Vent About Your Rent

Transcription

THE RESULTS
A report on students’ views of
housing and halls
2012-2013
Vent About Your Rent: The Results 2012 - 2013
1
CONTENTS
3
Chloe’s Introduction
The Objectives
Vital Statistics
6
Who Responded?
8
7
Summary of Key Findings
Students’ Comments
19
2
5
Appendix
13
OF ALL THE FUN CAMPAIGNS A VP WELFARE COULD
RUN, WHY ON EARTH WOULD I OPT FOR A FAIRLY
STRAIGHTFORWARD, NO FRILLS HOUSING SURVEY?
Surveys are boring. Spending hours trawling through data is hardly my
idea of a good time. But all too often I hear students’ horror stories about
their private rented property. Slugs, exploding ovens, court cases, no hot
water, no keys… no rights. And what am I to do about it? As much as I’d
love to go to your landlord’s house and bend their ear off, I don’t think
that’s all too sustainable (or would yield results). All I can do is encourage
fellow students to make the right decisions based upon gaining as much
information as you can get your hands on. And that’s where VAYR comes
into play.
Across the country, the dangerous combination of poor housing
conditions and rogue landlords mix with swaths of students
who don’t fully understand their rights as tenants. Surveys
like this, often called ‘Rate Your Landlord’ or ‘Rate Your Rent’, have
become increasingly popular over the last few years in Students’ Unions
and act as a welcome remedy to legal restrictions put on personally
naming landlords or letting agencies to reveal the cowboys amongst
the pack. I particularly thank the University of Sussex Students’ Union
and Aberystwyth University Students’ Union for their excellent work and
guidance.
Just over 1 out of every 50 students studying at University of
Southampton filled out this survey. For a first time effort, that’s not
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half bad. It has also been noted that some people answered the survey
on behalf of their house, meaning that these results may represent the
experiences of entire households. My aspiration is that VAYR becomes a
recognised brand and an annual endeavour, which will see our response
rates rocket and the political leverage it has also rise. I’d also love to see
VAYR extend to Solent University, so that a bigger view of Southampton’s
housing market can be recorded annually.
This report does not seek to misinform students, disgrace
landlords or scaremonger: it is simply a collection of
anonymous student opinions which we can publish and distribute
to empower students to make excellent choices. We can also use it to
lobby stakeholders: the letting agencies themselves, local councillors and
MPs, the university and us here at SUSU too. Students’ Unions are great
advocates for fair housing rights; if this information is shared far and
wide, the impact it could have is huge.
So on that note: share a link to this document on Facebook, pick
up a copy and put it through your neighbour’s post box, and
ask people you meet in seminars or labs if they’ve seen the results. It’s
taken us weeks to compile this bad boy, it’s the least you could do!
Chloe Green
VP Welfare and Communities 2012-13
4
OBJECTIVES
What was Vent About Your Rent trying to achieve?
TO UNDERSTAND HOW HIGHLY STUDENTS RATE THE
QUALITY OF THEIR LANDLORD/LETTING AGENCY
TO UNDERSTAND HOW HIGHLY STUDENTS RATE THE
QUALITY OF THEIR HOUSE
TO MONITOR THE AVERAGE RENT PRICES, HOW
MUCH STUDENTS PAY IN FEES AND HOW MUCH OF
THIS IS REFUNDABLE
TO FIND OUT WHETHER STUDENTS FEEL PRESSURE TO
SIGN A CONTRACT FOR PRIVATE RENTED PROPERTY
AND WHERE THAT PRESSURE COMES FROM
TO FIND OUT WHETHER THE ‘DON’T SETTLE’ HOUSING
CAMPAIGN HAD BEEN SEEN BY STUDENTS, AND
WHETHER IT CHANGED THEIR BEHAVIOURS
5
TARGET AUDIENCE
All students, particularly those who have lived in private rented property.
SURVEY DATES
08/02/2013 – 12/03/2013
METHODOLOGY
On-line at surveymonkey
Facebook event which links to survey
METHOD OF PROMOTION
Regular social media updates & Facebook event
Welfare committee promoting through social media and word of mouth
Feature in residences support monthly newsletter
TOTAL NUMBER OF RESPONDENTS
632
INCENTIVE: Being a part of social change (and £300 towards rent)
RESPONDENT DEMOGRAPHICS: 22,000 (figures for total student
population based on December snapshot 2011. 2012-13 report not yet
published).
6
WHO ANSWERED THE SURVEY?*
Number of
respondents
Percentage of
participants
Overall
632
100%
Percentage
total of student
area against
entire student
population
(22,000)
N/A
Female
374
59%
53.90%
Male
258
41%
46.10%
5th year
6
1%
2.89%
4th year
51
8%
8.17%
3rd year
208
32%
22.45%
2nd year
245
39%
27.69%
1st year
121
20%
36.76%
UK
551
87%
69.32%
Europe
36
5.50%
6.97%
Overseas
35
5.50%
3.35%
*See appendix for validity of statistics
7
SUMMARY OF KEY FINDINGS
RESPONDENTS WHO CURRENTLY LIVE IN HALLS
47% had started looking for a house by November
“The large letting agencies start letting early deliberatly to put pressure
on students, particularly first years”
Over 85% of respondents had already signed a contract for a house next
year having only been at University for 5 months.
