Dodgy Landlord in Leeds - Result of Court Case

Thanks for the info. Will come in very useful for me when i decide to get a house. i'm really pleased you won, congratulations! The student wins and actually matters for once.

Well done.

* apologies for double thread but I felt this was applicable to students from both uni's..

As some of you may remember, I posted a few months ago regarding my very dishonourable landlord and the fact he witheld our deposits on false grounds, ie, that we had broken furniture, left items and damaged kitchen worksurfaces...

Well we had the court hearing today, and I won!!
The judge appeared quite disgusted the case had even got to court, bearing in mind the landlord had failed to co-operate / offer explanation of the `damage` deductions, had no evidence, couldn't answer my questions (or the judge's) and was basically a waste of space. They didn't even bother sending the actual owner - who was named on the court papers - they sent a useless manager.

So beware!

My ex-housemate is writing a piece for the Leeds Student, for publication during next years Dec / Jan househunting rush (we can now name the property agency publicly now we have a judgement in our favour - he really didn't think this through) but if anyone wants the agency's name before, so you know who to avoid, just PM me.

And for students renting...
* Always photograph every inch of the property upon moving in and moving out
* Report any slight breakage / damage / something not working promptly
* Keep records of everything regarding the property
* INSIST on being present at the final inspection with the landlord
* Fill in an inventory upon moving in, and be detailed and thorough
* Use Unipol approved landlords; I did not, and its turns out my old landlord had been blacklisted - I would have avoided all this with a bit of research

And if you're having problems and you're genuinely not at fault, take it further - its only eighty pounds to lodge an action for small claims courts, which you recover from the other party if you win.

So many people have told me of how they were also ripped off by landlords - don't stand for it!!!!!
__________________

Thanks so much for this post. I will rep you for it! I have just signed a tenancy contract today, and wish to avoid the wrath of the wily-seeming landlady!