[bakingraymond]

Hi guys, this might be a little long-winded but I could really do with some advice...

I'm at Uni, & been staying in a rented property since September. I decided in March that I wanted to swap courses. To do this, I've had to 'suspended my studies' on my old course, & all the paperwork goes through over the summer.

This meant that I didn't receive April's loan payment, so since April I've had no money to pay rent to the landlord.

I moved back home at the end of March (paid until then) & told the landlord the situation. I said I'd try & get housing benefit for a few months, but I'm still waiting on that.

Basically, he's demanding April & May's rent, & says that I will have to pay June aswell because of the tenancy agreement. What I'd like to know is, do I have to pay this even if I've not been there, & have to pay the extra month? If people leave university surely they don't have to pay off their entire tenancy agreement?

Any advice would be appreciated. He's not being particularly understanding that I have no means to pay the rent, & that I'm not living there. Also, the tenancy agreement has our details on, but at no point have I signed it... so I dunno if that would work to my advantage in anyway?

Thanks!

Dan

[jelly1000]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
Hi guys, this might be a little long-winded but I could really do with some advice...

I'm at Uni, & been staying in a rented property since September. I decided in March that I wanted to swap courses. To do this, I've had to 'suspended my studies' on my old course, & all the paperwork goes through over the summer.

This meant that I didn't receive April's loan payment, so since April I've had no money to pay rent to the landlord.

I moved back home at the end of March (paid until then) & told the landlord the situation. I said I'd try & get housing benefit for a few months, but I'm still waiting on that.

Basically, he's demanding April & May's rent, & says that I will have to pay June aswell because of the tenancy agreement. What I'd like to know is, do I have to pay this even if I've not been there, & have to pay the extra month? If people leave university surely they don't have to pay off their entire tenancy agreement?

Any advice would be appreciated. He's not being particularly understanding that I have no means to pay the rent, & that I'm not living there. Also, the tenancy agreement has our details on, but at no point have I signed it... so I dunno if that would work to my advantage in anyway?

Thanks!

Dan

you are under obligation to pay the rent as you have entered into a contract which you should have signed regardless of where you chose to stay.

[Mad Vlad]

Landlords are not charities. They depend on the income from rent payments as part of their investment.

There won't be a break clause in your contract and I find it difficult to believe that you've not signed the tenancy agreement.

[bakingraymond]

I'm fully aware that landlords aren't charities, that's why I've moved out rather than stay in the house rent-free. The final page of the tenancy agreement has the names, home addresses & contact details of all of us who live there. We even asked him whether or not we need to sign anything, he just said he needed our details. I can absolutely guarantee that I've not signed anything.

I'm just after advice here. Obviously I'd love to pay him the full amount of rent but I have no possible way of doing so.

[marcusfox]

You have to pay the rent for the duration of the agreed lease.

Your personal circumstances are irrelevant, and not the landlord's problem or concern.

I reckon he will take your deposit to cover his costs from you arseing about and go after your guarantor as well, if there is one.

[bakingraymond]

Notwithstanding: Thanks. Yeh we did find it bizarre that he never wanted us to sign it, he's the only person with a signature on the document.

[bakingraymond]

(Original post by marcusfox)
You have to pay the rent for the duration of the agreed lease.

Your personal circumstances are irrelevant, and not the landlord's problem or concern.

I reckon he will take your deposit to cover his costs from you arseing about and go after your guarantor as well, if there is one.

Upon viewing the house last year, we asked him what would happen if somebody left uni. He said that the remaining housemates should look for a replacement, & if they couldn't find one then he would advertise. That suggested to me that someone could indeed leave the house early.

In what way am I 'arseing' around? I have been in full communication with him over the situation, & have applied for housing benefit in an attempt to honour the term of the agreement, to which I'm still waiting a reply (nearly two months ago). I don't know what else I can do.

As for a guarantor; he didn't ask for one of them either.

[Fuzzpig]

The thing is you haven't actually moved out. Not officially. You haven't officially 'moved out' until your contract is over or you've come to an agreement and had it transferred over to a new tenant before them.

All you've done is ceased staying there. But that doesn't mean a thing. It is still your room, so you must pay.


I'm not sure about asking for June to be paid now, but if the situation still remains then yes, you must pay.