86%
70%
% of
people
committed
to a
contract
14%
36%
3%
October
Chose
to wait
17%
November
December
January
February
6% of those are staying in halls next year
58% went with a
letting agency over a
private landlord
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26%
28%
55%
paid a holding fee
paid a deposit protection fee
paid admin fees
with highest being £200
with the highest being £420
with the highest being £150
59% saw the housing campaign “DON’T SETTLE”
“leafleting to halls from letting agents definitely has to
stop! We were sucked into the “housing rush” and signed for a
house for 84 quid a week with no double glazing”
40% of those who had not signed a contract yet said they intended on
looking for a house in February
36.4% of those who have not signed for a house yet
wanted to take their time over making the decision.
“i learnt from last year not to rush!”
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RESPONDENTS WHO CURRENTLY LIVE IN PRIVATE
RENTED ACCOMMODATION
53.9% went with a letting agency over a private landlord
TOP 10 LOWEST SCORING LETTING
AGENCIES
(AVERAGE SCORES OUT OF 10):
Elliots (1.5)
South Lettings (2)
Beals Lettings | Morris Dibben | Personal Homefinders (3)
Cryers | Repulink | Homelife Lettings (3.5)
Marques | Pearsons (4)
Letting agents
£79
Private landlords
£73
The average price charged for
rent
The average price charged for
rent
5/10
7.5/10
The average score of service
The average score of service
5.5/10
7.5/10
The average score of home
quality
10
VS
The average score of home
quality
HAVE YOU FELT PRESSURED ONE WAY OR THE OTHER,
TO SIGN A CONTRACT ON YOUR RESIDENCE NEXT
YEAR?
40.2% said YES
THE FOLLOWING ARE SOME OF THE COMMENTS
PROVIDED BY RESPONDENTS.
“Very happy with what I’ve got, we found this
place in April”
“Its terrible the way they (letting agents)
panic students in october, especially
freshers”
“Never rush into signing anything! All students
should know by now not to sign or rush,
anything before January”
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We were asked to confirm we
wanted to live in the same house
next year in early November and
given about 2 weeks to confirm
We felt pressured and
slightly bullied into
buying as soon as we had
viewed the house
The large lettings agencies
start letting early deliberately
to put pressure on students,
particularly first years.
They said all the good
houses will be gone
after Christmas! How
ridiculous.
WHERE DID THIS PRESSURE COME FROM?
Multiple choice question
Letting agencies
Private landlords
Friends
Family Halls
“Know your rights. Don’t be a coward and
speak up if your landlord is messing you
around!"
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM
RESPONDENTS
“It’s common for landlords/letting agencies to say things like ‘This house
goes very quickly so you’ll have to sign a contract soon’ which pressures
you into choosing a house instead of looking around more.”
“We felt pressured and slightly bullied into buying as soon as we had
viewed the house”
“We were asked to confirm we wanted to live in the same house next year
in early November and given about 2 weeks to confirm”
“They said all the good houses will be gone after Christmas! How
ridiculous.”
“The large lettings agencies start letting early deliberately to put pressure
on students, particularly 1st years.”
“Seriously great landlords, everything is sorted right away (on the rare
occasion we have a small issue). The house is top quality, no damp, and at
a great price”
“I think SUSU should do more to ensure that students are not being
ripped off. The advice centre and SASSH is very good but I would like to
see these services expanded.”
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ADDITIONAL COMMENTS FROM RESPONDENTS
“Know your rights. Don’t be a coward and speak up if your landlord is
messing you around.”
“In October just after uni had started they were already pressurizing us
to resign for next year. Wouldn’t even hold our house for a week while
we got money together, 100 pounds is a lot of money for admin which
we won’t get back. Still showed people around our house when we had
resigned !”
“Many letting agencies used pressurising tactics, such as calling us up and
saying unless we decided to sign for a house that day it would be taken
off the market.”
“I pay £78 a week for a house that had damp when we moved in and
wasn’t cleaned. We had 2 months with no washing machine (despite it
included on the contract). When our back door was smashed open it
took the landlord 2 weeks to come and take a look and get his men to
take measurements, by January nothing had still been fixed, despite
his son promising he was chasing the fitters daily. When we called the
landlord again he said that he wasn’t fixing it and that we knew it was our
responsibility all along. This was not the case, we knew we would pay for
the repair but not have to organise it.”
“The housing campaign helped us to make our decision to leave our
current house (first year rushed mistake) and we waited for the SASSH list
and got this loooovely house for next year :)”
14
“Should be a warning about signing up to houses without knowing the
landlord. Vibe signed us into a deal with a shocking landlord.”
