The Copenhagen Housing Foundation unequivocally admits that it acted illegally.<\/p>\n
Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, Chief Legal Counsel at the tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO (LLO) Hovedstaden<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
The tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO Hovedstaden (LLO), had threatened to bring the case before the Rent Assessment Committee (Huslejen\u00e6vnet), but the foundation has voluntarily decided to pay back the DKK 8,547 that it had\u00a0illegally collected over a period of 5 \u00bd months when the couple was renting a Student apartment.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe Copenhagen Housing Foundation unequivocally admits that it acted illegally, \u00ab Says Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, Chief Legal Counsel at the tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO (LLO) Hovedstaden.<\/p>\n
The Australian husband and wife had to pay other monthly expenses in addition to their rent. Including DKK 600 in administration fees, DKK 90 in maintenance fees and DKK 280 for furniture.<\/p>\n
This meant that the price of the 30 square-meter student apartment, which contains a small kitchen, ended up being DKK 8,408 a month, but it turns out that it was illegal to collect the additional expenses.<\/p>\n
According to Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, the Housing Foundation did not use authorized contracts, the so-called A9 contracts from the Ministry for Housing, but used its own contracts instead, a practise which he has previously called\u00a0\u00bbcompletely crazy\u00ab.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe Housing Foundation admits that it has made a mistake by not following the new regulations in the Rent Act (lejeloven), which means that the contract that you signed is not legal,\u00ab writes the Housing Foundation\u2019s former Director in an e-mail to Adam Shrimpton.<\/p>\n
The Residents’ Association encourages the Housing Foundation to inform us, who has the right to receive refunds and to contact the thousands of former tenants who have been affected.<\/p>\n
Adam Shrimpton, former tenant<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n
\u00bbThat means, that some of the payments that we collected were not legal and you have the right to have an amount refunded,\u00ab the e-mail states.<\/p>\n
More cases on their way<\/h2>\n
But the case does not stop here, says Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer.<\/p>\n
LLO has received a number of similar complaints from other tenants, who have been illegally required to pay extra fees, just like Adam and Diana Shrimpton.<\/p>\n
In the Shrimpton case, the Housing Foundation could freely decide the rent because Rebslagervej Kollegiet was built after 1991, but it was not legal to collect additional expenses.<\/p>\nAccording to Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, LLO have now also received complaints, where the Housing Foundation has collected a disproportionately high rent, even though the buildings in question did not allow free rent determination.<\/secret>\nAmongst other things, this means that a student can legally be asked\u00a0to pay approximately DKK 9,000 for a two bedroom student apartment at Nordisk Kollegium, which M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer says is \u00bbcompletely insane. \u00ab<\/p>\n
\u00bbOn that basis, I think it is fair for me to ask whether the Housing Foundation intends to correct its actions, in regard to all the affected tenants, who find themselves in the same situation as Adam and Diana Shrimpton. If not, then I am obliged to bring the cases before the Rent Assessment Committee with the aim of claiming refunds for the unlawfully charged amounts, as well as a general rent reduction for the properties that are not exempt from the regulation regarding how high the rent can be ,\u00ab he writes to the Housing Foundation.<\/p>\n
160 want to complain<\/h2>\n
The unsatisfied tenants have formed their own organization called the UCPH Housing Foundation Residents’ Association, and the organization is now a member of LLO.<\/p>\n
According to Adam Shrimpton, The Housing Foundation has started to pay back the tenants who have complained, between DKK 5,000 and 25,000, but the foundation has not publically accepted responsibility, and has not taken the initiative to contact former tenants who\u00a0were illegally required to make payments.<\/p>\n
An additional 160 tenants have handed over their contracts to the UCPH Housing Foundation Residents’ Association and they will soon be sent to LLO, where they will be assessed from a legal standpoint, according to\u00a0Adam Shrimpton.<\/p>\n
\u00bbThe Residents’ Association encourages the Housing Foundation to inform us, who has the right to receive refunds and to contact the thousands of former tenants who have been affected, \u00ab writes Adam Shrimpton in an e-mail.<\/p>\n
The director\u2019s chair is empty<\/h2>\n
The former director of the Copenhagen Housing Foundation Jannie Sonne, who was hired\u00a01 February 2017, and decided to step down about two months after taking on the job, has not wished to comment or answer any questions. However, she has referred The University Post\u00a0to Director Erik Bisgaard Madsen, who is also Associate Dean (for Private and Public Sector Services) at the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n
Jannie Sonne took over from the temporary director Torben Snowman, who took over from Charlotte Simonsen who also stepped down last year.<\/p>\n
In the period between 27 February and 8 March, the University Post tried to get an interview with Erik Bisgaard Madsen, but he has\u00a0only agreed to answer by e-mail precluding any follow-up questions. Among the most important questions, that was not answered, was what the Copenhagen Housing Foundation would do about the illegally collected payments.<\/p>\n
The correspondence can be found by clicking here<\/a>. Please note that it is Danish.
