'I was scared I would die in my student house'

A group of university students have described how they feared for their lives in "nightmare" student housing in Brighton.

Casey Galt, Lucy Taunton and Kylie Cobine said the property in Kemptown had contained rubbish, including rotten food and dirty bed linen, and one bathroom had had a sewage leak that "absolutely stunk" when they moved in in September.

The group later had to leave the house, which they collectively rented for £3,120 a month with another tenant, after the fire service temporarily banned it from residential use due to the severity of the fire risk.

The letting agent Brand Vaughan did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

Ms Galt, from Folkestone in Kent, said she had feared she was going to die inside the property as it lacked fire alarms and fire doors, while her bedroom did not have a fire escape.

"I knew if there was a fire I would be trapped in the basement," the 23-year-old said. "The windows had metal bars."

The BBC has seen an East Sussex Fire and Rescue Service prohibition order - its most severe and least common notice - on 31 October that immediately banned use of the property as the fire risk was "so serious", following an inspection.

The three women, who study at Sussex and Brighton universities, had to pay for Airbnb accommodation as important assessment deadlines loomed at the time.

"This whole situation put me in a bad place mentally," said Ms Galt. "It was so hard to even take care of myself properly... let alone do uni work."

The 23-year-old, who is autistic, claimed there were several other issues at the house, including a shower that flooded, blocked drains, windows that would not close, filthy mattresses and a boiler fault that meant it could not heat enough water for showering.

Ms Cobine, from Michigan in the US, had to pay six months' rent in advance as she lacked a UK guarantor. This money has not been returned, she claims.

The students said they were still tied into the contract, though the letting agent has said they do not need to pay rent when the property was not in use.

Ms Taunton, who has multiple health conditions, said her room had been riddled with damp and mould, which affected her breathing.

She said plasterboard in her ceiling became so damp it bulged and started dripping.

While limited repairs were made by the letting agent to the property, the 23-year-old from Herne Bay claimed contractors would not show up or address the issues in question.

The students alleged Brand Vaughan had ignored their calls and emails, in which they pleaded for help, and Ms Galt said certain staff members had been "extremely patronising".

The BBC contacted the letting agent multiple times for a comment, but did not receive a response.

Brighton is the fourth least affordable place in England to rent, according to government data.

Figures from the Office of National Statistics (for the year up to April 2024) reveal households in the East Sussex city spend an average of 44.7% of their gross income on rent.

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