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Hello,
I'm looking for some advice on how to go about the current situation a good friend of mine is in;
He's 1 of 5 of a group of friends (all students) all privately renting a 5 bed house since August 2018. He's been back and forth with the lettings agent since then, as it was falsely advertised. It was listed as a fully furnished house but when they arrived they found the only furniture that existed was a cooker, fridge, dinner table, a couple half broken chairs and a broken washing machine. They've since had to fork out for their own beds, a new mashing machine, sofa, table, etc. etc. They also found an ant infestation in the kitchen and some awry electrical wiring hanging out of the wall. They weren't able to attend a viewing before getting into the contract as it was unfortunately very last minute (previous viewings had fallen through) and they were all either outside of the country or hours away, living with their families. I believe the lettings agent tried to use this against them, however they were told by the CAB and the student housing advice service at the uni that this has no legal standing. My friend has photo and video evidence of the state of the house before moving their property in.
The lettings agency have completely ignored them about this issue, which is why they've tried the CAB and different advice services (who have all agreed the lettings agency is wrong) but they haven't given any real advice on how to pursue further. So my friend has tried calling different solicitors to try and take the lettings agency to court, but the solicitors all say it's too small of an issue (money wise) for them to deal with. One of them recommended small claims court, so my friend applied for that the other week and has yet to receive a response. Really all they want is the extra money back that they've been paying for a place that should be fully furnished and to get out of there when their contract ends in July/August. They're extremely stressed out, trying to keep afloat and they just want to focus on their studies. Should they just not pay the rent/bills until the lettings agency actually recognise this is a serious problem and hopefully take them to court so they can win their money back? It's very naughty and very shady and there should be repercussions for treating clients like this. Especially students, who they probably realise are less experienced in these areas and try to take advantage. Any advice would be great as they haven't received any good, direct advice as of yet. Hopefully I haven't missed anything!
Thank you.
I'm looking for some advice on how to go about the current situation a good friend of mine is in;
He's 1 of 5 of a group of friends (all students) all privately renting a 5 bed house since August 2018. He's been back and forth with the lettings agent since then, as it was falsely advertised. It was listed as a fully furnished house but when they arrived they found the only furniture that existed was a cooker, fridge, dinner table, a couple half broken chairs and a broken washing machine. They've since had to fork out for their own beds, a new mashing machine, sofa, table, etc. etc. They also found an ant infestation in the kitchen and some awry electrical wiring hanging out of the wall. They weren't able to attend a viewing before getting into the contract as it was unfortunately very last minute (previous viewings had fallen through) and they were all either outside of the country or hours away, living with their families. I believe the lettings agent tried to use this against them, however they were told by the CAB and the student housing advice service at the uni that this has no legal standing. My friend has photo and video evidence of the state of the house before moving their property in.
The lettings agency have completely ignored them about this issue, which is why they've tried the CAB and different advice services (who have all agreed the lettings agency is wrong) but they haven't given any real advice on how to pursue further. So my friend has tried calling different solicitors to try and take the lettings agency to court, but the solicitors all say it's too small of an issue (money wise) for them to deal with. One of them recommended small claims court, so my friend applied for that the other week and has yet to receive a response. Really all they want is the extra money back that they've been paying for a place that should be fully furnished and to get out of there when their contract ends in July/August. They're extremely stressed out, trying to keep afloat and they just want to focus on their studies. Should they just not pay the rent/bills until the lettings agency actually recognise this is a serious problem and hopefully take them to court so they can win their money back? It's very naughty and very shady and there should be repercussions for treating clients like this. Especially students, who they probably realise are less experienced in these areas and try to take advantage. Any advice would be great as they haven't received any good, direct advice as of yet. Hopefully I haven't missed anything!
Thank you.
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