\n<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Australians Diana and Adam Shrimpton will receive DKK 8500 back that the Copenhagen Housing Foundation illegally collected to pay for things like administration fees and furniture. An additional 160 cases could be on their way, which means that the refunds that the Housing Foundation could have to pay back, might amount to over a million DKK. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":46898,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[44],"tags":[4769],"class_list":["post-46967","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus","tag-ucph-housing-foundation","expression-feature_article"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Copenhagen Housing Foundation admits it illegally collected thousands from international students \u2014 University Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"An additional 160 cases could be on their way, which means that the refunds that the Housing Foundation could have to pay back, might amount to over DKK 1 million.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/copenhagen-housing-foundation-admits-illegally-collected-thousands-from-international-students\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Copenhagen Housing Foundation admits it illegally collected thousands from international students \u2014 University Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"An additional 160 cases could be on their way, which means that the 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Shrimpton"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Standfirst","subject":"Housing shortage","text":"Australians Diana and Adam Shrimpton will get DKK 8,500 back that the Copenhagen Housing Foundation illegally collected to pay for things like administration fees and furniture. An additional 160 cases could be on their way, which means that the refunds that the Housing Foundation could have to pay back, might amount to over a million DKK. ","use_post_excerpt":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Byline","is_author":true,"contributors":false},{"acf_fc_layout":"Content","content":"<p>The Copenhagen Housing Foundation rents out housing to international students and researchers. But in some cases, the terms and the conditions that it has given\u00a0tenants have been illegal, the foundations now admits.<\/p>\n<p>This is shown by an e-mail that the Housing Foundation\u2019s former Director, Jannie Sonne, sent to Diana and Adam Shrimpton who lived in the dorm Rebslagervej Kollegiet when Diana Shrimpton was studying at the University of Copenhagen (UCPH).<\/p>\n<p><strong>READ ALSO<\/strong>:<em><a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/en\/students-ucph-housing-foundation-is-cheating-on-deposits\/\"> Students: Housing Foundation is cheating on deposits<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Copenhagen Housing Foundation unequivocally admits that it acted illegally.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, Chief Legal Counsel at the tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO (LLO) Hovedstaden<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>The tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO Hovedstaden (LLO), had threatened to bring the case before the Rent Assessment Committee (Huslejen\u00e6vnet), but the foundation has voluntarily decided to pay back the DKK 8,547 that it had\u00a0illegally collected over a period of 5 \u00bd months when the couple was renting a Student apartment.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Copenhagen Housing Foundation unequivocally admits that it acted illegally, \u00ab Says Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, Chief Legal Counsel at the tenants\u2019 interest group Lejernes LO (LLO) Hovedstaden.<\/p>\n<h2>Expensive Dorm<\/h2>\n<p>The Australian husband and wife had to pay other monthly expenses in addition to their rent. Including DKK 600 in administration fees, DKK 90 in maintenance fees and DKK 280 for furniture.<\/p>\n<p>This meant that the price of the 30 square-meter student apartment, which contains a small kitchen, ended up being DKK 8,408 a month, but it turns out that it was illegal to collect the additional expenses.<\/p>\n<p>According to Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, the Housing Foundation did not use authorized contracts, the so-called A9 contracts from the Ministry for Housing, but used its own contracts instead, a practise which he has previously called\u00a0\u00bbcompletely crazy\u00ab.<\/p>\n<h2>Admits illigality<\/h2>\n<p>The Copenhagen Housing Foundations has apparently become aware of this:<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Housing Foundation admits that it has made a mistake by not following the new regulations in the Rent Act (lejeloven), which means that the contract that you signed is not legal,\u00ab writes the Housing Foundation\u2019s former Director in an e-mail to Adam Shrimpton.