England: Law student ends up in a dump – and sued his landlord

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Norwich
19-year-old law student sues his landlord – and wins his first case

Jack S. describes his room in the “Velocity Student Housing” in Norwich as a “construction site” (symbol photo)

© Lance B. / Getty Images

The photos of his future student apartment looked great – but in reality it was a construction site. A student from East England refused to accept that and sued the landlord – with success.

Anyone who has ever booked a room or an apartment may be familiar with this: Everything in the photos looks neat, accurate and homely – in reality, however, you believe that you have actually been shown a completely different accommodation than the one in the pictures. This is exactly what happened to Jack S. with his student accommodation in Norwich, a city in the east of England.

In a nutshell, he describes his student room in an interview with the BBC as a “construction site”. The 19-year-old was still in his first year at the University of East Anglia in September 2020 when he moved into the “Velocity Student Housing” in Norwich.

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The maintenance of a rental apartment is often a source of controversy. The typical case: the tenant moves out. His landlord says, however, that the apartment either has to be renovated or paid for maintenance. The BGH had to clarify what then applies in March. In its landmark decision, the court sided with the tenants. When moving out, they no longer automatically have to pay a portion of the renovation costs if they move out before the agreed renovation deadlines have expired. In addition, landlords may only oblige their tenants to carry out maintenance work if they hand over the apartment newly renovated. (Ref .: VIII ZR 185/14 etc.)

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The maintenance of a rental apartment is often a source of controversy. The typical case: the tenant moves out. His landlord says, however, that the apartment either has to be renovated or paid for maintenance. The BGH had to clarify what then applies in March.
In its landmark decision, the court sided with the tenants. When moving out, they no longer automatically have to pay a portion of the renovation costs if they move out before the agreed renovation deadlines have expired. In addition, landlords may only oblige their tenants to carry out maintenance work if they hand over the apartment newly renovated.
(Ref .: VIII ZR 185/14 etc.)

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“Nice, upscale student room” in Norwich

He only got his place at the university in the replacement process, so that his place on the waiting list meant that he came to Norwich later than most of the other students. So he hadn’t had a chance to tour the property beforehand and booked it without looking. “I thought I would get what I saw in these photos,” he said in an interview with the BBC. “Those beautiful, upscale student rooms.”

But when he was there, the exact opposite awaited him: “There were holes and open shafts everywhere, craftsmen scuttled around and pounded on the ceiling and the walls. The inside of the building was covered in dust. It was absurd and almost funny that that there People moved in even though nothing was finished yet. “

But S. knew how to defend himself. He was studying law, so he did what any law student would do with a little self-confidence: he sued his landlord.


 Norwich: 19-year-old law student sues his landlord - and wins his first case

Debt collection company switched on

Initially, S. moved out of the accommodation after a week and stopped paying the rent. A debt collection company then threatened to collect the outstanding rent payments. So S. turned to his textbooks and began to investigate his own case legally.

He collected testimony, collected the case law on the subject of contract law and sued the landlord for breach of contract and misrepresentation. “To be honest, it was very easy,” says S. in an interview with the BBC. “I was studying contract law at the time. It was easy for me to open my contract law textbook and look through some of the relevant laws and apply them to the situation.”

He added: “We have asked for our money back, our deposit and the first month’s rent.” But the landlord also insisted on his supposed right and sued S. In total, he demanded around 7,000 British pounds (around 8,200 euros). “

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Counterclaim dismissed

At an online hearing in Newcastle County Court on November 2nd, his father spoke for S. in court and S. won. Everything he had already paid the landlord plus court fees totaling £ 999. The landlord’s counterclaim was dismissed.

As a result, Jack S. won his first legal case with the help of his textbooks, long before he finished his law degree. It is “great to win”. You could “just not let these landlords win,” he added. The landlord declined to comment to the BBC on the case.

Source: BBC

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