Tenancy review for Thames View Axon Place in Ilford Town, Ilford rented from Pankaj Sharma

Landlord rating: 1

It was incredibly hard to reach Pankaj every time I needed to. He was really slow replying to my texts and emails. He never even acknowledged my requests and in most cases I had to chase for a response. One time, he responded in two weeks. After my initial email, I chased him once, with no success, and I guess I only received a reply, because I got in touch with the agency (which was only hired at the beginning to process my documents and draft the contract), complaining he was not responsive.

Also, during my tenancy my boiler broke. I was told it will be fixed in six days. I said I cannot stop showering and heating my flat for six whole days and asked him to book an engineer earlier. He refused and said I need to wait. To be fair, at least he brought an electric heater, but there was no solution to the lack of hot water and it’s way too unrealistic of him to expect me not to shower for so many days. According to the law, the landlord must carry out repairs within a reasonable period of time. Normally for things like a boiler, it’s not unreasonable to ask your landlord to repair the boiler within 48 hours.

Considering I was not finding Pankaj a good landlord, I decided not to renew my tenancy and leave after a year. When I informed him in written that I would like to leave, giving him one-month notice, as stated in the contract, he told me I can’t as I have to give him two-month notice. He did not read/understand the contract correctly, nor did he ever apologise for his mistake. Two-month notice had to be given only if I wanted to take advantage of the contract break clause. I had to call the agency, which drafted the contract, to confirm my right to leave.

After I left his property and when the date for the release of the deposit came (pointed out in the contract), I did not have my deposit in my bank account back (or any communication about deductions of the deposit). Again, I had to chase him for that. After not receiving any reply from him, I chased next day too. This resulted in me getting my deposit back in my bank account, but Pankaj never replied to say money is back or apologise for the delay.

My encounter with Pankaj has not been positive and it was an endless chasing and reminding him how to be a proper landlord. Therefore, I would not recommend him and his property to other people. I think people like him, who are either too busy to manage their property, or simply don’t care to do it properly, should use experienced letting agents to do it for them. Responsible tenants deserve a safe and secure home, where they feel like they can communicate with their landlord, who also needs to be responsible toward their property and tenants.

Property rating: 7

The flat is in a gated block of flats. A bit run down and not super spacious - it was perfect for one person, but if there are two - it will be a bit of a squeeze. Right next to the train tracks, so definitely not for light sleepers.

Area rating: 5

Ilford is not the best and most pleasant borough to live in, but it's cheap and therefore, the best option for me at the time as I wanted to live on my own. However, I expect the neighbourhood to change a lot for good with all the TfL investments and improvements to the area.