<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The Residents’ Association encourages the Housing Foundation to inform us, who has the right to receive refunds and to contact the thousands of former tenants who have been affected.<\/p>\n<p class=\"quotee\">Adam Shrimpton, former tenant<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>\u00bbThat means, that some of the payments that we collected were not legal and you have the right to have an amount refunded,\u00ab the e-mail states.<\/p>\n<h2>More cases on their way<\/h2>\n<p>But the case does not stop here, says Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer.<\/p>\n<p>LLO has received a number of similar complaints from other tenants, who have been illegally required to pay extra fees, just like Adam and Diana Shrimpton.<\/p>\n<p>In the Shrimpton case, the Housing Foundation could freely decide the rent because Rebslagervej Kollegiet was built after 1991, but it was not legal to collect additional expenses.<\/p>\n<secret text=\"The Rent Act (lejeloven) is complicated, but the general rule is that if a property started being used after 1991, then there is in fact no limit to how much rent the property owner can demand. If the property started being used before 1991 then there is a cap on the rent the property owner can demand. It depends on factors such as the size of the property, its location, and whether the kitchen, bath and windows have been modernized or not. \">According to Jakob M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer, LLO have now also received complaints, where the Housing Foundation has collected a disproportionately high rent, even though the buildings in question did not allow free rent determination.<\/secret>\n<p>Amongst other things, this means that a student can legally be asked\u00a0to pay approximately DKK 9,000 for a two bedroom student apartment at Nordisk Kollegium, which M\u00f8ldrup-Lakjer says is \u00bbcompletely insane. \u00ab<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbOn that basis, I think it is fair for me to ask whether the Housing Foundation intends to correct its actions, in regard to all the affected tenants, who find themselves in the same situation as Adam and Diana Shrimpton. If not, then I am obliged to bring the cases before the Rent Assessment Committee with the aim of claiming refunds for the unlawfully charged amounts, as well as a general rent reduction for the properties that are not exempt from the regulation regarding how high the rent can be ,\u00ab he writes to the Housing Foundation.<\/p>\n<h2>160 want to complain<\/h2>\n<p>The unsatisfied tenants have formed their own organization called the UCPH Housing Foundation Residents’ Association, and the organization is now a member of LLO.<\/p>\n<p>According to Adam Shrimpton, The Housing Foundation has started to pay back the tenants who have complained, between DKK 5,000 and 25,000, but the foundation has not publically accepted responsibility, and has not taken the initiative to contact former tenants who\u00a0were illegally required to make payments.<\/p>\n<p>An additional 160 tenants have handed over their contracts to the UCPH Housing Foundation Residents’ Association and they will soon be sent to LLO, where they will be assessed from a legal standpoint, according to\u00a0Adam Shrimpton.<\/p>\n<p>\u00bbThe Residents’ Association encourages the Housing Foundation to inform us, who has the right to receive refunds and to contact the thousands of former tenants who have been affected, \u00ab writes Adam Shrimpton in an e-mail.<\/p>\n<h2>The director\u2019s chair is empty<\/h2>\n<p>The former director of the Copenhagen Housing Foundation Jannie Sonne, who was hired\u00a01 February 2017, and decided to step down about two months after taking on the job, has not wished to comment or answer any questions. However, she has referred The University Post\u00a0to Director Erik Bisgaard Madsen, who is also Associate Dean (for Private and Public Sector Services) at the Faculty of Science at the University of Copenhagen.<\/p>\n<p>Jannie Sonne took over from the temporary director Torben Snowman, who took over from Charlotte Simonsen who also stepped down last year.<\/p>\n<p>In the period between 27 February and 8 March, the University Post tried to get an interview with Erik Bisgaard Madsen, but he has\u00a0only agreed to answer by e-mail precluding any follow-up questions. Among the most important questions, that was not answered, was what the Copenhagen Housing Foundation would do about the illegally collected payments.<\/p>\n<p>The correspondence can be found by <a href=\"https:\/\/uniavisen.dk\/kus-boligfond-indroemmer-tilbagebetaler-ulovligt-opkraevede-gebyrer\/\">clicking here<\/a>. Please note that it is Danish.<\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"ArticleEnd"},{"acf_fc_layout":"Banner","img":false,"url":""},{"acf_fc_layout":"OtherStories","headline":"","hand_picked_posts":true,"references":[{"reference":{"ID":4488,"post_author":"12","post_date":"2015-11-09 09:14:20","post_date_gmt":"2015-11-09 08:14:20","post_content":"[This article has been updated to reflect the name change to 'Housing Foundation Copenhagen']\r\n\r\nThe <a href=\"http:\/\/housingfoundation.ku.dk\/\">UCPH Housing Foundation, [Housing Foundation Copenhagen], may <\/a>now face being swamped by cases of students demanding deposits back.