Two Cardiff Uni students left homeless after being forced to leave mouldy Keylet flat

Two Cardiff University students have had to leave their uni flat and terminate their contract due to extensive damp and mould in the property.

The second year students, who only moved into the flat last month, described the Keylet Sales & Lettings property as “disgusting” and said it hadn’t been cleaned when they moved in.

The students were paying £400-a-month to live in the city-centre flat on Column Road and were effectively made homeless right at the start of term. 

The students’ deposit and all the rent they had paid up until the point they moved out was refunded to them by Keylet.

In response to these claims, Keylet said it part manages the property on behalf of the landlord and said it “acted as quickly as possible to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion for both the tenants and landlord.”

They also alleged items were missing from the inventory. The students, who wish to remain anonymous, told The Cardiff Tab the flat didn’t have a washing machine, microwave or tumble dryer to begin with, despite the property being listed with those items.

The tenants then went to Keylet to resolve these issues but claimed that the agents were “extremely rude about it”.

They claim that once they had updated the inventory, Keylet did not confirm that it was updated and expressed that they would not be replacing the missing items or fix any issues such as a broken bathroom extractor fan.

A few weeks after moving in the tenants started to notice damp patches across the flat which appeared to have been painted over. The damp was so extensive that their belongings began to go mouldy.

A damp specialist was called in by Keylet, and a report was drafted. However, due to the condition of the flat, the tenants were told they would have to leave the property and mutually terminate the tenancy, rendering them homeless.

The two students were forced to move in with their parents who live in Monmouth, a 40-minute commute from Cardiff.

A spokesperson for Keylet told The Cardiff Tab: “Keylet act on behalf of the landlord on a part management basis. As such, the landlord is responsible for the co-ordination and management of all maintenance issues including end of tenancy and inventory related works.

“The landlord was immediately informed of the issues the tenants reported at the commencement of their tenancy. The landlord then instructed his own contractors to inspect and rectify the issues raised. Following this, the scale of the works required resulted in both parties mutually agreeing to terminate the tenancy. The tenants were provided with an immediate refund of their full deposit and any rent that was paid from the start of the tenancy.

“Whilst we understand and appreciate the tenant’s frustration with the issues they experienced, Keylet acted as quickly as possible to bring the matter to a satisfactory conclusion for both the tenants and landlord.”

Featured image before edits via Unsplash.

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• Cardiff student finds a toad in her suitcase after returning from Thailand

• An injured officer, a machete and three arrests: Here’s what you need to know about the Taly North car chase

• Cardiff University rises ten places in the national league table and ranks 25th