Tenancy Agreement Campus Accommodation

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WhatsTheAnswer

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Hope somebody can help with this problem. My daughter is going to attend Manchester Uni for a 1 years masters and during May of this year she put her name down for campus accommodation (not part of uni campus - private) as a fall back in case she did not get any other accommodation. Today she got an email with

"Hooray! Your Tenancy Agreement has been electronically executed and your booking is confirmed."

She rang them to say she was not going with the accommodation and they have told her that if she does not take the accommodation she will be charged the full years rent – failure to pay and they will hand it to debt collectors and pursue her through the courts and extra costs. They told her she could try find a tenant who would take it off her as another option. Now hands up my daughter stupidly signed a tenancy agreement online as per below text below

"Your booking will be confirmed and the contract to supply the accommodation created when you sign your tenancy agreement. You acknowledge and agree that once you have signed the tenancy agreement you will have no right to cancel the contract, and shall be liable to pay the full rent and any related fees relating to the accommodation for the duration of the tenancy."

She assumed she was not tied into anything until they came looking for a deposit to confirm uptake of the accommodation.

So having shouted like a lunatic for 30 minutes I have now calmed down and looking for best way to proceed/approach. So I have a number of questions

  • What powers do they have to pursue this case against her?
  • As she will be living in Manchester for a year how will this affect her credit rating?
  • Will it affect her credit rating in Ireland / elsewhere?
  • Can I let the debt letters come here to her home address in Ireland and just ignore – can they compel her to appear in court?
Now to add to this saga, she did put me down as a guarantor at the time and I received an email requesting my documentation. I did not reply to this request and I had no further contact from them requesting the details. I'm just wondering should they have followed up on looking for the guarantor and would this be seen as possible 'break' for the contract?

Sorry for long post, trying to get in as much as possible without blowing a stress bulb!!. Anybody any experience of this situation?

Thanks
 
You have blown off some steam now. Don’t stress anymore , if you have to eat this you will survive.

Just a few thoughts

These things tend to be a bit more serious in the UK from a legal POV. Companies do go to court and get county court judgements against people in cases where they wouldn’t find it worthwhile here. Just how this might affect your daughter who knows.

Your daughter is an adult, why isn’t she dealing with it.

It appears you did not provide a guarantee.
 
What age is your daughter.

Are an outfit going to go to court in the UK to get money from a broke student.

The OP is no more a guarantor than Boris is a fine husband. OP has signed nothing. Plus she’s in a different jurisdiction.
 
Hi,

My daughter is 23 & is dealing with it - ringing & talking to the letting agency, uni etc but letting agency not interested. Uni says very common problem with students but agencies tend to take hard line. I know I am not a guarantor so they can't touch me but same time my daughter hopes to go to Manchester & she is stressed about the situation. Also some awful reviews online for the place - so paying thousands for a dive does not sit or eat well with me.
 
Is there any link between the agency and the college?
Can your daughter now write something along these lines?

I am now not taking a place at X university. I have no income as I am a student and I do not live in the UK.

Zero knowledge on EU laws but is there not supposed to be a cooling off period? Was this applied??

Realistically I think they're on a fishing expedition trying to get some money.
 
Hi,

No link between agency and uni. Uni said it's a common problem with students where like my daughter they expect a demand for a deposit to secure the accommodation, which tends to be my previous experience for the colleges accommodation in Ireland where we have put name down for a place and then decide to take or leave once they request the securing deposit.

The agency said the only way out is a letter from her Uni stating she is no longer attending but obviously the uni are not prepared to falsify a document and I really wouldn't expect them to.

There was no mention of a cooling off period but she signed online in May and got email yesterday so I assume cooling off period may have been in there somewhere. Have to say also that I thought there would have been some paperwork to sign but all done online - goes to show the dangers. We all accept things online without a thorough reading of the docs.
 
Talk to a solicitor. Consideration is a fundamental element in the formation of a binding contract, as no deposit was paid here to satisfy that element, there may be options.
 
According to this UK government website a cooling off period under the distance selling regulations would not have applied:

www.gov.uk

Online and distance selling

Rules for online and distance selling for businesses
www.gov.uk www.gov.uk

These rules don't apply to:

  • contracts to let a property the customer will live in, for example renting a house or flat (although they do apply to estate agents’ marketing services)
 
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