\r\n\r\nCopenhagen\u2019s rental complaints courts have started to rule against them. And international students are now organizing against what they consider illegal behavior by the University of Copenhagen-affiliated foundation that rents rooms out to international students and staff.\r\n\r\n\"I study law and work for a legal organization. I am trying to organize students to seek legal recourse through the rental tribunals,\" says Grace Krutsch, a former University of Copenhagen student and tenant of the UCPH Housing Foundation [Housing Foundation Copenhagen] to the University Post.\r\n<h2>Litany of complaints<\/h2>\r\nIn an e-mail sent to the housing foundation, Grace writes that, \"we believe that the Housing Foundation exploits students from foreign countries, who do not speak the language in Denmark, thus are not familiar with the local laws and their rights. We have come to believe that the Housing Foundation Copenhagen takes financial advantage of students who are in need of accommodation, have little money and are only in Denmark for a relatively short time, thus have limited ability to seek adequate remedies for their unfair treatment.\"\r\n\r\nShe has started a group, 'Students Against the UCPH Housing Foundation', and goes on to detail what she calls improper and illegal conduct on the part of the housing unit.\r\n<blockquote>Each paid for a one-bedroom apartment: \"We were each not aware that we would be sharing with two other students\"<\/blockquote>\r\nThe litany of complaints assembled by her includes the renting out of one bedroom apartments to multiple people, attempts to withhold deposits, and excessive cleaning fees. The students paint a picture of an organization that is systematically and, they say, fraudulently, exploiting those who have often left the country and who feel they have no recourse.\r\n<h2>Triple bookings<\/h2>\r\nIn one case, for the month of September 2014, Edward Mannion, Stephen Byde and Conor Mahan each paid DKK 3,063, and a combined total of DKK 9,189 rent per calendar month for a one-bedroom apartment on the outskirts of \u00d8sterbro.\r\n\r\n\"We were each not aware that we would be sharing with two other students,\" they have written in a statement that they have shared with the University Post.\r\n\r\nA so-called 'cleaning fee' subsequent to a lease is a chapter in itself. In one case, five complainants, including Grace Krutsch herself, were deducted DKK 4,400 in cleaning charges. When questioned, the Housing Foundation e-mailed pictures of other areas of the building that had no connection to the place where the students lived. The Housing Foundation later confirmed via e-mail that the cleaning charges were for the entire \u00c5boulevarden building. Images sent to the students were from different apartments.\r\n<h2>Photos of wrong rooms<\/h2>\r\nCleaning charges also work, apparently, before a student moves into an apartment. Unclean apartments are rented out, and the students are subsequently charged for inspections. But Bjarki Madsen describes the room he got as \"disgusting when we got it,\" saying that, \"the first thing we did was to buy cleaning supplies and clean the whole place.\"\r\n\r\nThis did not stop the UCPH Housing Foundation from charging a \u2018mandatory inspection fee\u2019. Deposit returns after a lease are routinely accompanied by a bank transfer fee of DKK 500.\r\n<h2>Rental Complaints Court ruled in favour of student<\/h2>\r\nStudents are provoked by UCPH Housing Foundation behaviour that to them seems more like a profit-seeking landlord than an organisation oriented towards a public service. This behaviour includes the e-mailing of photos of unclean rooms to the clean room students when they complain. Something that according to the documentation that the University Post has been sent, has happened several times.\r\n\r\nIn at least one case, a Copenhagen rental tribunal has already ruled in favour of one student\u2019s complaint. The case has subsequently been appealed by the UCPH Housing Foundation.\r\n\r\nThe student, who does not wish to be named, has detailed his case to the University Post.\r\n<h2>Housing Foundation: We don't have to release documents<\/h2>\r\nThe University Post has asked for access to documents on withheld deposits at the UCPH Housing Foundation under the Danish Information Act. The University Post request was refused after nine days of deliberation where the request was debated by their lawyer and the Housing Foundation\u2019s board.\r\n\r\n\u201dWe are a private foundation and are thereby not subject to the Danish Information Act [Loven om Aktindsigt],\u201d Charlotte Simonsen, Director of the UCPH Housing Foundation wrote in her e-mail response to the University Post.\r\n\r\nWhether the UCPH Housing Foundation <em>should<\/em> allow media access to documents is unclear. Under Danish law, institutions that are formally independent and organised under private law, are excepted from laws on access to public documents under the Danish Information Act. Universities, however, although formally independent <em>are<\/em> subject to the law.