Tenancy review for 5 Ensbury Close in Wallisdown Winton West, Bournemouth rented from Mr Mrs Fitch

Landlord rating: 2

Staying at this property was a constant source of anxiety. Despite very positive initial impressions, it soon became apparent that the landlord and his family were too interested in my personal affairs and life - to the extend that when talking it often felt like an invasion of privacy. Circumstances occurred whereby access to my room was compromised and the landlord would often enter the room when I wasn't around. I was also accused on occasion of things I did not do. An example of this was an accusation I put hairs down the kitchen drain when in fact it was another member of the household (which was made evident to me after the accusation). I received questioning about a parcel I received, regularly asked about work and on one occasion I was quizzed about a job interview. When leaving the property my deposit was deducted due to, in my view, unreasonable accusations including a "2 nail's in the wall" which the landlord helped put in (I was deducted £10) to remove these nails. I was charged laundry costs for one sheet (£10) and despite cleaning everything I could, I was charged £20 for cleaning costs. Whilst this may not seem unreasonable, it felt like the landlord was looking for issues to reduce my deposit. After leaving I received a text from the landlord informing me that they had been subsidising my rent despite offering them more rent when I first agreed to rent the property.

Property rating: 3

Rented room was a good size with storage space and a comfortable bed. Unable to decorate on one side of room (pictures on wall etc). Shared kitchen (shared with landlord and family), was very small with no space to store personal cutlery and only a small compartment in fridge to store food. Shared shower room (shared with landlord and family) was adequate size but issues with shower compartment were noticeable (leaking through the ceiling due to inadequate waterproofing).

Area rating: 3

Transport links are good, but a suburb of Bournemouth which is somewhat out of the way (20 minute walk to Winton).