[marcusfox]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
Upon viewing the house last year, we asked him what would happen if somebody left uni. He said that the remaining housemates should look for a replacement, & if they couldn't find one then he would advertise. That suggested to me that someone could indeed leave the house early.

In what way am I 'arseing' around? I have been in full communication with him over the situation, & have applied for housing benefit in an attempt to honour the term of the agreement, to which I'm still waiting a reply (nearly two months ago). I don't know what else I can do.

As for a guarantor; he didn't ask for one of them either.

Arseing about is taking two months to sort it out. Ask your parents for a loan or get the bank to extend your overdraft for starters. We're talking what, £60 a week for two months, £500 max?

I don't believe your weekly share of the rent is much more than you'd get in a week's unemployment benefit. March to May is plenty of time to arrange this.

If you are living at home, you won't get HB for a property that you are not living in.

Of course the landlord would accept someone else paying the rent, that is why you either need to find someone else or he does. But until that someone is in place, you need to pay the rent.

Oh, and as a non student, you'll have to pay council tax as well, although you'll probably get away with that.

[bakingraymond]

(Original post by marcusfox)
Arseing about is taking two months to sort it out. Ask your parents for a loan or get the bank to extend your overdraft for starters. We're talking what, £60 a week for two months, £500 max?

I don't believe your weekly share of the rent is much more than you'd get in a week's unemployment benefit. March to May is plenty of time to arrange this.

If you are living at home, you won't get HB for a property that you are not living in.

Of course the landlord would accept someone else paying the rent, that is why you either need to find someone else or he does. But until that someone is in place, you need to pay the rent.

Oh, and as a non student, you'll have to pay council tax as well, although you'll probably get away with that.

I've not taken two months to sort it out, I applied for housing benefit in March. I've called them up on countless occasions but all I get told is that 'the claim is with a colleague' & they can't give me a timeframe of when the money will come through (if it does at all). I'm just staying at home for a while cos I have absolutely no money as I didn't get my loan.

I applied for unemployment benefit also, but I've been refused that because apparently I'm classed as a student if I've suspended my studies (although student finance don't class me as a student, so I didn't get my loan nor will I receive unemployment benefit), so I'm kinda worried that this will be the case with housing benefit too.

As was mentioned earlier, I don't think legally I would have to pay as the tenancy agreement ins't signed, but if I can pay I will. The only other thing I guess I can do is hope I get a job over summer & back pay.

[jelly1000]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
I've not taken two months to sort it out, I applied for housing benefit in March. I've called them up on countless occasions but all I get told is that 'the claim is with a colleague' & they can't give me a timeframe of when the money will come through (if it does at all). I'm just staying at home for a while cos I have absolutely no money as I didn't get my loan.

I applied for unemployment benefit also, but I've been refused that because apparently I'm classed as a student if I've suspended my studies (although student finance don't class me as a student, so I didn't get my loan nor will I receive unemployment benefit), so I'm kinda worried that this will be the case with housing benefit too.

As was mentioned earlier, I don't think legally I would have to pay as the tenancy agreement ins't signed, but if I can pay I will. The only other thing I guess I can do is hope I get a job over summer & back pay.

why not try and get a job now?

[marcusfox]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
I've not taken two months to sort it out, I applied for housing benefit in March. I've called them up on countless occasions but all I get told is that 'the claim is with a colleague' & they can't give me a timeframe of when the money will come through (if it does at all). I'm just staying at home for a while cos I have absolutely no money as I didn't get my loan.

I applied for unemployment benefit also, but I've been refused that because apparently I'm classed as a student if I've suspended my studies (although student finance don't class me as a student, so I didn't get my loan nor will I receive unemployment benefit), so I'm kinda worried that this will be the case with housing benefit too.

As was mentioned earlier, I don't think legally I would have to pay as the tenancy agreement ins't signed, but if I can pay I will. The only other thing I guess I can do is hope I get a job over summer & back pay.

If you have suspended your studies, you are not a student and are thus available for full time work. They are wrong.

[Fuzzpig]

(Original post by Notwithstanding)
Your contract is nothing to do with whether you're at uni or not. That's not the landlord's concern. But I am confused how you can have a tenancy agreement without signing it. If you really did sign nothing then you have no obligation to pay. If you signed then you would need to fulfil a contract but you say you did not sign. I don't really know a landlord that won't ask for a signature for a tenancy agreement. I'm not an expert in 'contract law' but it sounds like then it is not a contract.

