By Megan Graham and Paul Virides
Two-fifths of students asked in an Vision survey are dissatisfied with privately rented accommodation. The poll of 118 students who live off campus was conducted by York Vision and reveals vast difference between satisfaction rates amongst the different letting agencies operating in York.
These figures come one week before the University Private Sector List is due to be published. The list outlines all houses and apartments that meet the University’s Code of Best Practice, a set of standards that landlords and letting agents are expected to maintain throughout tenancies.
The randomly selected sample of privately rented student households were asked about rent increases, living arrangements and relationships with landlords and letting agencies. Worryingly, a number of the houses, landlords and letting agencies mentioned in negative student responses were found on last year’s Private Sector List.
The most overwhelming feedback came from those who were disappointed with their landlord’s attitude to maintenance issues.
Almost 20 per cent had gone without heating or hot water for more than two days as a result of their landlord’s reluctance to deal with faulty appliances or building damage. Several students complained of going without these vital facilities for substantially longer.
One patron of Sinclair Properties went without heating or hot water for a whole week during the cold weather of January last year and students’ comments make it clear that this problem has been a common occurrence after the Christmas holiday, when cold weather has caused pipes to freeze. Sinclair Properties commented that some delays in repairs were caused by delivery delays that were outside of their control.
Moreover, a further 17.5 per cent of houses had serious maintenance issues that their landlords refused to deal with, such as broken ovens, faulty refrigerators and problems with bathrooms and plumbing.
One student, whose contract is with IG Properties, simply said of their landlord that “he never fixes anything, ever,” while somebody with the same agency told us they often wait two to three weeks for problems to be sorted. Students renting with one private landlord waited a whole month for their central heating to be fixed.
Sinclair Properties also received similar complaints for taking a long time to deal with certain issues, as well as for not replying to numerous phone calls about mould and damp.
Sinclair Properties responded to say that if tenants had called on the emergency number that they have operational, immediate responses may not have been given unless it was a genuine emergency.
One Sinclair household complained about their mould problems, where it has taken over two and a half months to fix the problem. This has been blamed by students on a “bureaucratic nightmare” with both the letting agent and landlord attempting to fix the problem.
The letting agency’s response to this problem was that “most mould forms through tenants not airing their rooms,” going on to say that tenants are given leaflets with advice as to how to avoid mould on them. Many mould problems, Sinclair say, are caused by condensation, and “if there is a damp problem, one of our maintenance staff will go out and check if there’s an external cause for the damp.”
Usual practice is to send out a roofer or plumber the next day if there is external reason for damp.
Maintenance problems neglected or completely ignored by landlords or letting agencies range from causing mild inconvenience to blatantly flouting health and safety laws – one group of students renting from a private landlord simply responded to our survey with “no front door – no joke!” A household with AP York had no glass in one of their bedroom windows for four weeks.
Vision got in touch with AP who explained that they both manage hosues and let them on a “tenant find” basis. They went on to say that “if there was ever a case where we left a student with no window for so long I am sure we would remember.
“It is possible that the problem was not properly reported or it may be a house we let on a tenant find only, where the landlord is responsible for managing their property and dealing with all repairs.”
Another private landlord failed to supply one house with a smoke alarm for an entire year, a violation of the Code of Best Practice.
10 per cent of households claim that their landlord or letting agency has broken the terms of their contract. In addition to this, in 23 per cent of cases, landlords or letting agents haven’t notified tenants before visiting their properties, a violation of many contracts since tenants should be given 24 hours notice beforehand. Students from IG Property and AP York have also complained about lack of notice before house viewings.
AP commented that their “established practice” is to email students with 24 hours notice on viewings or inspections. “Inevitably and regrettably, at the peak of the letting season a few mistakes occur and we can only apologise for this. In many cases where it is suggested that notice has not been given the email has not been read and we would ask all our tenants to ensure our emails are not filtered as spam.
“We do understand the inconvenience for existing students having their house viewed by new students for the following academic year.”
