Hundreds of panicking university students were told their new accommodation was not ready - hours before they were due to move in.
The Calico Building, a huge new development on the corner of Islington and Norton Street, in Liverpool City Centre , remains empty and has issues with the supply of electricity, according to its owners.
The new tenants, who had already paid an eight week instalment of rent plus a £100 deposit, were due to move in on Saturday (September 14), but received an email at 7.30pm on Friday night from accommodation provider Fresh Student Living.
The email said: "Due to circumstances out of our control we have been informed today by the developer that the building needs a few weeks longer to make sure it is perfect for your arrival.
"This means that your room at Calico will not be available for occupation until Saturday October, 12, however in the meantime we are arranging alternative accommodation for you."
When asked by the ECHO , the building owners said the short notice delay was due to "unanticipated testing and commissioning issues that were reported late last week."
Hundreds of students have seen their plans plunged into chaos, with reports of young people paying for storage facilities and commuting from their homes, some hours away from Liverpool.
Second year University of Liverpool student, Irina Manea, described the situation as "incredibly stressful."
The 19-year-old law student, from Swindon, said: "I went in March to see the showroom.
"I expressed some concern then, because I knew some of my friends had problems with other accommodation last year and the building did not look anywhere near ready.
"The woman kept reassuring us saying 'we are months ahead on the building, there is no chance we're not going to be ready."
Irina said she read the email at 8.30pm on the Friday, and could not believe the situation.
She said: "I actually went to Calico in the morning and pretended I hadn't read the email, because I just though this is outrageous.
"I said 'right, I'm here, where are my keys'. They said 'oh, you should have checked your emails'.
"They were being really cocky about it.
"I asked them if I could get out of the contract and find alternative accommodation but they said there was no chance."
Irina was moved to Grand Central student quarters, near Lime Street Station, where despite having booked an en-suite room with Calico she was forced to live in accommodation with a shared bathroom.
She said: "When I went to move to Grand Central it was so stressful.
"Everybody was going mad and it took an hour to get the keys.
"Some of my friends are having to live at home and commute and hour and a half every day. It is just not acceptable. "
Another 19-year-old student, who did not wish to be named, said the email and a similar Facebook post from the Calico team caused her to have a panic attack.
She said: "When I saw the Facebook post it was panic for hours. We were trying to phone them for three and a half hours but no-one was answering the phone.
"I do have anxiety and the whole thing made me have a panic attack."
The teenager was also placed in temporary accommodation at Grand Central student quarters near Lime Street Station.
A spokeswoman for Niveda Realty, the owner of the Calico building, told the ECHO : "Unfortunately, to our disappointment, unanticipated testing and commissioning issues on the project have delayed the completion.
"We apologise for the distress and inconvenience this has caused and are working closely with our project partners at Create Construction to overcome these final matters.
"We are grateful to our operators, Fresh Student Living, for looking after our residents in the meantime, and we thank our residents and parents for their continued patience. We look forward to welcoming them soon so they can make most this fabulous development."
A statement from Fresh Student Living said it was "disappointed" with the delay.
A spokeswoman said: "Our teams worked hard to contact all students at extremely short notice and arranged temporary accommodation with the assistance of Niveda.
"We recognised that some students will temporarily be without the fantastic facilities that Calico will be offering and some students will have been moved to rooms that are not of the same standard they paid for or better so we worked swiftly with Niveda to ensure all students receive a compensation package.
"We are keeping in touch with all students and look forward to welcoming them to Calico very soon."
Create Construction, the main contractor on the site, said it remained "committed to completing the project to the highest of standards as soon as practically possible."
A statement from the University of Liverpool said: "We would urge any of our students facing difficulties as a result of this situation to contact Liverpool Student Homes on 0151 794 3296 or lsh@liverpool.ac.uk to receive support."
Liverpool John Moores University said it was "disappointed" at the delay and was offering any students affected support via Liverpool Student Homes and student advice and wellbeing services.
