In UK, law student sues landlord for bad condition of lodging, wins first legal battle

After delving into his law books to establish a case against his landlord over the alleged bad status of his accommodation, a UK law student has won his first legal victory. 19-year-old Jack Simm from Newcastle in the North East of England told The Times that it was the greatest bit of revision he has ever done after a county court ordered his landlord to pay the University of East Anglia student £999 (1,01,084 INR).

According to the news agency, the sum covered his rental deposit, first month's rent, and legal fees. Simm had previously rented a flat at Estateducation's Velocity Student in Norwich, which he said he had not been able to inspect before moving in since he arrived at the university through the clearing system (where students look for empty university places), just days before the start of the semester last September.

According to a submission to Newcastle County Court obtained by The Times: "On arrival Simm was faced with the dispiriting sight of Velocity Student being a building site, and his room being in an obviously unfinished and dysfunctional state. As we entered his room a plumber was still working in his bathroom. There was more fundamental problems that were not apparent on first look."

Landlord asked the debt collection agency to threaten Jack Simm

According to the report, Simm also told the county court that the landlord must have had full knowledge that the facility was unfinished. Simm later told the landlord he would leave and ceased paying rent, according to The Times. The landlord then informed the county court that he had authorised a debt collection firm to threaten Jack Simm with recovery proceedings.

Simm, on the other hand, claimed that the landlord had committed fraudulent misrepresentation under the Misrepresentation Act 1967 and went into his law textbooks to establish a legal claim to recoup his £150 (15,178 INR) deposit and first month's rent of £709 (95,114 INR). In a filing, Ben Smith, director of Freedman Project LLP, which built the housing, stated that Simm had not provided a reasonable period of time to react to the repair request, which is 14 days.

According to The Times, the filing also alleged Simm had breached his tenancy contract, and a counterclaim of £7,160 (724,488 INR) was lodged to cover the tenancy period as well as interest. However, a November 2 ruling decided in Simm's favour and ordered the landlord to pay £859 (86,918 INR) in addition to the £140 (14,165 INR) in court fees.

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