Heating. Hot water. Wifi. Printers...The list goes on. Urbanest Westminster Bridge never fails to disappoint. The quality of its services falls shockingly far below what is expected given what we are paying. It's time to take actions!

The following is the petition letter we will be sending to Urbanest:

                                                                                                       Urbanest Residents
                                                                         203 Westminster Bridge Road, London
                                                                                                                        SE1 7FR

Urbanest UK Lambeth North MT LP
101 St Martin's Lane
London
WC2N 4AZ

11 Feb 2019

Re: Compensation for poor services at Urbanest Westminster Bridge Student Accommodation

Dear Urbanest team,

We are writing today with regards to the poor services provided by Urbanest Westminster Bridge Student Accommodation.

We note that

1. Hot water stopped working on 3rd December, 7th December, 9th December, 13th December and 27th - 28th December 2018;
2. Heating stopped working on all or certain floors on 13th - 14th December and 27th
- 28th December 2018, 2nd – 3rd January and 8th – 9th January 2019;
3. The aforementioned issues with hot water and heating have at least partially contributed to the health problems, particularly colds and fever, experienced by a number of residents;
4. The supply of water was disrupted on 22nd September, 26th September, 2nd October and 6th November 2018;
5. The printers on the mezzanine frequently failed to function prior to December 2018. Thereafter the printers have stopped functioning until recently;
6. The HDMI cables on the TV sets in the basement are variously damaged;
7. On the Urbanest Portal, residents are able to report maintenance faults and provide a detailed description alongside on the part of the webpage that states, “Please enter the exact details of the fault:”. However, according to the maintenance technicians, this description is never printed out on the list of faults they need to check. The residents are therefore wasting their time when they write descriptions of faults. Moreover, without the detailed description, and given the time pressure they are under, the technicians often fail to see what the problem is when they visit the flats to check a reported fault;
8. The keypads next to the two lifts on certain floors do not work properly and often only open after multiple attempts. Complaints have been raised about these issues but we have not seen the situation improve;
9. In the tenancy agreement signed by residents at this accommodation, the Landlord is defined as Urbanest UK Lambeth North MT LP, the recipient of this letter;
10. Section 7 in the tenancy agreement concerns the ‘Landlord’s obligations’. Clause 7.4 states that the Landlord agrees ‘[t]o maintain all Service Media serving the Flat and or the Common Parts’. ‘Service Media’ is defined in the agreement as ‘central heating and hot water systems; electrical services for power and lighting; drainage and water services; and any data or phone services provided’. Clause 7.5 states that the Landlord agrees to ‘[t]o provide an adequate supply of hot and cold water, heating and electrical power to the Flat’;
11. We do not believe that, in the present situation, the supply of hot water and heating is adequate, in breach of clause 7.5. Moreover, given the frequent breakdown of hot water and heating within a short period of time, we do not believe that you as the Landlord have made adequate effort to maintain their provision. You have thus failed in your duty to maintain all Service Media, in breach of clause 7.4.
12. Clause 7.7 states that the Landlord agrees ‘[t]o provide and maintain equipment in the Common Parts’. The issues with the printers and the HDMI cables on the TV sets in the basement are indicative of your failure to comply with clause 7.7;
13. Clause 7.8 states that ‘[t]his Agreement shall take effect subject to the provisions of section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985’. Section 11 of the Landlord and Tenant Act 1985 imposes obligations on you to keep in repair the installations for the supply of water and heating. We believe that, despite your attempts to solve the issues with hot water and heating as they arose, it is without doubt that these attempts at repair have been inadequate, as the supply of hot water and heating failed repeatedly and every time within only a few days of your repairs. We therefore believe that you have failed to fulfil your obligation to keep in repair the installations for supply of water and heating under section 11 of the Landlord and
Tenant Act 1985;
14. You have breached the duty of care you as Landlord to the residents. Your failure to maintain an adequate and reliable provision of hot water and heating has exposed the residents to health risks and, in some cases, result in residents being inflicted with actual health problems, which are reasonably foreseeable from your point of view. You are therefore liable for
negligence;
15. Due to your inadequate efforts in making repairs, you are also liable for disrepair under section 4 of the Defective Premises Act 1972.

We request that

16. All residents at Urbanest Westminster Bridge Student Accommodation be provided with compensation of an amount equivalent to their respective monthly rents;
17. The aforementioned compensation be made to residents within 15 working days;
18. You solve the aforementioned issues with the supply of various services, particularly hot water and heating, and keep the relevant facilities/installations in repair. Should there be any further issues with the supply of hot water and heating not resulting from third-party actions, such as Thames Water maintenance work, after 1st March, you will compensate the residents with an amount equivalent to two days’ rents for each instance of hot water or heating supply issues;
19. You make changes to the way you handle maintenance faults; print out for the maintenance team the detailed description that your Portal asks for and the residents provide.

We would also like to inform you that

20. Should our claim for compensation be refused and no satisfactory solutions be found, we will consider a range of other options;
21. We do not rule out contacting the Lambeth Council and reporting the issues. As stated above, the conditions at Urbanest Westminster Bridge Student Accommodation are affecting the health of the residents and we may request that the Council send environmental health inspectors to investigate;
22. We will consider taking legal actions against you as and when we deem necessary;
23. Our signatories have extensive ties with various student communities you serve. For example, many of our signatories are closely connected with the Chinese student societies at the universities you serve. Every spring, when new students look for accommodation for the next academic year starting in autumn, these student societies publish their guides into the various accommodation halls available. These guides significantly influence how the students choose their accommodation. In the past years, these guides have mostly given Urbanest Westminster Bridge overall positive assessments. Should these guides focus instead on the various issues we have listed here, an adverse impact on applications to your accommodation would be inevitable;
24. Some of our signatories are also closely connected with the press. We will consider, if we deem necessary, running articles on the situation we are facing on news outlets including the Daily Mail and The Sun.

Thank you for taking the time to read this letter. We would very much appreciate it if you could respond within 10 days of receipt and, should we not hear back from you by then, we would have to consider other options available to us. We look forward to your reply.

Yours faithfully,