By Nathan Flanders, Break the Mould Policy Lead
Sign our petition in favour of better quality homes for students here.
There's no preventing it. You went to the viewing, your dad read over the contract for you; you thought you had taken every precaution against a damp house. Still, it's now February, and you've spent at least £50 on mould spray, not to mention the cost of running that dehumidifier daily, and still your favourite pair of shoes has gotten infected by the all-consuming mould-monster. If only you'd known that this house had rubbish insulation/single-glazed windows/a neglectful landlord when you'd signed the lease all those months ago.
Did we just describe your situation with an eerie level of accuracy? Turns out you're not alone. This situation is all too common for students in Bristol, and we don't think it's right. That's why we're trying to Break the Mould, and put the power back into the hands of you, the tenants.
We are proposing a 'Rent Review' system. Imagine TripAdvisor, but for student housing.
Here, student renters could review their house or flat, for example its condition, any issues that arise, and how quickly and effectively landlords or letting agents respond to them. The goal of this would be to incentivise landlords to focus on the quality of the service they are providing to students, as not doing so will lead to negative reviews, and potentially a loss of tenants. This should lead to better maintained properties for Bristol students, more responsiveness from landlords, and improved relationships between them and their tenants. We are calling on the Bristol Students' Union (SU) to help us set this up.
The SU already offers an array of services, including the ‘My Rent, My Rights’ campaign, which provides information and advice on tackling the Bristol student rental market, and Bristol SU Lettings The Law Clinic can also give legal advice related to housing. ‘Break the Mould’ believes that, while useful, this campaign can be improved with an increased focus on the conditions of student properties in Bristol, particularly regarding mould and its health-related consequences.
To work alongside Rent Review, we will also ask the SU to run an accreditation system based partly on these reviews. Landlords would be encouraged to opt-in to this service, gaining the SU's stamp of approval, on the basis that they abide by a series of agreements, such as responding to issues promptly and effectively, communicating with tenants, and not wrongfully withholding deposits. This would be visible to all students, as would any removal of it, or gaining it due to an improvement in their services. This should again increase the incentive for landlords and letting agents to be attentive and maintain higher standards within their properties.
As Epigram, we have also created a dedicated page on our website containing information about mould, its consequences, and best practices to prevent and fix it – you can have a look at that here. This, we propose would be linked to on the ‘My Rent, My Rights’ campaign page to give students an accessible bank of information that they can use.
And that's how we're going to start the fight for dry homes for students. You pay more than enough to deserve a home which keeps you safe, not one which makes you sick. Join the fight to Break the Mould by signing our petition now, to show the SU that we have the support of the student community behind us.
Have you ever had mould in your house? Tell us your story at epigram.editor@gmail.com.
