Tenancy review for 7 Scarsdale Close in East Chesterton, Cambridge rented from Vishali Batavia rented via haart

Landlord rating: 2

We were meant to have no direct communication with the landlord, but actually the landlord's father would often turn up unannounced and let themselves into the garden, or knock on the door, which was not at all welcome - we should have had at least 24 hours notice of access, and at first had no idea who the man was. This persisted even after we complained, so we sometimes feared for our privacy. It only seemed to happen in the summer however so wasn't too much of an issue. We were very annoyed that the landlord didn't seem bothered enough to answer the agency's requests for our repairs however, and also that they were not willing to invest in the house's proper facilities (such as a new kitchen sink when it is clearly rotten underneath).

Agency rating: 3

It was always quite complicated to try to get in touch with the right person, as they never rang the tenant who had called with a query, which was often confusing. Luckily we're all friends so could communicate among ourselves. We were happy that couples were allowed in the house, and it was even suggested on our initial viewing that pets would be considered, though we never needed to ask for permission in the end as we didn't get a cat. The fees were extortionate, as they seem to be with every letting agency, but the didn't put the rent up at any point. Repairs took an unacceptably long time to fix on many occasions, apparently because they needed the approval of the landlord, who never seemed to answer their emails. At the start of the tenancy, we only had two keys to the house between 6 of us, which was incredibly frustrating. The side-gate (for bicycle access) and garage also lacked keys for over a month after we moved in, We also had problems with the drains, outside toilet, dishwasher, and shower and kitchen sink leaking - all of which took weeks to fix. It took a little bit of threatening via email and phone to get repairs carried out a little quicker.

Property rating: 4

The house is detached and has a fairly large garden, which is great. We had to persuade the landlord to let us use the garage, which he did eventually. There are 4 bedrooms (2 large, 1 medium and 1 small), a living room, kitchen and 1 bathroom. There is also a toilet outside in the garage. The kitchen has a lot of storage, which is useful, and has a dishwasher (though the wooden panel broke and was never fixed). The medium bedroom gets a lot of natural daylight, and there is also attic access from the upstairs landing. However, the whole house is very poorly ventilated, and prone to mould and heavy condensation. We invested in a powerful dehumidifier which helps us to control it a little, but still requires daily drying of the windows and monthly de-moulding sessions in winter. A lot of the house facilities are aged and prone to breaking - every time anything broke the landlord would only authorise a patch repair, rather than investing in new facilities, such as the boiler, shower, front and back doors, side gate... (as was recommended by multiple contractors). The whole ground floor (apart from the bedroom) is un-carpeted, which makes for easy cleaning. The carpets in the bedrooms vary in quality a lot - the majority have extremely thin carpets that are hard to vacuum. The curtains in most rooms were non-existent when moving in, or incredibly flimsy and see-through.

Area rating: 7

There is a bus-stop directly outside the front of the house, and a coop supermarket 30 seconds away, as well as two pubs within five minutes walk. The river is fairly close too, as is Cambridge North train station. Excellent for anyone working on the Science Park or Business Park, though further away from the town centre than I'd like to be (about a 20 minute cycle).