It is also notable just how few students reported to having a good relationship with their landlord, or with their letting agency representative.
Another student who wished to remain anonymous told us that his private landlord made life “hell”, while a student renting from Quantum described their landlord as “temperamental.” These reflect a number of complaints.
Many students reported that their landlord was difficult to get hold of, though none more so than the landlord who moved to Australia without so much as a postcard for their tenants.
Overall, around 10 per cent thought that their landlord hadn’t made living in York a pleasant experience, while over 30 per cent felt that they had made the wrong choice. Significantly, when Vision asked if students had had any maintenance issues that their landlords refused to deal with, only one person answered with “no, because I know my rights.” Others who did complain seemed unsure how they could rectify the problem, and many questioned by Vision since the survey were unaware that it is possible to seek legal advice, that could advise them to withhold rent payments under some circumstances.
YUSU Welfare Officer Laura Borisovaite commented on this, saying: “Advice and support is available from the Advice and Support Centre (ASC) and Student Support Services. I would encourage anyone who feels they are mistreated to get in touch with the University welfare advisers or pop in for a chat.”
Vision contacted all letting agencies mentioned in this article. IG Property apologised to anyone who had been affected by the issues mentioned, and pointed out that they “have a “highly competent and proficient maintenance team that are on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.” Sinclair noted that they “take maintenance very seriously” but “manage by far the largest number of student houses in York” and so “inevitably on occasions we are not going to fully satisfy everyone, every time.” They did offer their apologies to anybody who “has not had the service they feel they should receive.”
Many letting agencies were unavailable for comment at the time of going to press. Student anonymity has been protected when requested.
By Milana Knezevic
Students have spoken out to Vision about the poor treatment they have received at the hands of landlords and letting agents.
A second year Law student could disclose that she and her housemates returned after the Christmas holidays to find their house completely flooded. Their private landlord told them that it would be uninhabitable for six months and that the students themselves were responsible for finding new accommodation.
Elsewhere, showers in the dark became commonplace for one household, with the light in their bathroom being out for five weeks in autumn term. They could also tell of a leak dangerously close to the broken light, causing a potentially dangerous situation every time they had to have a shower.
A second year English student and resident of the house explained how the tenants would “just have to put up with it – there was nothing we could do and none of us knew how to patch up a leak and fix faulty electrics!”
Their letting agency responded to these claims by saying that they “do try and prioritise bathroom lights” even if “it may not be [on] the same day.”
The same household also went without an oven for two weeks before Sinclair Properties sent a maintenance service round to fix it. Their representative told Vision: “This was probably a property where the oven is quite old… The tenants perhaps don’t realise that sometimes parts need to be ordered and we have to wait for them to be delivered, just like I do when my own oven or boiler breaks down at my home.”
Students have also come forward with stories of strange and uncomfortable experiences with landlord and letting agent representatives.
Second year History of Art student and Sinclair tenant Francesca Salino, had a maintenance man come to her door and ask for her key, saying he was employed by the agency.
“He told me that he needed to change the carpets, but that he had lost the keys to the house. He asked me to give him my key in exchange for a crate of wine. He was just being very vague and strange. It was all very bizarre.”
When contacting Sinclair about the incident they said they didn’t have any register of him in their system. It later emerged that he was indeed an employee and that he had lost a key. Tenants were also informed another house key was missing.
Jade Rayner, a second year Economics student, had a disconcerting experience with a representative of Adam Bennett at a house viewing.
“He was a bit creepy. When we mentioned that the bathroom was quite big, he made some comment about one of us being in the shower while another was in the bath, and then leered at us!”
Any maths students out there? A poll of 118 students out of how many thousand suggests that two fifths, about 50, have complaints. Given that those with an issue to raise are more likely to reply and the POSSIBILITy that the survey was not balanced, methinks this article can be summarised as a small minority of students encounter problems with their accommodation. Bit of a non story?
