Chicken bald back

[Cinnamon]

Can anyone advise me?

 

My eldest daughter is at Uni in her final year & has rented a room in a shared house. She rented it because she liked the house, it was in a good position & the room had a double bed. Her boyfriend has rented a single bedded room (same price), but they share the double room, using the single room as a study area.

 

A week after moving in it became clear that something was amiss with the bed. The previous tenant had put a thick topper onto the mattress & taken it with him, & it became apparent that the springs were poking through, making the bed very uncomfortable. Further inspection showed that the bed itself was broken & had been bodged fixed at some point.

She called the landlord who said that yes, she knew the bed was in bad condition.

My daughter has asked for the bed & mattress to be replaced, but the landlord says she will only replace it with a single bed (I suspect she has one kicking around)

 

Now, not only have we spent out on sheets, mattress protectors, a duvet & pillows for a double bed, but in my mind if she rented a double bedded room then she should have a double bedded room & the bust bed should be replaced like for like.

 

The landlord says that she does not have to replace like for like. The contract just states 'room 4' , not specifying a double room.

 

Any advice?

[Princess Leia]

Not sure legally where you'd stand, but I suspect that, unless advertised as a double, she may be right. You could potentially offer to pay a sum towards the difference between a single and a double as a "gesture of goodwill" on the basis that it would be a selling point for a future tenant. Or go down the route that the previous tenant had - get a good quality topper to use on the existing (providing the base is safe enough).

Afterthought - if convenient and funds are available, offer to provide your own double bed if the landlord would reduce the rent to suit?

[Patricia W]

I'm a landlord, and as far as I am aware, you need to look at the inventory which your DD and boyfriend should have signed at the same time as signing the contract. If this specifies a double bed, then this should be what is provided. If she didn't sign one, then its a grey area.

 

Also, has the landlord registed the house as one for Multiple Occupation? If not, she may be in breach of local authority regulations in renting a room to 2 people.

 

However, the easiest thing to do is for them to buy their own bed, and take it with them or sell it on to the next person. It isn't a reason for a rent reduction, I'm afraid.

[Patricia W]

Sorry, just re-read your post and seen that each rent a room but share one for sleeping. I think the landlord is within her rights to only supply a single bed in that case, unless as I said, it said double on the inventory. Personally, buying their own bed and taking it with them or re-selling is probably the best option.

[Luvachicken]

Afterthought - if convenient and funds are available, offer to provide your own double bed if the landlord would reduce the rent to suit?

 

Our daughter had to do this, she bought a single bed though because the double bed that was there took up most of the room. Unfortunately her rent wasn't any different.

Hope you get things sorted.

[Cinnamon]

No inventory,sadly.

 

There is a clause in her contract that says that she mustn't replace any furniture herself though, so I am not sure how we will be able to replace the bed ourselves (as well as not being able to afford to!)

We DO have a spare brand new double mattress though, so we are going to go down there, see if the bed can be fixed, & take the mattress down with us. It does leave us with no mattress for the spare room over Christmas though

Just hope the bed is fixable..........................

 

I am really surprised that a double bed can be replaced with a single one

[Patricia W]

There should have been an inventory. It's actually usually done by the landlord, but she and boyfriend could have listed the furniture in the rooms (and condition) before they signed the contract, and got the landlord to sign it too. Then if it said double bed, that's what should be supplied. Hope you sort it out!

[Cinnamon]

Well there wasn't one, by the looks of things, so I cannot go down that route.

hindsight is a wonderful thing.

I still think its really bad that she is attempting to change a double bed for a single 6 weeks into the tenancy. We must have spent £100 on bedding alone.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

Seems unfair not to replace what was there in the first place . Especially as you've bought new items on the strength of that.

 

I had to buy a desk for YS's room and am still hoping for reimbursement (we want to leave it behind when he leaves) . You'd think a student flat would have a desk and a chair in it but no .

[Patricia W]

ANH, Was the place advertised as a student let? Might be worth mentioning to the Uni that the room doesn't include a desk and chair as if it's on their list of approved places, they can put pressure on to the landlord or remove it from the list as it's normally a basic requirement.

[Ain't Nobody Here]

It's not a uni flat, it's a private let. I told the property management co and they said they would ask the owner but didn't think it'd be a problem. We had to buy the desk and take a chair from home as YS had work to do but am still waiting for a response from them. It was only £40 from Ikea but it's the principle (and I don't want the desk after he leaves!)

[Patricia W]

Agreed! We have several spare "bits" from offsprings' university years! I must get rid of them....

[Cinnamon]

Freecycle them - look up a Freegle in the Uni area ANH - I bet another student would love them

[Luvachicken]

Freecycle them - look up a Freegle in the Uni area ANH - I bet another student would love them

 

My daughter got a dining table and 4 chairs for her uni house from freecycle. It is very tatty and has paint splatters all over it but it works and has done her for 2nd year, placement year and now her final year.

[Lewis]

I agree its a bit unfair but unless its in the contract or inventory you can't do anything about it.

I know a few friends at Uni paid more for rooms with a double bed so she's lucky theres one in there at the moment.

 

Can she not get a double bed or mattress on Freegle, Cinnamon?

[Cinnamon]

I would NEVER get a mattress from Feegle - yuck!