A King’s College London (KCL) student was almost “kicked out” of her apartment despite making a £15,000 up front rent payment.
Yuhe Shen, who was in her second year of university at the time, said that she was “anxious about losing all the money [she’d] paid upfront” after a private landlord requested “at least a year of upfront payments”.
After being asked to pay a sum of £15,000, which included a deposit of £2,000, the international student was told by estate agents that this is what landlords expect from their tenants.
According to The i Paper, Shen’s landlord threatened to “take” their apartment back after claiming she and her housemate has not passed their random inspection.
Although the pair ended up being able to keep their accommodation, Shen said she was left “traumatised” by the situation.
via Unsplash
Housing in London continues to be an issue for many students, and it can be even more confusing for international students who do not have any experience renting in the UK
Shen compared these bidding wars in the UK to “psychological warfare”, arguing that paying for housing beforehand is “London-centric”.
She added: “As a Chinese person, I don’t understand this culture around bidding for rental properties. It does sometimes happen in China, but not to the extent of having to bid on every single property.”
Recent amendments to the Renters’ Rights Act have aimed to reshape the experience of renting through a private landlord by ensuring that landlords are only allowed to ask tenants for one months rent upfront, alongside the deposit of six weeks’ rent.
The legislation will also see the elimination of Section 21 “no fault” evictions. This means landlords will no longer be allowed to issue a legal eviction notice without providing a valid legal reason.
These changes to the Act were put in place to provide more security for renters, in the hope that student tenants would feel more protected.
Continuing her studies, Shen has made the decision to stay in student accommodation for her Masters degree to avoid the struggle that comes with renting privately in the UK, saying that she’s “not sure it’s worth the hassle”.
Featured image via Instagram @yuhes1024 and Unsplash
