Being a student might mean you get discounts, free dental care, and tax free wages, but when it comes to accommodation, Cardiff’s housing might not offer any perks. Because when you live in a student house, you might have to face a nightmare with your landlord or letting agency.

Some of these characters plague students throughout the UK, leaving tenants living in unacceptable conditions. The National Union of Students Housing and Health Survey revealed that 50% of students live with damp, and 40% with mould, but Cardiff seems to have attracted landlords who go beyond negligence and unfit housing.

One group of students got locked inside their own house for a whole night because the letting agency refused to fix their broken front door, stating that “you students are all the same, you probably came back plastered and kicked the door down.” When an independent locksmith wrote on an invoice that the break was no fault of the tenants, one Cardiff student took them a copy to claim compensation. The agency didn’t open the letter, but ripped the invoice into pieces in front of the girl, while shouting ‘this is bullshit, bullshit, bullshit’. When she complained about the abusive language used, an employee of the agency responded: ‘You’re all children, it doesn’t matter how we speak to you’.

With some shady agencies, you can find grime, leaks, vermin, fire hazards, draughts, and broken furniture. If you’re lucky, you’ll find walls, ceilings, floors, electricity, heating, and working appliances. Yes, it might seem stupid: surely a house would have ceilings and walls? But it isn’t always the case with Cardiff’s landlords.

‘The kitchen and living room ceiling completely fell through in our property back in my second year. They didn’t repair it for two weeks’, said one Cardiff student. The company has still left a different property without alcoves after arranging the fixtures on the 26th September. Student houses have a reputation of being cold, as loans fail to cover heating bills, but having gaping holes to the outside is a different temperature entirely.

The living conditions some students are found to be living in are far below an acceptable and legal standard. One property was found to have rooms without heating that were not fixed until the end of November. Another student claims that she has had to start using an inhaler since the damp in her room from a leak still has not been fixed. In fact, the NUS found that 12% of students suffer health problems as a direct result of their poor accommodation.

Students are also forced to endure safety issues. Half of properties don’t have locks on the windows. One property had the locks removed from their bedroom doors by the landlord, a violation of their insurance terms. After moving in, one business management student found her belongings removed after cleaners and decorators had been working there. “I even found some of my kitchen equipment in the bins outside. They ignored my letters to them to be reimbursed and stated it wasn’t their problem.”

A second year Geography student moved into her property in September to find her bedroom so damp that the landlord warned her not to sleep there. Despite her making the landlord aware of the problem seven times over the summer, it was not ‘fixed’ until two weeks after she moved in, leaving her with no bedroom. The student has been paying rent since June, and has been refused any compensation numerous times. The company also refused to reimburse the high electrical costs involved in running the dehumidifier, which they used for several weeks to relieve the damp.

When the council were asked to inspect a property in accordance with the Houses in Multiple Occupation (HMO) regulations, it failed the inspection spectacularly, with a lack of fire equipment being a major concern. The council granted the agency with a temporary license that gave them nine months to fix the problems. The agency later told tenants that they ‘had no intention of fixing anything until the end of this period.’ leaving them with an unsafe house to live in for the rest of the year.

If it wasn’t bad enough for students having to bear the inadequacy of their housing, many are subjected to prejudice by their landlords and letting agencies. One household claimed to have tolerated verbal abuse on a number of occasions, reducing several of them to tears. They have also suffered many missed appointments, unfounded accusations, and lack of commitment to their responsibilities.

It isn’t just terrible conditions that are a problem for some Cardiff students though. gair rhydd has heard stories of landlords and letting agencies withholding bonds and deposits for no good reason.

One postgraduate student waited almost six months for one of her bonds to be given back after leaving her rented home:

“It was £400, which for a student is alot of money, and the next agency I went with tried to keep it as well. I got it back after three months after waiting weeks and weeks”

“I was given excuses every day and two seperate employees told me it was in the post which I never recieved.”

“The bond I got back eventually was £30 less than I was due.”

One of the letting agencies brought to gair rhydd’s attention has already been on a national consumer watchdog programme for their poor performance. They’re still in business though because students aren’t aware of their behaviour. If you’re looking for a new house for next year, don’t just go to the first one you fall across, just because you like the house they offer. Instead, check out the Housing Guide realeased in the new year or go to Cardiff Student Letting, Cardiff Students’ Union’s own letting agency.

Prevention is better than cure, but if you’re unlucky enough to already be in a house where the landlord or letting agency is failing to provide the service they should, then get in touch with Cardiff City Council at www.cardiff.gov.uk to know your rights to safe housing and contact the Private Sector Housing on 02920 873564/5 if you think they are being violated. Alternatively, the Advice and Representation Centre, on the 3rd floor of the Students Union provides answers to any queries you may have.

The Students’ Union provides an agency that is designed to attend to the needs of students, and also eliminates the agency fees that are usually paid when you sign a contract. The university also provides a list of private landlords whose gas and safety certificates have been checked.

One method becoming increasingly common in avoiding a risky landlord, is for a parent to buy a house and rent it to students. It not only abolishes the letting agent, but acts as a worthy investment for parents. Word of mouth is the other most reliable option, as speaking to the previous occupiers allows insight to how the landlord will act.