is the last thing anyone needs, especially poorer students. Be very wary if you are a vulnerable student about to rent. Although some ladlords are decent and honest, and many properties are in good condition, many are not, and there is always someone out there ready to take advantage of unsuspecting students.

- Make sure that the rent is paid by cheque (preferably) each month with a receipt.

- Make sure you sign a contract for the duration you plan to stay.

- Make sure you read through university guideline booklets about renting, safety standards, and so on.

Speak to your university accommodation department for further information and advice, and make sure that you know the score before throwing yourselves to the lions, because: Beware, they bite!

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