u/Aggravating-Tea-7042

Could the flatmmates win MCOL against my friend

My friend moved out March and served notice in early May. She started finding a replacement in April. She stopped topped paying bills which do not have my name on them but flatmte A's. She paid half of the rent for April and around a quarter for May. The landlord raised this last week. In response she said that the arrears could not be attributed to her as the flatmates were too strict in criteria, did not always facilitate viewings recommending my friend conducted viewings when she ws free even though my friend has a chronic condition which makes this challenging. My friend has a guarantor (her mum) but due to personal circumstances she says she cannot afford it.

Her flatmates are threatening legal action and asking why she has not sought help from funds at uni despite recommendations. How likely are they to win? Her flatmates have reached out to the uni citing they are concerned about her financially and her claims she cannot afford rent. They think it is strange she chose to rent another place before finding a replacement if she really was in financial stress.

Also they are asking the landlord if bringing in a non student will make the house HMO rather than a student flat

My friend moved out March and served notice in early May. She started finding a replacement in April. She stopped topped paying bills which do not have my name on them but flatmte A's. She paid half of the rent for April and around a quarter for May. The landlord raised this last week. In response she said that the arrears could not be attributed to her as the flatmates were too strict in criteria, did not always facilitate viewings recommending my friend conducted viewings when she ws free even though my friend has a chronic condition which makes this challenging. My friend has a guarantor (her mun) but due to personal circumstances she says she cannot afford it.

Her flatmates are threatening legal action and asking why she has not sought help from funds at uni despite recommendations. How likely are they to win? Her flatmates have reached out to the uni citing they are concerned about her financially and her claims she cannot afford rent. They think it is strange she chose to rent another place before finding a replacement if she really was in financial stress.

How likely is it for clatmates to sue another flatmate who wanted ti leave due to unpaid arrears if they did not facilitate vieiwngs for replacements or reject possible replacaements?

Would flatmmates be able to successfully sue my friend (England)

TLDR: could my friend be successfully sued for not paying rent if she tried to find a replacement but the other tenants rejected them

My friend is in a joint tenancy with two other flatmates. She told them she had moved out in March and from April will pay directly to April rather that pooling rent as done prior. She stated she was looking for a replacement to which the landlord agreed. The flatmates insisted they be involved in the process. They declined many people who fit the important criteria e.g. right to rent checks. They cited tenants being couples, non-students and males in their 30s as reasons. This was throughout April. They often took hrs to reply and claimed they were not free to conduct viewings most of the time. As a result, prospective tenants withdrew. They were willing to meet certain individual but due to hrs to reply tenants sought alternative accomodation. They did send a video accross which my friend requested but did not do virtual tours. As a resukt with the new laws my friend gave notice meaning the tenancy ended a month earlier.

For April my friend paid partial rent which the landlord brought up via email. Her flatmates told hrr to seek financial hardship funds or ask her guarantor but did not say anything after. For this month she paid a quarter of her allocated rent which the landlord raised this week along with the arrears from April. He said he would make deposit deductions or contact guarantors. Her flatmmates told her to again pay up, show evidence she made effort to access hardship funds or ask her guarantor (mum). They claimed they had assumed she had paid up after the first email and was paying suitably. She replied telling them that the reason they were in arrears was due to their lack of co-operation. She also said she and her family and could could not afford rent. Yesterday the flatmates gave her a deadline to pay saying if they had to make the shortfall they will sue her. They also said they will add on the bills (fixed monthly amount apparently) she was witholding to the claim.

My question is would they have a chance? They questioned why my friend opted to pay for alternative accomodation before finding a replacement whilst claiming she was in financial distress. I also am not sure either but haven't pressed her. Her guarantor is also her mun who is a homeowner so she waa wondering if that may factor in. They also question whu she didn't conduct viewings either if they were unavaikable but my friend says she was sick and was already co-ordinating the process