One Law Student’s Rental Accommodation Shock, Which Catapulted Him Into His First Legal Challenge
He was nineteen years old
Real Estate agents and project builders grow their wealth out of fabrications, not sales.
It’s not unusual. We see pictures of homes for sale. There’s rarely a blemish, so much so that even Michelangelo would bow in homage.
Beautifully presented were the first two words used in a house description of a home we went to see in recent times.
It was clear that the sales lady and I had been educated on different planets.
Beautifully presented conjures up pictures, in my head at least, of the house owners bursting their boilers to ensure there there is NOTHING that hasn’t at least been tarted up for the sale, that the front entrance is styled to perfection, because THAT, is the first rung of the clinching-the-sale ladder!
Correct me if I am wrong, But it should start at the front door…shouldn’t it?
The thing is this
Beautifully presented are two prized words when you are selling Real Estate.
Reality descriptions are not ever used. That would be a collision course to failure.
I mean would you respond to a negative descriptor? ‘It’s a bit crappy’ doesn’t cut it for buyers.
Caveat emptor!
But what about if you’re not actually buying and you’re just renting accommodation while you complete your legal studies? Actually,
‘…that’s just what happened with Jack Simm’s university accommodation, which he described as being like a “building site”.
‘So, he decided to do what any self-respecting law student would do and took his landlord to court — winning his first ever case with the help of his textbooks.
‘The 19-year-old was in his first year at the University of East Anglia in September 2020 when he moved into the Velocity Student accommodation in Norwich.
‘But because he got his university place through clearing he didn’t get a chance to view it beforehand.
‘I thought I was going to get what I’d seen on these photos,’ he says. ‘These nice, upmarket student accommodation rooms.’
See what he actually was renting into was a veritable building site, the ongoing noise of hammering and drilling, the delivery and collection of skips, not to mention the smog that comes along with endless sanding.
Not exactly the most calming scenario for a student intent on doing well.
NOW, the average nineteen-year-old might have put it down to bad luck.
But not Jack. Here was one plucky lad.
He moved out!
Despite the threats, he refused to pay rent.
Then he knuckled down to determine what his rights were, and began the process of suing.
‘He collected witness statements, put together the case law and statute law surrounding contract representation, and sued for breach of contract and misrepresentation.
Be still my beating heart…
But this young student’s heart was not beating as mine. His was of pure determination.
Fortuitously he was studying law. All he had to do was study his textbook, find the relevant rules, ensure he was absolutely correct in what he was suing about, concerning Contract Law, and BINGO!
He was ready
‘We sued for our money back our deposit our first month’s rent. They sued for the entire tenancy agreement — around £7,000.
‘At an online hearing at Newcastle County Court on 2 November, his dad spoke for him in court, and Jack won what he had paid them plus court fees, totalling £999. The counterclaim was dismissed.’
Imagine how you would feel as a young lad, fighting the big boys, and winning.
We can all take a leaf out of Jack’s book!
Sometimes the KARMA BUS is there, ready and waiting. All we have to do is have the will, the determination, and an absolute belief in fairness and justice!
Go Jack! I might be hiring you one of these days.