Other issues that cropped up throughout the year-long tenancy – including spending October to November without a working boiler, and having bailiffs show up at the door for unpaid bills – only hardened their resolve. “So much unpleasantness only prompted us further to seek justice,” continues Cole. “We felt we had to hold him to account for how insecure and vulnerable we felt.”
Even after the favourable outcome of the tribunal, Cole and her housemates are still struggling to receive the justice they deserve. “Initially we felt amazing about it, we felt like we’d beaten the systems in place that make it so landlords hold an incredible amount of power over their tenants,” she says. However, they later realised that the Rent Repayment Order (RRO) was unenforceable, which has left them “clueless” about how to enforce the judgement.
This UoB student took her landlord to court and won her entire year’s rent back
She’s even written her diss on it
5 hours ago
Megan Cole, final year UoB PPE student has won a whole year’s rent back after living in unfit housing whilst renting in Selly Oak for her second year.
After taking the landlord to court over unfit housing, she has written her dissertation on it, it has since gone viral on Twitter with over 115k likes in a matter of days.
The Policy, Politics and Economics dissertation is titled “The Power Dynamic in Renting: Rogue Landlords, Vulnerable Tenants and Policy Proposals for Change”, and includes her own experiences of renting as a student in the private sector.