Withholding rent – under NO circumstances should students do this without getting professional legal advice. It is rarely appropriate in a short-term tenancy and there are many steps to follow, in the right order, before this stage is reached.
Please don’t do it! (And Vision, check your facts)!
I see that Adam Bennett is using the same driver as last yera and now he is making suggestive comments to students. Didn’t Nouse expose him as a male escort? Why do the University allow this to continue?
@geordie, because being a male escort (or working in any realm of the sex industry…) makes you a sexual predator, or a danger to others. unless he has done something inappropriate, or is on sort of register, there is no reason apart from discrimination to fire him from his position. you might not like to speak to sex workers but they have equal rights to you, as they are still human! and if that means being employed driving a minibus so be it?
I think the comments on Sinclairs only just expose the tip of Niall McTurk’s iceberg!
Anon – technically if the driver was on a register he could still drive a minibus for Adam Benett assuming no specific prohibition. The point is that Nouse hinted at inappropriate behaviour last yera and a problem has been identified again. Its not necessary to use a dubious driver but I guess it speaks for the organization. It won’t affect me – I won’t pay their rents when you can get a comparable house in the same street with almost any other agent for £10 less per week.
Well I’m male so I cannot comment on the driver making comments as I assume they woud not be directed at me. Gordie touches on an interesting point does Adam Benett charge higher rents?
“Jade Rayner, a second year Economics student, had a disconcerting experience with a representative of Adam Bennett at a house viewing.
“He was a bit creepy. When we mentioned that the bathroom was quite big, he made some comment about one of us being in the shower while another was in the bath, and then leered at us!”
in response to this – this guy is my landlord and i was speaking to him today about him feeling really worried that he had given offence to any of the girls. What he said was a silly offhand joke when he was showing the girls round a house he had never seen before, and i can say with utmost confidence that he has NEVER said anything or behaved in any way inappropriately with me. I have never felt uncomfortable or ‘creeped out’ by his presence, and in contrast with the other landlords mentioned in the paper, he has installed a new bathroom and two double beds for us at the beginning of this year, comes round and cleans before viewings, has dealt with mould very swiftly, brings us chocolates at christmas and is generally a lovely person. I would hate for him to get in trouble or have his reputation harmed by this, and I can simply repeat again that he was concerned that any of the girls were insulted or made uncomfortable by his comment.
Josie – how do you know this person is your landlord? There are no names mentioned. And as someone who was there when it was said I can tell you it wasn’t the landlord it was someone that works for Adam Bennett who isn’t a landlord, so I’m not sure why your landlord is feeling so guilty
So student accommodation can sometimes be bad?
Make sure to pick up Vision’s next issue, when there will be a thrilling expose both on the toiletry habits of bears, as well as a scandalous revelation about the religion of the Pope!
@ Student tenant.
“I’m male so I cannot comment on the driver making comments as I assume they woud not be directed at me.”
Nice logic. In that case: “I cannot criticise racism because I’m not black,” etc. Not being directly involved in a problem doesn’t mean you can run away from facing the reality.
I rented a property through IG Property last year. After a month of living there, mould started to appear on my wall and an increasing damp patch next to the window.
2 months into the tenancy the damp patch had stretched from ceiling to floor, taking up approximately half the wall. Not only this but black mould also started to creep across the wall too. I informed IG about this and they told me that it must be due to condensation and to turn the heating on and open windows (not that I could open my window due to the piles of wood on the roof outside).
A month later and the damp and mould were getting worse, IG refused to do anything about it, they kept saying they would but never did. I ended up calling York Council housing department to come and assess the damp wall, turns out it was 100% damp, and the cause was a faulty roof and gutter. However, we eventually found out that the landlord was in dispute with the neighbours and that he had refused to do the work until the neighbours gave in.
6 months after it all began the wall was replastered and dehumidifiers were brought in, too little too late, a lot of my belongings were covered in mould and completely destroyed.
