Matt Western seeks help to change student housing legislation

Warwick and Leamington MP Matt Western has called for students in need of help with their housing to contact him, following reports of mistreating landlords and houses unfit for habitation within the student community.

Mr Western has been part of the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee since early 2018, which “has been looking at the whole private renting sector” and “some of the malpractice that has been going on”.

Currently, landlords do not have to give a reason for eviction and can give as little as eight weeks’ notice. These “no-fault evictions” are known as the Section 21 process which the government agreed to discuss in April.

Since then, Mr Western has announced that he is looking to make further changes to help both the student and non-student community in Leamington Spa avoid being taken advantage of.

He said that it is a “very positive step” in the right direction to make landlords more accountable for their relationship with student tenants.

The MP also highlighted that students are particularly vulnerable as they rent on short-term tenancies “often lasting one or two years”.

He raised examples of “excessive” miscellaneous and misadvertised charges some students have had to face, including that of a £10 lightbulb for a lamp that was not on the inventory, and thus was not owned by the landlord but by a previous tenant.

There are some very good landlords – don’t get me wrong, there are – but there are some others who really are exploiting students and that’s not fair

– Matt Western MP

“This is really not fair and these are the things we are looking at with the committee. Cases where people were being charged £60 to £100 for a replacement key and so on are extraordinary,” he shared. “We want to identify these unfair charges to tenants.”

Regarding the deposit that students are often required to pay 10 or 11 months in advance, Mr Western stated that he “would like to see a standardisation” of the amount and suggested paying a maximum of six weeks ahead, or three months before.

He said the housing committee had looked into the time frame, and personally believes that “there should be a maximum in terms of when the contract starts and advances the tenancy”.

“If most students are moving in in September and October, the deposit can only be taken three months before,” he raised. “Otherwise, landlords are sitting on this money for nine months, and for students to stump up a significant amount of money seems incredibly unfair when you don’t have an income.”

Addressing cases of injustice and exploitation within the private renting sector, he clarified: “There are some very good landlords – don’t get me wrong, there are – but there are some others who really are exploiting students and that’s not fair.

“That’s why people like me have to stand up, but we can only make the case for changing legislation and empowering students if we’re better informed.”

That’s my request to the student community – to get in touch with me, to let me know what your experience is, and through that we will change and improve the legislation

– Matt Western MP

In March, Mr Western announced that he was “keen” to “see firsthand the condition of student housing”. He visited the houses of three Warwick students on Thursday 25 April, who have been experiencing problems with their homes.

One of them was Izzie Smith. The Boar interviewed her last year as part of an off-campus accommodation investigation.

Mold proliferated throughout her property even before her and her flatmates moved in. The landlord ignored their complaints.

During her tenancy, two floods occurred in the basement. After the second time, the floor took 10 weeks to dry. Her house was also left “without a light basically for the entirety of winter”.

Although illegal and hazards to safety, the property lacks a carbon monoxide detector and functioning fire alarm. The latter stopped working last November and remains unfixed.

“This is the kind of thing that should be exposed,” Mr Western expressed after his visits. “It’s outrageous.”

He concluded by calling forth students to contribute their experiences to the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee’s ongoing work.

“That’s my request to the student community – to get in touch with me, to let me know what your experience is, and through that we will change and improve the legislation,” he said.