There's a couple of people living in my place that never signed. This is the result of a person joining the house pretty late on and an overly confident landlord


I mean, she could not pay technically I think although in some ways (I must be corrected on this I'm sure) a contract can be verbal?

Anyway, in the case where you haven't paid, your housemates may then be liable to cover what you haven't paid (depending on the type of contract, the joint on I think).


...That's a bit of a dick move though...

[bakingraymond]

(Original post by jelly1000)
why not try and get a job now?

I've been looking for a job for the last month or so. Wherever I've applied to so far won't take me on as I'm starting a new course in September, so I'm having to look for temporary work which seems few & far between. I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of places though.

[bakingraymond]

(Original post by marcusfox)
If you have suspended your studies, you are not a student and are thus available for full time work. They are wrong.

Yeh that's what I've thought. I've sent an appeal off but who knows whether it'll come off or not

[bakingraymond]

(Original post by aliluvschoc)
There's a couple of people living in my place that never signed. This is the result of a person joining the house pretty late on and an overly confident landlord


I mean, she could not pay technically I think although in some ways (I must be corrected on this I'm sure) a contract can be verbal?

Anyway, in the case where you haven't paid, your housemates may then be liable to cover what you haven't paid (depending on the type of contract, the joint on I think).


...That's a bit of a dick move though...

Yeh I'm not sure of the legal ins-and-outs, but I assume if there's no legal (signed) agreement it's not valid? I wouldn't be totally surprised if this is deliberate though, cos the upkeep/maintenance of the house has been pretty non-existant.

We do have a joint tenancy, so I think you're right about it going to my housemates, I really don't want that to happen though

[jelly1000]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
I've been looking for a job for the last month or so. Wherever I've applied to so far won't take me on as I'm starting a new course in September, so I'm having to look for temporary work which seems few & far between. I'm waiting to hear back from a couple of places though.

you shouldn't be admitting that you are going back to uni- when i was looking for work in my gap year I was told not to say I was going to uni in September.

[Megaross]

You entered into a contract. If you sign a 10 month rental agreement onto the house, the full amount is payable.
Basically you treat it as credit, you have bought those 10 months already and you're essentially paying them off.

You will be liable in small claims court to pay the landlord, even if you didn't sign anything the fact you were living there and you knew about the contract would suggest you accepted the terms and conditions, I suggest you try to come to an agreement with the landlord. Paying some off every month or, week as you can. Try to avoid escalating.

In a standard contract, I've probably only seen 20 or so different examples of student let contracts.

[marcusfox]

(Original post by bakingraymond)
Yeh that's what I've thought. I've sent an appeal off but who knows whether it'll come off or not

Where you are not entitled to dole is when you have finished university for the summer break and are awaiting the start of your next year. This is where they are getting confused.

As you have terminated your studies you are not a student. You are not receiving student loan. Effectively you are starting again in September, but right now, you are not a student.

[Shani]

Although I haven't found anything on the direct.gov website, this university website explains the situation quite clearly:

http://www2.le.ac.uk/offices/ssds/we...kers-allowance

You are not entitled to claim Job Seekers Allowance (JSA) whilst you are in suspense from your studies because you are still classed as a full-time student and therefore you are ineligible to claim. However there is an exception as per JSA regulation 30209 :

Full time students eligible for JSA

30209 F/T students may be eligible for JSA if they stop attending or undertaking a course, with the approval of the education establishment, because they are

1. caring for another person or are ill and

2. have subsequently ceased caring or recovered from their illness and

3. they are not eligible for a loan or grant for the period at DMG 302101.



30210 A student who satisfies the conditions at DMG 30209 1. and 2. above may be entitled to JSA for a period of up to one year. The period

1. begins on the day the student recovered from the illness or the caring responsibilities ceased and

2. ends on the earlier of the day before

2.1 the day the student resumes the course or

2.2 the day from which the educational establishment has agreed that the student may resume the course1.

As you have suspended your studies, and not terminated them, there is a big difference and in most cases you will not be able to claim JSA, which in turn may affect your housing benefit claim.

You will find that should your landlord take you to the small claims court you will have to pay up - signed contract or not. It would be in your best interests to avoid that type of situation as it would be extremely damaging to your credit history, and perhaps when looking for accommodation in the future.