“Leafleting to halls from letting agents definitely needs to stop! We were
sucked into the ‘housing rush’, and signed for a house for £84 a week,
with no double glazing. My room is the smallest, 6ft by 11ft, and was
advertised as a double room when it really shouldn’t have been. I’ve had
mould on and off all year round in it (bed is against two outside walls and
a bathroom) and each time I’ve rung posh pads they’ve told me to move
the bed away from the wall, when there is absolutely no space to do this.
They also take on average 3-5 days to come and sort out a problem.”
“On the “Student No Fees” right outside university, they present on the
window by saying that we need to “beat the rush” which is completely
untrue. I remember first to second year completely falling for the hype
about houses and getting a really skanky one!”
“Letting Agencies take absolute liberties with students. We found a house
for next year and asked if we could pay the deposit in January when our
student loan came through, it was November at the time. This time we
went with Tenant Direct and they said it was absolutely fine, the lady who
saw to us even asked her supervisor who said it was fine. We all signed
the contract on the basis that we could pay after our loans came through
and were then told we had 2 weeks to pay the first months rent. We
challenged the same people that said we could pay in January and they
said to us “That’s what it says in the contract”. Absolutely disgusting!
Safer, easier, cheaper to go with Private landlords rather than agencies.”
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“Many more student rooms than students, no rush necessary”
“I’ve had a broken window for 3 months now of which the letting
agency have been aware of and reminded several times. The landlords
themselves are lovely people but the letting agencies seem to not
communicate greatly unless they want something (i.e. to allow viewings
to our house)”
“Last year student, very happy with landlord, always sorts out any issues
we have right away, wouldn’t hesitate in recommending him to anyone.”
“Very happy with what I’ve got, we found this place in April”
“No issues with my landlord at all. No fees charged, same house two
years and no increase in rent. All problems such as broken boiler, mould,
flooring were fixed promptly.”
“Felt if we didnt sign of this house it would be let to someone else before
we really had a lot of chance to look at other properties”
“Learnt from last year not to rush!”
“I would give the landloard a rating of 10, and the agency a rating of 1”
“We are very very happy with the house we have found, and the landlord
is excellent!”
16
“Everyone seems to be renting earlier and earlier every year and if you
haven’t found people to move in with it puts a massive stress on you to
find a place some people i know signed houses in October and November
and i hadn’t really found a group of people i would be willing to share a
house with.”
“We have had serious issues with our landlord, who seems to be a very
devious character. For 18 months we were paying the electricity bill of
an adjoining property (owned by the same landlord) as their electricity
supply was connected to our meter, whilst the landlord charged them
£20 a week for bills - none of which reached us.”
“Think its disgusting that most houses in Southampton are let through
estate agents that in my experience have constantly lets us down
promising us houses that have already gone, not showing up to meetings
or viewings, lying about price and rooms/ size and at an extortionate
price. They only get away with it because we are students, at the bottom
of the housing food chain.”
“I know the freshers seem to always want to sign for houses in sem1
which is ridiculously early. This then puts pressure on other students to
sign. Ideally I would not want to be thinking about housing until after Jan
exams.”
“Housing signs go up way too early and many landlords or letting agents
sign contracts in halls bars/backs of cars- random places because they
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convince you that it must be done asap. Letting agent this year never
notifies us about anything (your move) and we end up hearing things
straight from the landlord when he asks “have the letting agents told you
this?”. Presumably this is because the letting agents don’t regard students
as high priority and so just don’t bother giving us any decent service.”
“Its terrible the way they panic students in October, especially freshers.”
“Thanks to SUSU for their amazing campaign :)”
“Some lettings agents can be incredibly pushy. One agent told us that
another group he was showing round had already signed a contract
that same day. I am fairly certain he was lying. He was incredibly rude
to us, and attempted to make us feel as though all the good housing in
Southampton was being snapped up already. This was NOT the agency
we eventually went through. The fees we paid were ridiculously high.
Students need to be reassured that they DON’T have to sign up for
the first house that they see, that there is an abundance of housing in
Southampton, and that they should be able to get their deposits back
(advice on this & on landlords delaying this should be given by SUSU, I
think.)”
“MOULD! I didn’t realise my student house would have so much. They
definitely hid that well when I signed my contract!”
“In the first year of finding private rented accommodation, there was a lot
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of emphasis to get a house as quickly as possible (before Christmas), but
since then I have realised that was not necessary and we were too hasty
in finding a house - there are still plenty of houses available later in the
year.”
“Some of the letting agencies are terribly unprofessional . There a terrible
notion of houses that are acceptable for students but not normal tenants.
Whilst looking at houses some are at an unacceptable standard for
anyone to live in.”
“This year I felt somewhat pressured as there was so much ‘THIS HOUSE
GOES SO QUICKLY’ talk that made us panic and sign without taking time
to look at other, perhaps better options.”
“Sassh list was very helpful”
APPENDIX
*’Who answered the survey’
Confidence in sample: ±1.6 at 95% (so we can be 95% sure that any percentages given
in the summary are within ±1.6% of the true figure for entire student population)
N.B. Respondents living in halls have a confidence in sample of 90% due to a smaller
population.
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Vent About Your Rent

Transcription

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