“I’ve lived in rented properties my entire adult life ......”
1 Star Review
Apr 24,2021
By:
'Rose'
Apr 24,2021
Branch: Warrington, 865 Birchwood Boulevard
Services: Lettings (as a Tenant)
Would you recommend?: No
Postcode: OL1
Branch: Warrington, 865 Birchwood Boulevard
Lettings (as a Tenant)
Postcode: OL1
5
people found
this helpful
I’ve lived in rented properties my entire adult life and I’ve never experienced a property management company as unprofessional as Leef. If you’re considering renting somewhere managed by this company and value your mental health even a little bit I strongly urge you to reconsider.
Just some of the issues I’ve encountered include faulty lighting, faulty microwave, electricity tripping, windows leaking when it rains, blinds that are stuck shut so can’t be opened, a bed that’s falling apart, bathroom sink plug broken and having to use pliers to open it to drain water, a shower that doesn’t drain and floods the entire apartment if it’s used for more than a few minutes. The latter is something that I know affects other apartments too as on more than one occasion the same issue has happened to the apartment above mine which has completely flooded my apartment causing damage to my personal belongings.
The building itself is filthy due to not being cleaned at all for a period of around six months and now only gets a very basic clean every so often. This isn’t ideal at any time but during a global pandemic it’s dangerous and I fear for my safety as a vulnerable, disabled person. There have been times when I’ve cleaned up spit and phlegm off the lift floor myself as I’ve been so concerned about it being a health risk during periods where the building was in the area with the highest amounts of Covid infections in the entire UK.
The bin room is regularly overflowing and smells so bad it causes me to gag, when the bins fill up the rubbish starts building up on the floor and there have been times I’ve had to physically climb over piles of rubbish just to get to a bin with space in it.
There was a period of around five months where the main door to the building was broken which allowed anyone to walk in off the streets, this lead to large number of thefts and vandalism of one of the storage rooms as well as allowing kids to wander in at night to smoke in the corridors and homeless people to sleep here. I had several parcels stolen during this time also, I’ve been heavily reliant on using delivery services during the pandemic as a disabled person living alone but I had to stop having essential items delivered here as too much was being stolen.
During this same period, the security guard service which was advertised as 24 hours was removed altogether without any warning making the building even more unsafe.
The communal laundry room can only be used via an app but as it’s in the basement of the building I don’t get any phone reception down there which makes it extremely difficult for me to use. In addition to this, for months at a time there was only one working machine for the entire building which made it practically impossible to do laundry as it was in constant use.
The lift went through a period of constantly breaking down and on more than one occasion a resident was trapped inside resulting in the fire and rescue service having to be called out to free them due to no one answering the emergency button. I was regularly stuck in my apartment when this happened as I’m unable to use stairs due to my disability and when it was working I lived in fear of getting trapped inside it myself.
The building constantly stinks of cigarette smoke and weed which comes into my apartment causing my chronic illness to flare up which has resulted in me having to take time off work and has also caused me to have breathing difficulties.
There have also been times where the lights haven’t been working in certain areas of the building which has resulted in me having to use the torch on my phone to do laundry and use the bin room. All of the lights are now on a timer to go off after just a few seconds which means the building is often in complete darkness and I regularly have to walk into areas that are pitch black, not ideal in a building that already has safety and security issues. I now try to avoid leaving or returning to my apartment after dark as I just don’t feel safe walking into unlit areas of the building at night as a vulnerable woman that lives alone.
Before moving here I had some mental health conditions which were relatively well managed and under control, I specifically chose to live in this building as it felt safe and secure but it’s actually caused my conditions flare up and I now feel anxious and unsafe in my own home.
The staff I’ve had to deal with at Leef are hostile and rude and refuse to accept any responsibility for all of the issues I’ve raised. One member of their staff actually tried to enter my home unannounced and without warning whilst I was in bed and it caused me to have a panic attack, I still haven’t received an apology from them about this.
Please avoid this company at all costs as it’s just not worth the stress, I wouldn’t wish the experience I’ve had living here on anyone.
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