Current student Alexa Tecson shares the nightmare she endured with her landlord and how the Advice Centre helped her!
At the SU, we care about your financial wellbeing and know that every penny counts for you. This is why we make sure that every person who asks us for help with their landlord deposit dispute has our full support until the dispute is finalised. We now want to share with you one of our many successful stories that have helped students!
At last year’s NUS conference, research was shared revealing that nine out of ten UK students are losing their security deposits at the end of their tenancies. This is mainly because they don’t know the rules or they don’t have the energy to deal with a deposit dispute during their final year. So here is where we come in. We will guide and support you and if necessary, take over for you to make sure that no unfair charges are deducted from your security deposit.
Alexa’s Journey
Alexa Tecson is our latest success story. We supported her until the very end, helping her with letter-writing, getting free legal advice for her, and making sure that she could cope. Here’s what she had to say about her experience with the SU Advice Centre:
“I've had issues with my landlord all year long, and it didn't surprise me when he was looking to take more than half of my deposit (as well as my other flatmates') by the end of the tenancy. After reviewing what exactly he was charging for, I knew some of it was absurd. A new washing machine even though the one provided for us was already old and wearing down, or cleaning charges after we’d left the house in a better state than we came in.
“I reached out to the Advice Centre and as it turns out, there were even more absurd charges! The Advice Centre informed me what steps to take and in the end, it led to a formal dispute. The application process is extremely long and tedious, but luckily the Advice Centre's advisor was helpful in showing me the necessary information to add in, which site to use, what details I needed to add, etc... and in the end, I won the majority of my deposit back and so did most of my flatmates who followed the Advice Centre's instructions.
“I know friends of mine who didn't seek out help who lost a huge portion of their deposit. Landlords are purposefully tricky, and they will take advantage of students; knowing how to challenge them can be difficult, especially if the legal issues come into play. I highly recommend anyone having issues to go to the Advice Centre, as they'll provide assistance and will likely be able to help you sort out any of your tenancy issues.”
I also need help, what should I do next?
If you are having any housing problems, you can request an appointment with the SU Housing Advisor before the problem gets even worse. Don’t worry, we’re here to help!