Two student housing companies are under investigation after freshers were "turned away from the accommodation" they paid for just four days before they were due to move in.
Around 200 students who applied for housing at Bowline on Benson Street received an email from Fresh Student Living informing them their tenancies had been cancelled on September 13.
The company, which acquired the property from former managers Prestige Student Living just a few days before breaking the shocking news, wrote: "Due to circumstances out of our control, the developer has informed us that we are unable to allow residents to move in. Unfortunately, this means that your room at Bowline will not be available for occupation on Saturday, September 17. Whilst we are yet to receive clarity on a completion date at this stage, we anticipate an occupation date of January 7 2023."
READ MORE: Hundreds 'left in the lurch' as tenancies cancelled at last minute
Both Fresh and Prestige Student Living are now being investigated by ANUK, the central resource for tenants, landlords and operators of private rented housing, following multiple complaints from students and parents left scrambling to find new accommodation before the start of the term.
An ANUK spokesman said: "The National Codes are dealing with some complaints received about the delayed opening of The Bowline, and we are looking into whether the standards in the National Codes have been complied with."
In response to the problems that late-opening accommodation causes for students, ANUK introduced a new set of standards for the private sector in March 2022.
It states: "If a room is not ready for occupation on the date that the occupancy agreement begins, the member shall provide suitable alternative accommodation in an adjacent building or, in any event, in a building within half a mile of the original development.
"Where it is not possible to provide the alternative room... the member shall endeavour to source this provision through other suppliers within the same local housing authority area, or a 20-minute walk of the student’s main study location."
But Fresh said it had been unable to find new accommodation "due to the severe and ongoing shortage of student housing schemes in Liverpool and Manchester".
Ann Marie White, whose 19-year-old son was supposed to move into Bowline on September 17, said: "There was no attempt to provide alternative accommodation to the students. None at all. We did manage to find accommodation - it was difficult, but we managed it - so there's obviously accommodation out there, but they simply couldn't be bothered to do it."
This is the second time students who applied for accommodation at Bowline have been let down at the last minute. Last year, residents who had paid £99 deposits for their new homes were told one month ahead of moving in that their rooms would not be ready in September due to ongoing building work.
Ann Marie, who lives in Belfast, said: "Prestige Student Homes had assured me everything was in hand. On their student portal, there was nothing that led us to think the building wasn't completed. I wasn't even aware you could take a room booking for a building that was nowhere near completed.
"I believe they have been very unethical, taking a booking for a room in the middle of August in the full knowledge that that building is not going to be ready in three weeks.
"It's unjust that this can happen two years in a row and very unfair the way it was carried out, with no support, and I think it could make students think twice about coming to Liverpool.
"There seems to be a lack of robust governance. It shouldn't happen and my concern is it might well happen again. Once is a mistake, but twice indicates there are some flaws there in the system."
A spokesman for Prestige Student Living, which previously oversaw the Bowline development, said: “Prestige Student Living is a managing agent, and the owner of Bowline recently decided to transfer management of the property to another managing agent. At the time of this planned transfer last week, we had been advised by the owner that the completion of construction was on schedule for the arrival of students on September 17. We are not able to speculate on the circumstances surrounding its subsequent late delivery."
A Fresh spokesperson said: “The contractor’s failure to have the scheme ready on time, despite repeated assurances, only became clear on the first working day that we took over management of Bowline, and we acted within 24 hours to engage our clients and inform students affected.
"As part of our processes, we immediately notified ANUK of the situation and have updated them regularly. We have not been told that an investigation into Fresh is taking place and we are confident we have acted throughout in the best interests of the students affected.
"We absolutely recognise that the students affected are angry especially with the ongoing shortage of accommodation in the city.
“We have been in consistent contact with students affected and have been processing the refunds and compensation that they are entitled to as quickly as possible. All students who have provided us with details have now received these and we are still working to find alternative accommodation wherever possible.”
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