“The room was advertised as 'studio flat' just......”
2 Star Review
Feb 20,2020
By:
'Alberto'
Feb 20,2020
Branch: London, 212 St Ann's Hill
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £830
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: SW19
Branch: London, 212 St Ann's Hill
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Rent PCM: £830
Postcode: SW19
3
people found
this helpful
The room was advertised as 'studio flat' just because there's a shower and a toilet and a mini fridge. The house looks tired and it's not looked after, every room is converted into a studio (collectively around 7 rooms), communal kitchen on ground floor with two washing machines and two cooking areas. Not enough cupboards for everyone. A girl lives in the kitchen, she has to walk through it to access her private space. The tenant on my floor was dirty and loud.
The end of my tenancy was even worse than my horror life in that overcrowded house. Not only the agency holds £90 from the deposit for 'checkout fees', they claimed £10 for a 'broken lightbulb' at checkout, which was false as I all of them lightbulbs were perfectly fine (I have a video to prove it), they also accused me of not cleaning the desk properly (absolutely false, I travelled all the way to Colliers Wood from central at 9pm after work to give the room a final clean, what an insult) and they claimed I have left the mattress cover in dirty conditions, such cover should be changed anyway before a new tenant moves in, pure and basic common sense and hygiene. No one needs to sleep on someone else's mattress cover of a year, in fact they got that one when I moved in, so it means they buy a new one anyway. In light of these reasons, Castle Estates deducted £126 for 'costs of cleaning fixtures and fittings 'professionally''. So altogether they kept £226 from my deposit. Absolutely disgusting. And the condescending tone every time they would respond to a query. Stay away guys, horrible rooms, dirty and tired house. I have my own REAL studio in North London now, and my new agency is amazing and so is the landlord. Don't go out there and pay nearly £800 for a room in a overcrowded house.
3
people found
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Thank you for taking the time to review us and I'm really sorry to hear that you are unhappy with us after the end of your tenancy. We take reviews really seriously and I have looked into all of the issues you have raised and would like to feedback to you on these points.
The property was advertised as a houseshare (ie a room in a house) and the description clearly states 'HOUSESHARE WITH EN-SUITE'. Unfortunately some of the property portals don't have the facilities to display the property as a single room and it can be listed incorrectly occasionally which is something we are aware of and have no control over. To resolve this, when you first enquired about the property, we made you aware of the set up of the property before even booking a viewing. On the viewing, you would have been showed the communal areas and it was explained what part you had private access over. We were extremely transparent with the whole process however in your review, I believe you make it sound like we had deceived you - which I am confident is not the case as you would have only been able to proceed with the property once you knew the full layout of the house.
You commented about your previous neighbours and the way that they live in the property - unless there is a breach of contract, we cannot get involved in neighbour disputes or advise on your opinion of your neighbours. I can confirm that no one lives in the kitchen.
After the check out, you queried the check out fee with us and we resent you the contract and terms and conditions that you had signed. These documents were sent to you before you decided to proceed with the property so you did have full disclosure about this. We're sorry that you had not factored this into your budget when leaving the property but I do feel we made this as clear as possible.
When you moved into the property, it was professionally cleaned for you and the non working light bulb was working. At the check out inspection, it was not left clean and the light bulb was not working. You were charged the cleaning cost to resolve these items. This included a full clean of the bathroom which was the majority of the work, photos attached of the cleanliness of these items at check out. You have not mentioned this in your review but it something that is important to mention due to the amount of work that this would involve to put right. We corresponded with you via email after you disputed this and you then emailed back to confirm your acceptance of these terms.
I appreciate that you are unhappy with us and I am sorry that this is the case. Should you wish to give me a call to talk through anything further please don't hesitate to give me a call on 0208 870 9534.
Claire
Lettings Director