Thornley Groves Estate Agents
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Flat was did not meet compliance standards and woefully inadequate maintenance service.
I have rented with Thornley Groves for 5 months. I am a vulnerable tennant and a 58-year-old female, living alone. I reported several issues when I first moved in. I had to live with no hot water and ridiculously low water pressure for 4 months. Thornley Groves asked me to contact the water company - the water is included in the service charge that the landlord pays. When I told them this, they denied it, even though that's what the building managment compnay told me. Thornley Groves should have known this. I'm a busy professional who does not have time to go on wild goose chases because Thornley Groves doesn't know about the properties it manages and lets. When the landlord refused to pay for necessary work on the boiler, Thornley Groves didn't do it and tried to make me pay half, despite the issue being present and reported, as soon as I moved in. The situation was eventually resolved, but only after I involved the compliance department at Manchester City Council. I should not have had to do this. The door from the living room to the balcony does not lock – this was reported to Thornley Groves when I moved in, 5 months ago. Due to cladding work taking place on the building, despite being on the second floor, it is not secure. There are no dividers between the apartment balconies and my neighbours smoke weed all day; they have unlimited access to my balcony. There is a scaffold staircase outside my apartment, to facilitate the cladding work, that gives easy access to my balcony. There are 150 operatives working on site and I cannot lock my balcony door. I do not feel safe in the home that I pay £1,200pcm to rent. There was no key for any of the balcony doors, when I moved in, and all were unlocked. I first received the key, after repeatedly requesting them from the letting manager, at the end of July. Thornley Groves deemed this issue to not be urgent, as I live on the second floor, despite my explaining why it wasn’t safe. Only when I had the key and the living room door still would not lock, was it apparent that the issue was the door itself. It has been suggested by Thornley Groves that no one can get into the flat from outside, as there is no handle. However, the insurance that Thornley Groves made me take out, as part of the rental agreement is invalid because the door will not lock. As the insurance agent observed, ‘ If the door were secure without a lock, if wouldn’t require a lock.’ The door was tampered with from outside and the police were called this week. Only then, did Thornley Groves deem it to be urgent. The first contractor that Thornley Groves arranged only fixes front doors, not balcony doors. I stayed in all day waiting for him. The second contractor has just left. The issue is the handle is broken and the findings were snapped before I moved in. They are difficult to find and will need to be ordered. He said it will 'take time'. I'm the victim of stalking and the letting manager is aware of this. This situation is unacceptable. I have just had to send another email and copy Manchester City Council compliance department in. Despite being off work for 6 weeks, when the work could have been done, due to their inaction, Thornley Grovers expect me to let contractors that I don't know in, when I'm at work. They have had ample time to resolve this issue, but refused to act until the police were involved. I will never rent from Thornley Groves again. I was living in Surrey and they were the only agents to let on the basis of remote viewings; now I understand why - I would never have rented this apartment, had I seen it in person. They underplayed the huge impact of the cladding work - no access to the canal or green areas. I've lost count of the number of operatives who have been working with loud machinery on my balcony during my time off work. The noise has been horrendous and I can't even open my doors for ventialation during the day, due to the noise and dust. Thornley Groves make a big deal about their maintenance service - this is the reality of how it works. The pre-tenancy checks that Thornley Groves insisted on carrying out before I moved up from Surrey, said the water pressure was good, but it was not - when I eventually got the agent to ocome out, nearly 4 months after I moved in, he said,'Wow, that's really bad' - it was a dribble. The issue was the boiler and parts needed to be replaced - this did not happen in the 2 days that the flat was unoccupied, between the pre-tenancy checks and my moving in. As none of the balcony doors werre locked and no keys were provided, the flat was unfit to be let, particularly to a single older woman, living alone, when the cladding work removed all of the other security factors. Please think twice before renting from Thornley Grovers; I would hate any other vulnerable tenant to be stuck in inadequate and unsecured accomodation.