Students win £8,000 in ‘uninhabitable’ home case
AFS Team·3 May 2013·3 min read
The five second-year students counter-sued landlord Sukhvir Theti when he launched a claim for the rent against them in the small claims court.
Mr Thethi, a partner at Avtar Properties, Leeds, wanted the year’s rent the group had signed up for in the tenancy agreement.
The students launched a counter claim, suing him for the return of their deposits and the three month’s rent they had paid in advance.
But Mr Thethi did not go through with his claim in court and the students have secured a judgment against him.
They won their claim as well as their legal fees, which amounted to more than £8,000.
The students had left the property soon after moving in as they said it was uninhabitable. The father of one of the group, Terry Pomroy, said one of the housemates suffered an electric shock off the cooker, mouse droppings were found in the house and pest control experts reported a bed bug infestation.
Their legal team from Clarion said it had proved that the property was not fit for purpose.
Mr Thethi disputed this and said there was no evidence of pest problems.
But Mr Pomroy said Avtar avoided taking phone calls and the landlord made one tenant cry when she complained. Another tenant added that they felt “taken advantage of” by the landlord.
“We hope the case will empower other students to not sit by and accept unacceptable behaviour from landlords,” Mr Pomroy continued.
