Experiences with subletting a bedroom at your uni house?

I have some unexpected health problems which means I am having to live with family. I have permission from my landlord to sublet my room, drew up a contract and have been looking for suitable tenants since the end of January but it's all a bit of a nightmare so far.

I've been advertising relentlessly for the last 2 months: putting up flyers on boards at uni, using Studentpad/Spareroom/Gumtree, spreading the word on Facebook & Twitter and travelling back and forth to give viewings (15/20 mins each way) after spending ages cleaning up after my compulsively messy housemates each time. I've had a few people interested in the room, one almost moving in before her parents told her they'd be happier if she lived in halls. Another even signed the contract before lying to me about a problem with the room only several hours later and is now refusing to live there or pay me anything, so I'm in the process of sorting that mess out with professional legal help.

A previous housemate managed to let out her room no problem last year while she was on placement - the tenant turned out to be lovely, no problem. Unfortunate how mine is going so, so wrong!

Has anyone else had any experiences with subletting/letting out their rooms at uni, as I'm now about to start the search process over yet again? Good/bad/horrendous?

Reply 1

Origami Bullets

Original post by mxcs

It shouldn't be a contract, it should be a deed of assignment. Pull one off the internet - trying to write one yourself when you don't know what you're doing won't end well.

Reply 2

mxcs

Original post by Origami Bullets

It shouldn't be a contract, it should be a deed of assignment. Pull one off the internet - trying to write one yourself when you don't know what you're doing won't end well.

I got help from my dad who's a barrister specialising in housing/property-related law and a landlord himself, so I'm confident it'll be fine :smile:

but thankyou, good idea! My previous housemate copied and pasted the entire old one when she let her room out so that's another idea for anyone wanting to do the same thing.

Reply 3

zaliack

Original post by mxcs

I got help from my dad who's a barrister specialising in housing/property-related law and a landlord himself, so I'm confident it'll be fine :smile:

but thankyou, good idea! My previous housemate copied and pasted the entire old one when she let her room out so that's another idea for anyone wanting to do the same thing.

You see, that's the problem. Barristers don't deal with the technicalities of drafting documents/getting them signed, they only deal with issues when they go tits up :tongue:

Reply 4

Origami Bullets

Original post by mxcs

I got help from my dad who's a barrister specialising in housing/property-related law and a landlord himself, so I'm confident it'll be fine :smile:

but thankyou, good idea! My previous housemate copied and pasted the entire old one when she let her room out so that's another idea for anyone wanting to do the same thing.

It sounds like you're going to end up subletting the property if you go down that route. That means you'll still have a contract with the landlord, and will still be jointly and severally liable if someone doesn't pay up. An alternative to this is a deed of assignment. Shelter's info on this is here http://england.shelter.org.uk/get_advice/families_and_relationships/assigning_a_tenancy

Experiences with subletting a bedroom at your uni house?

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