During the exit process we were continually told wrong and illegal information regarding the inventory (what they wanted to charge us for) and the deposit deductions. – The exit inventory was not cross checked against the one when moving in, resulting in false claims. – We were told that we had to have the property professionally cleaned on exit – we had cleaned the property to a better standard than when we moved in, and according to the Office of Fair Trading advise in its specialised guide 'guidance on unfair terms in tenancy agreements' they, and another letting agent, advised that a professional clean can not be enforced (despite Belvoirs' threats and lies on this matter). – We were given a 'ballpark' quote to cover the costs they wanted to deduct from the deposit - no break down, instead we were told 'that should cover it' – When we asked for breakdown, the costs were then significantly increased! THANKFULLY - we are landlords too and know the rights of tenants so we disputed all their points and cost deductions and when confronted, they conceded and released our full deposit (minus agreed deduction). This was an incredibly stressful time for us, and many others in the same situation, may not know their rights - therefore we would not recommend Belvoir to tenants or landlords, as we seen correspondence where they incorrectly advised the landlord.

"Belvoir Southampton - would..."

We rented a flat through Belvoir Southampton from July 2018 to July 2019 as a couple and unfortunately our experience with them was a negative one from the outset. From the moment we paid the fees and the deposit, we have encountered a general lack of interest on their behalf, often ignoring emails and not returning calls on several occasions. At some point, especially towards the end of the tenancy, we felt that Belvoir staff were so consumed by their procedures that they have completely lost the personal touch in dealing with human beings and paying customers at that. Conversations over the phone very often felt as we were a nuisance to them within the first minute, sounding impatient and even rude. At times if felt as if they were maliciously trying to withhold our deposit by picking on very minor issues and presenting heaps of difficulties when we were trying to rectify the situation. This is relevant especially to the end of tenancy cleaning, as we hired a professional cleaning company as required in our tenancy agreement, and Belvoir Southampton were not happy with the cleaning saying that 'bath edge grubby & edge sealant yellow, toilet dusty & some dirt around hinges, kitchen worktop & hob dusty, kitchen unit greasy upon the doors, washing machine door seal grubby'. We tried to address the issues by contacting the cleaning company and trying to find a suitable time to clean the problematic areas, but the staff at Belvoir often ignored our emails and phone calls, causing unnecessary stress and worry. Eventually, my partner went to the agency in person and managed to sort everything out. After this, we have received our full deposit, but it wasn't smooth sailing. To add to the story, we have had major issues with anti-social behaviour in our neighbourhood, and especially around our allocated parking, and complained to the company several times over the first few months to do something about it, including the instalment of CCTV cameras to make us feel a bit safer. Our car has been vandalised a couple of times during this period, and at some point we just gave up and started looking for a new place. The parking space was often left in a filthy condition whereas glass bottles and leftover food packaging was left there by people, which was often a health and safety hazard. We stopped parking in our designated parking and started parking in the visitor parking spaces. In Belvoir's defence, there was an external company managing the communal areas of the building, but we felt that Belvoir did not do enough to address our concerns, as we are the ones paying for the flat and some of the money goes to the block management company Freemont.

We have had a nightmarish experience so far hunting for a flat from the UK, and based on the reviews for this agency we were hoping that that would finally change. My partner went to view a flat with them and expressed our interest in renting that same flat. The agent told him they'd call him back. After this my partner tried calling them several times and also wrote an email saying that we would like to rent the property. Finally, two days later they answered his call only to tell us that the flat had already been rented by someone else. Another letdown for us, although I cannot fake surprise anymore since this seems to be the way lettings agencies function in Britain.

Never replied to email re query on property. Also when called they said landlord wanted someone who could move quickly , fair enough but take my details at least !