Thank you for your comments in relation to the time you spent living in one of our managed student properties. We would like to take this opportunity to respond to the various queries you have raised in your review and will hopefully fully explain the situation.

Although you may believe that no work was undertaken at the property prior to you moving in, I can assure you that this was not the case. Your landlord completes their own maintenance works as you are aware and they did so prior to your tenancy starting and you moving into the property in September 2014. I can assure you that the matter regarding the gas supply at the property had not been forgotten about however it did take longer to resolve than anticipated. We acted as quickly as possible with regards to resolving this matter and I believe it to have been resolved within a reasonable time frame.

As student tenants you are allocated a specific member of staff which is our student advisor. Initially, when moving into the property you dealt with Mr James Hawley who subsequently left the company and was replaced by Mr Mark Lewin. You have named Mark in your complaint specifically and you have dealt with Mark throughout the remainder of your tenancy following James leaving the company in December of last year. As I am sure you can appreciate, there are different members of staff working in various departments within our company and one person cannot satisfy all job roles. You are inevitably going to speak to different people at some point throughout your tenancy, however I believe the only other person you have had frequent communication with, particularly at the end of the tenancy is my colleague Miss Jemma Porter. I apologise you may feel as though you have had to repeat yourselves on a number of occasions however unfortunately, if Mark is not available, we will strive to resolve your issues for you therefore the need to repeat the issue you have is necessary for us to assist you.

I refute the allegation that the matter with regards to the tenant that had to vacate was dealt with coldly. We extended our sympathy to you all following the actions that occurred and attempted to help you resolve the situation as much as possible. As joint tenants, you are all equally liable for the rent at the property therefore unfortunately, with one tenant leaving, the remaining 5 tenants need to cover that 1 person's share of the rent; you are all equally liable to ensure that the rental income per calendar month is paid, as with any joint tenancy agreement. We are aware that students often return home for the Christmas period and I do not believe you were contacted out of malice. We have a duty to advise you of such obligations, the earlier you are alerted to the situation the sooner the situation can be resolved. This was simply done in an attempt to help you.

As per clause 3.12 of your signed tenancy agreement, you must provide copies of your final bills before any part of the deposit will be returned to you. You were advised of the exact cleaning required and the replacement of light bulbs. As per TDS guidelines, you are given the opportunity to dispute the charges made to the deposit however you declined to do so. As per clause 2.15 of your signed tenancy agreement, you as tenants are liable for the replacement of light bulbs throughout your tenancy. Please refer to your tenancy agreement for further clarification on this point.

I apologise that you have yet to receive a response to the email you initially sent and I will chase this up with the relevant people to ensure that the matter is brought to a close as soon as possible.

I hope this response has clarified the issues raised and has helped to explain the reasons behind our actions.

Philip James