Nineteen-year-old law student successfully sues his landlord to win his first court case

A nineteen-year-old law student has successfully won a court case against his landlord over ‘unfit’ university accommodation.

While university halls aren’t exactly known for their luxury living, Jack Simm, from Newcastle, decided to take action after moving into accommodation not unlike a ‘building site’ at the University of East Anglia.

Because he got onto the law course through clearing, Jack didn’t get a chance to view the property, which was developed by The Freedman Project LLP and managed by Estateducation, beforehand.

Jack Simm

Therefore, he was shocked to find the accommodation virtually incomplete upon arrival on moving day, with a gaping hole in one of the ceilings and even workmen still on site.

According to Jack, there was also no heating or wifi working efficiently throughout the property.

He told the BBC: “I thought I was going to get what I’d seen on these photos, these nice, upmarket student accommodation rooms. But there were skips everywhere, tradesmen everywhere, hammering the ceiling, hammering the walls. The place was covered in dust from sanding.

“It was almost ironic and funny that people were moving into this place because it looked awful. It was just a bit of a dire state really.”

Velocity Student Accommodation

After a week, Jack moved out and refused to pay any more rent after the landlord failed to rectify the issues. And, when he was threatened by a debt collector, Jack decided to put his law knowledge to the test by building a case against his landlord.

Jack collected witness statements and put together the case law and statute law surrounding contract representation, eventually suing for breach of contract and misrepresentation.

The student admitted that building the case was ‘quite easy’ considering he studies contract law, saying that the process was a simple case of ‘opening my contract law textbook and looking through some of the relevant law and applied it to the situation.’

He added: “We sued for our money back our deposit our first month’s rent. They sued for the entire tenancy agreement – around £7,000.”

Jack Simm

When the case eventually went to Newcastle County Court on November 2nd, Jack won and was paid back £859 to cover his deposit and first month’s rent. The court also ordered the landlord to pay £140 in court fees.

Jack said it was great to win his first ever case, saying it ‘really just instilled in me that young people need to back themselves’. 

He added: “You just can’t let these landlords win… [You’ve] got to take them to court if this happens. Change will happen. The culture needs to change.”