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anyone good with legal advice?

Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
edited March 27 in Work & Study
just got a final statement from my halls, theyre alleging that there's £201.30 worth of damage in my flat and so theyre withholding my £200 deposit and want the extra £1.30 on top. naturally im livid as none of the damage was anything to do with me, they know this and had the opportunity to move certain troublemakers out of my flat and didnt. im in the process of writing a rather angry letter to head office to see if that makes a difference.

one point i want to raise, is it against the law for the halls in question not to provide a fire blanket/extinguisher? cos it took 4 months of complaining for me to get one for my flat and im going to raise that issue in the letter, but i want to know if its going to be relevant. the halls were private if that helps.

ta
Post edited by JustV on

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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    Assuming your accommodation is classed as HMO, then read this.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    the problem with that is that when you share accomodation... you share responsbility. can you prove the damage wasn't anything to do with you?
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    You are, unfortunately, joint and severally liable for damage to communal areas of your flat. They are entitled to take the relevant amount of money from each person- shared equally- in order to make any damage good.

    If you had raised grievances about tyroublemakers in the past then you would have a bargaining position. MY wife had trouble in her flat, but she complained regularly about the others and so was not liable for a penny of damage when she left. Admittedly in her case she had moved in with me in Durham, so wasn't even in the flat, but that is a different matter.

    As for the second aspect of your question, I suggest you ask TheSite, and a trained Shelter rep will be able to answer your question promptly. My initial reaction is that they are under a legal obligation ot provide fire safety equipment, but I may be wrong. The flat I am in now does not provide it, for instance.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    A house in "multiple occupancy" (ie a shared student type house with locks on each bedroom, where residents share kitchen and/or bathroom facilities) must provide a fire blanket in the kitchen. Apparently there should also be smoke alarms on every floor, safety lights, and fire escapes (not always applicable).


    Keep making a fuss.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    god thats a lot of damage! we only got billed for £1 each...
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    When i left halls they charged us for fire extinguisher servicing - which was more expensive than just buying a new fire extinguisher.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i ended up losing about £75 of my deposit when i moved out, for breaking window chain that they'd put on to stop you opening it more than an inch, i needed it wider, so that was fair enough, also for not hoovering on departure, which lost me about £10 but after moving all my crap out i wasnt in the mood to start cleaning so i can handle that one.
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i emailed the residence manager to tell him that ive received the letter he sent and that im taking it up with head office and so he isnt getting any of his 130 pennies until im satisfied there's nothing else i can do (how petty is that, £1.30?!) and he said that they're still going to proceed, ie. if they write to me again theyre adding a £10 admin fee, and will do each time they write, and eventually court action! what a joke. but ive written my first draft of my angry letter (3 pages long!) and im trying to dredge up as much ammo as i can so it makes them look stupid.

    cheers peeps, youve been a great help :thumb:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    superfly wrote:
    if they write to me again theyre adding a £10 admin fee, and will do each time they write, and eventually court action! what a joke. but ive written my first draft of my angry letter (3 pages long!) and im trying to dredge up as much ammo as i can so it makes them look stupid.
    they will too. cough up the £1.30. because unless you can proove, as has been said before that none of the damage was caused by you. legally, i don't think you have a leg to stand on, and you're trying to fight a lost cause. tho, if you can proove it, stick with it to try and get your deposit back. but honestly, it will cost them more money to take you to court than it would just to sod the deposit and £1.30, etc. then again, they are a university... finance isn't an issue for them taking you to court, so they'll act on principal. but you're right, its pretty pathetic. but if i was you, i'd just cough up the £1.30 and let it go. i mean, if they send you 10 letters, you can add another £100. ontop of what they are asking from you now. :yeees:
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    Former MemberFormer Member Posts: 1,876,323 The Mix Honorary Guru
    i think you should speak with a legal advisor too. you could get advice from CAB if you need it. :)
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