I have been renting in the UK for about 12 years now (Thankfully this was the last rented place) and while none of the agencies I have dealt with are great as most of them like charging exorbitant amounts of fees, Northwood are the only ones I am leaving a negative review for a multitude of reasons. When we moved into the property 9 months ago the kitchen and bathroom were really really dirty (horrible deposits in the toilet which we cleaned and really really greasy hob and oven). None of the extractor fans in kitchen worked(One of them was fixed by Northwood after 6 months of continued chasing). Agency fees are illegal in Scotland but Northwood make sure they get money from you somehow and I will list the ways they do it. To start with the first month's rent was 150 extra. When I asked why they had no response to it other than that's the way they do it. Also, they have a fixed term contract which they force you to renew and never convert to rolling as the contract says it would turn into if you don't renew it. That means if you try to move away at any point other than at contract end irrespective of the notice period, you will be forced to pay the exorbitant 330 pound advertising fees. Their suggested cleaner charges super high fees too compared to other cleaners you can hire yourself and refuse to give an estimate and say they will charge between a range on the day of cleaning depending on how it goes. They even sent the wrong meter reading and date to my electric/gas company which now I have to get a proof to if I want to fix it which I cant be bothered with. There were several other problems with them and this is just the top things I could think of. We were in a hurry to get a place as we were moving cities but if you have a choice then avoid them.
13 Comely Bank Rd, Edinburgh, EH4 1DR, UK