IG tried to shirk the responsibility, and I am sure that this is not the only case like it in the area. Not only this but they had the cheek to claim that the house wasn’t spotlessly clean when we moved out! They get away with too much and something needs to be done.
Lucy – quite simply because he told me this morning! (he works for Adam Bennett as well as being my landlord, but he didn’t own the house he was showing you round).
Like the first person said, a sample of 118 students is NOT going to be an accurate representation of student views on landlords. I suspect that only people with issues with their landlords will have bothered to fill in the questionnaire.
Unfortunately scaremongering and a lack of logic/mathematical skills mean that the article becomes almost invalid.
‘One patron of Sinclair Properties went without heating or hot water for a whole week during the cold weather of January last year and students’ comments make it clear that this problem has been a common occurrence after the Christmas holiday, when cold weather has caused pipes to freeze’
That sounds like the tenants own issue. We were given plenty of warning about the possibility of frozen pipes (by IG property) so we left our heating on over the Christmas holidays to combat this. Common sense?
So here’s the question. With my survey on behalf of YUSU last year covering a wider base (not reported by student media btw), I still failed to answer the question; we know that Sinclair’s, AdamBennett and APYork are all dodgy (legal disclaimer: we don’t know it, we just know that a significantly greater number of their residents repeatedly agree with the statement) – but are there any specific letting agencies that are great?
I suspect that that, as I did last year, “York Student Lets” will be the best because it is run by students. And we know that accommodation with private landlords from the University List are going to offer greater protection and more accountability (than ‘untouchable’ letting agencies) – but there are also problems with list houses and private landlords.
In summary, does Vision offer any advice whatsoever on how to find a good house? It would be more useful and less “OMG WE’RE ALL GOING TO DIE” – “use the list” is the best that I can personally come up with!
Josie, I have no idea why you’re getting involved in this. It was not your landlord. The person who showed us around does not have his own houses. And how would he know he showed us around anyway? If your landlord is feeling so guilty, I think you need to question him about it. I know for a fact that it isnt your landlord!
A mate of mine with IG got a conservatory built without any prior notice in the contract etc. Also said conservatory was built over boiler exhaust which means they now have a room full of carbon dioxide/monoxide, and the boiler dies whenever the conservatory windows are shut.
This article forgets to mention the amount of times ALL of the letting agencies decide to enter the rented house giving less than the 24hr required notice, and in some cases giving non.
Want to help shape housing policy in York? Then fill in this http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/HGCXX7Y survey.
Hi, We are a new letting company which is about to launch next month (April 2011). We have decided to do this due to listening to friends and families concerns regarding accomodation for the student population.
Our number one aim is to ensure that we offer a professional personal service and treat people as individuals as opposed to just short term letters who will pay no matter what. In order for us to succeed with this new business venture we would welcome any thoughts and ideas that will ensure tenants are treated with mutual respect. The website will be live very shortly followed by an advertising campaign however you can view the test site by either clicking on the link http://www.jacksonandroeletting.co.uk/ or by typing in on top web browser (informed by web designer) also please take the opportunity to register with us for future lets. We think just by viewing the quality of peoples websites speaks volumes about what their aims are.
Kind Regards,
Jackson and Roe
Dear All, the webiste is now live !! please register with us to help us find and locate good properties for both you and future students.
Regards,
Rich & Gary
my bf is renting a property with his 5 housemates from ig property. at the minute he is fed up with them for several reasons – the garden is completely overgrown and after months of complaining still nothing has been done about it. one of the walls in his room was covered in damp and ruined bedsheets, mattress and an electric blanket. it took them ages to sort this out and they still have not painted over it – he no longer has the original receipts for the replaced items but has the bank statements for them but they are refusing to re-imburse him.
other issues such as broken radiators, bathroom leaks that drip into the kitchen and a total lack of communication are still ongoing.
the excuses that they come up with and the way they try to shirk responsibility is just a slap in the face.
i was just wondering if anyone had any similar complaints with this company??