We moved out of a rental earlier this year,
They told us the bath is supposed to have a loose panel and never fixed it (it was rusty and unhinged). They never made the flow of the shower better, it flowed like someone was drooling out of it and the water was never EVER hot and they never replaced the shower seal (it was disgusting). My condolences to anyone who is moving into that 2nd floor flat.
The heating never got hot, it made us very sick in the winter months, when I was in hospital for an illness I recovered faster not being in the frigid flat than I did inside it.
We were given a near 300 pound cleaning fee when we left, as we did not clean to a 'professional' standard. We were told that the lights needed replacing even though they blew Everytime you turn them on. It took them a week to fix a toilet without a flush making us use the loo elsewhere, they told us if the electric heaters don't work and if it was the previous tenants fault we are to pay for the damages... Like???
The washing machine was mouldy from the previous tenant and as above if it was the prior tenants fault, it is now ours. So I had to clean it... Not very professional I say.
They also took MONTHS to fix our broken window, going from quote to quote it was horrible when there was a heatwave.
When we moved out they threatened us with incoming tenants to pay the cleaning fee ASAP. I don't understand why that is my issue if I had left the property a month prior.
They were courteous when we began renting and cruel when we decided to leave. Threatening us with fees to cancel our tenancy even with notice. Towards the end prospective tenants came in when they wanted with only a call a few days before - no text so if you forgot that's tough.
I would ask anyone renting to read the small print as they never helped us understand what we were getting into.
Reply from agent
Dear Sandra K,
Thank you for your review, of which all feedback is acknowledged and investigated where needed.
It is of course disappointing to see the 1-star review and will outline my response below.
Having overviewed your tenancy file, I can see that your review has been triggered by the end of tenancy checkout process, as all maintenance issues that you have included in your review were raised and dealt with during your tenancy – with no complaints having been made by you at those times.
For clarity, maintenance issues can’t always be resolved instantly unfortunately. We must follow a process of referring to a landlord, gaining instruction and then instructing a contractor.
The checkout process is carried out against your original inventory and schedule of condition, for fairness & accuracy. Along with the photos that accompanied that inventory.
Photos from the end of your tenancy, which you were provided with also, show the requirement for cleaning due to the condition in which you returned the property, this was vastly different to how you provided the property.
The cost for the cleaning required was sourced from professional companies who attended the property in person to provide an accurate quote.
You were advised that the landlord had a new tenant lined up, and that the cleaning work required will need to be done by a certain date, whether you agreed to it or wished to dispute this via the TDS scheme, to prevent the landlord having to delay or possibly lose the incoming tenant. This would have then given the landlord grounds to seek compensation from you due to the new tenancy not starting. This was not a threat but us being completely transparent with you regarding the situation and what could have occurred.
All viewings are arranged with tenants by phone call or email, and we do not access properties without permission.
I strongly refute your claims that we are cruel or threatening in anyway. We carry out over 200 checkouts each year which are all carried out fairly & correctly with the original inventory and photos. Had the property been left by you in line with your inventory & schedule of condition then there wouldn’t have been any need for cleaning to take place, but unfortunately this was not the case.
All tenants are provided with a tenant’s guide, tenancy agreement and inventory at the start of their tenancy, this outlines what is required from them throughout the tenancy and at the end.
As stated above, it is disappointing to see that you felt the need to leave a 1-star review, as I do not believe that this justified based on the overall management of your tenancy but born out of your own frustration in relation to how you returned the property and being held responsible for this. Which was the right process to follow and would be the same for any tenancy checkout.
I wish you all the best for the future.
For clarity, this response also acts as a response to the review left by CombatWaffle, as this refers to the same tenancy.