\r\n<h2>Dependent on rent and fees<\/h2>\r\nEither way, the UCPH Housing Foundation is using the UCPH brand name, UCPH of course explicitly standing for University of Copenhagen. The UCPH Housing Foundation is hosted on the UCPH website, has offices on UCPH\u2019s Frederiksberg campus. Chairman of the Board is Grete Bertelsen, prodean at the UCPH Faculty of Science. The staff have ku.dk (UCPH) e-mails and requests concerning international housing are routinely channeled to their offices.\r\n\r\nCharlotte Simonsen, Director of the University of Copenhagen Housing Foundation, says that she is sorry to hear that students find the fees related to housing too high.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe do not agree with this\u201d, she says, adding that \"the list of fees should be known to everybody as they are stated both in the rental contracts and on our website.\u201d\r\n<blockquote>Charlotte Simonsen, UCPH Housing Foundation: \"I am sorry if any students feel mistreated, that is definitely not our intention\u201d.<\/blockquote>\r\nShe rejects the claims that the UCPH Housing Foundation is taking advantage of students.\r\n\r\n\u201cWe are a non-profit organization, and we do not receive any financial support or subsidy. This means that our existence is dependent on income from rent and fees and that any kind of profit is invested directly in acquiring more rooms for the students, i.e. renting new places, furnishing them, renovating existing housing etc.\u201d\r\n<h2>Only four official complaints<\/h2>\r\nAccording to her, rental income, income from withheld deposits, and income from fees are all accounted separately. The Foundation's Board regularly reviews the levels of rent and charges.\r\n\r\nThe UCPH Housing Foundation gets a number of queries about withheld deposits and fees, according to Charlotte Simonsen. But the Foundation has only had four official complaints cases in 2015, including three from Copenhagen's rental complaints court. \"We consider this a low figure considering that there are 1,380 rooms rented out a year,\" she says.\r\n<h2>Students perceive us as part of UCPH<\/h2>\r\nAs for the perception among some students that a DKK 500 fee for an international bank transfer is high, Charlotte Simonsen explains that \"an international bank transfer costs up to DKK 270 \u2013 and to this you have to add significant manual administration time, which may be unknown to some of our tenants.\"\r\n\r\n\"We are a non-profit organization. Monies are spent on repairing or improving housing. We are audited every year, as per law. Everything is done by the book\", she says, adding that \"I am sorry if any students feel mistreated, that is definitely not our intention\u201d.\"\r\n<blockquote>Charlotte Simonsen, UCPH Housing Foundation: \"We reply to all emails in the order they are received. I can assure you that no queries are ignored...\"<\/blockquote>\r\nThe UCPH Housing Foundation got its initial capital from UCPH, but is financially independent and therefore fully user-financed without any additional financial support, Charlotte Simonsen explains.\r\n\r\n<em>Do you consider yourself part of the University of Copenhagen?<\/em>\r\n\"One of the central points is that our organization is legally independent from UCPH. So strictly speaking, no. But we know that some of the students see us as part of UCPH, which makes sense since we work very closely together with UCPH. The international students and staff coming to UCPH are our primary customer.\u201d\r\n<h2>Not responding to queries<\/h2>\r\nIn the meantime, students have to contend with a Housing Foundation that, students say, does not respond to students\u2019 questions and complaints. Christina Stath had electricity black-outs once a week for hours at a time due to \u2018fragile circuits\u2019 with no compensation - and requests ignored.\r\n\r\nSimple requests for more information are neglected. In one of the many sample cases collected by 'Students Against UCPH Housing Foundation', a student was charged DKK 1,760 for the cleaning of a flat, despite leaving it spotless. The Housing Foundation had not, at time of publishing, responded to her request for more information.\r\n\r\nAccording to Charlotte Simonsen, Director of the UCPH Housing Foundation, they <em>do<\/em> respond to all queries. \"We reply to all emails in the order they are received. I can assure you that no queries are ignored, however if an email ends up in our spam-filter (for instance if the email is sent numerous times), naturally then the response time is a bit delayed.\"\r\n\r\nmiy@adm.ku.dk\n<!-- end of module 1 -->\n","post_title":"Students: Housing Foundation is cheating on deposits","post_excerpt":"The University of Copenhagen's housing unit Housing Foundation Copenhagen is overcharging on rents, withholding deposits, and trumping up fees, students claim. 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