iQ Student Accommodation Reviews

The location is amazing and the staff is really friendly

Worst Accommodation Provider in Leicester I had a larger, modern, secure room in Freemans last year for £7k. In contrast, Opal Court's "Gold Ensuite Plus," which I’m currently in, costs £8k and some change. The rooms are identical, with the only difference being the ensuite if you choose that option. Ironically, the kitchens in the flats with the Bronze package are better than those for the Gold package. I live in a flat of five with just one fridge, while the Bronze flats have two fridges. Their website claims you can "enjoy great views of the city," but my bedroom faces the HSBC office. I never get natural light without someone looking into my room during their meetings. Rooms with actual city views are rare, and you’d be lucky to get one. The site also promises a "spacious kitchen," but the kitchen is the same size as the room I had last year, which was cheaper. Their kitchens are essentially a lucky draw: some are nice and modern, some are not; some have spotlights, while others don’t; some are massive, while others are as small as your bedroom. The study area, games room, and private dining room are poorly maintained, and security rarely addresses issues. The TV hardly works, and if someone does something wrong, everyone is punished collectively. IQ periodically closes shared spaces instead of banning individuals who misuse them, which is unfair since we all pay for these amenities. They advertise "24/7 staff presence," but this is questionable. A few weeks ago, there was a party that started around 7–8 PM and went on until 2–3 AM, with illegal substances being consumed and the site vandalized. The police had to intervene because the so-called 24/7 staff couldn’t stop the party, control entry, or even notify residents in advance that multiple parties would take place. The music was so loud that the bass could be felt in the 7th-floor kitchen where I was. The staff at IQ is also very rude when you seek help. The CCTV they claim to have is subpar—limited to the building exterior, courtyard, and ground floor lift entrance as well as the lift. Everyone I live with has had at least one item stolen since moving in, and there’s no way to identify the thief as there’s no CCTV on the residential floors. The lift in my block is constantly broken, with two metal bolts sticking out where the handrail has been broken. This a serious safety issues especially when there's alcohol spilled over the floor causing a slip hazard.This has been the case since September 2023, when I first visited a friend in the same block. I’ve personally tested accessing the premises and reaching my room without a key, and for a company that boasts about security and CCTV, it’s shockingly easy to enter the property. There are countless more faults with IQ Opal Court. I’ve visited their other Leicester property, Grosvenor House, and it’s not much better. Even paying rent is an issue. I’ve paid multiple times using Convera, yet Emma, the site manager, has been rude over the phone, claiming I haven’t paid despite my bank and Convera confirming the transactions. This has happened repeatedly, including with my January payments, which I’ve proven were processed, but IQ insists they never received the money. Save yourself the hassle, money, and headache by choosing better accommodation options like Study Inn, Freemans, Nixon, private accommodations—anything but IQ-provided accommodation. *EDIT* Less than 24 hours after posting this review, Emma has already approached me to question it. It’s clear she is unhappy with the review and my comments on her behavior. At approximately 3:20 PM on January 23, 2025, she sat at the desk in the foyer and acted rudely and disrespectfully. To my surprise, her colleagues also joined in with the abuse. Emma clearly has hard feelings about the matter, as she discussed my personal finances and information out loud in a public setting while other residents and contractors were present on-site. This is honestly something I never thought I’d experience with a grown woman.

My experience with iq was terrible, first of all the building smelled like trash was there for a month and it always smells like illegal substances as well and I had so many issues with my room. I was promised diamond deluxe room and I was expecting it will look like the picture when I came to my room there was no air the ventilation system was broken and they gaved me a disabled room. My bathroom smells disgusting no matter how I clean it and there is cockroach coming out of my shower ,if I leave my bathroom door open by accident that week my room would smell like rotten eggs and because of this and the ventilation system being broken I got sick and I couldn’t attend my classes and when I tried to bring up this issue to iq aldgate they would make up excuses and would say I emailed this company and lie again and again I spended so much money on hotels just because I couldn’t take it anymore because staff was lying and would make up excuses,There is 3 elevators in this building but only 1 of them is working and for 2 weeks they told everyone it would be fixed but it didn’t. I would not recommend ANYONE this student accommodation, this place ruined my mental health and treated me poorly and still they’re asking me to pay my rent even tho I checked out 2 months ago I’ve been writing emails to them but they’re not sending me any response,nothing just the amount that I need to pay my rent for months that I will not live for. I will write this review again and again until I get my justice

DO NOT STAY at City iQ on Bastwick Street. There are about 600 rooms in this building, and if someone smokes in any one of those rooms, then the fire alarm goes off across the entire building. As a result, you will be woken up by the fire alarm an average of four nights every week (last night the alarm went off twice between 3 and 4 am). In addition, the corridors and public spaces are filthy; the underfloor heating is set so low that the bedrooms are always feel freezing; there is rampant drug abuse and anti-social behaviour throughout the building; and the building managers are the worst that I have ever seen (with the exception of one manager called Mo). This is probably the very worst run student accommodation anywhere in London – DO NOT STAY HERE!!!

I moved into City, iQ by Farringdon and have only been disappointed since. Firstly, the heaters do not work! The rooms are at 17C default and even when you raise them to the max which is 30C, the staff told me it really only goes up until 20C (which I am yet to see). So they really expect me and other residents to freeze this winter. The window is not properly insulated and I can feel a draft on my face while in bed! So not only does the room not have proper insulation, the heating does not actually heat. Secondly, the fire alarms ring at least once a day and once a week you will experience a fire alarm for 10 minutes non-stop. Mostly its students burning toast, or smoking or pressing on the alarm button. But worstly, is the lack of competence the staff has to sort it immediately. We had to call the firefighters to figure it out. I'm sure this will cause me permanent ear damage. The fire alarms in use detect little smoke such as water vapour and non actual cooking. This means it happens way often than it should. So people stop taking it seriously. Which is clearly dangerous for when a real fire alarm sounds. Obviously they can't expect us to leave the rooms every time it sounds. Especially because none of the elevators work! It's honestly a waste of money. I suggest finding a private place with a letting agent because these student accommodations just take advantage of how naive they think students are. It's unfair and you should definitely not stay here.

I recently moved into iq Hoxton however I found the room really disappointing. Firstly the toilet bowel was scratched (for the money we pay, it is disappointing that they couldn’t repair it or do something) . I complained to two members of staff about it, they just maintained that it was clean yet I paid for better facilities. Additionally there were some dirty marks when I had just moved in (expected atleast a clean room when I move in).

IQ PROPERTIES ILLEGALLY AND CARELESSLY EVICTED MY SON AND DESTROYED ALL HIS BELONGINGS I would like to preface this review by stating that under NO circumstances should you consider signing a tenancy agreement with IQ properties in Brighton. After making the decision to study Art and Design at Brighton MET college, my son was a resident at IQ’s Abacus House during the 2023-2024 cycle. As much as I wish that I could say our experience with the company was positive, I believe that it would be a grievous disservice to prospective students and residents of Brighton. Whilst some individual members of staff themselves were both kind and lovely, our experience with the company has been consistently abysmal across the entire year – facilities such as the washing machines were far too often out of order and the premises was littered with unfinished building works. Whilst this was annoying, the most pressing and frankly criminal breach of contract and conduct undertaken by the administration and staff of Abacus House occurred towards the end of his tenancy. WHILST STILL CONTRACTUALLY A TENANT OF ABACUS HOSUE, my son arrived to his home in the early hours of the morning with his partner, to find all of his belongings cleared out, save a photograph. That includes ALL of his clothes, his artwork, the guitar he received for his 18th birthday, personal affects, and various necessary items that we are still remembering. I would like to repeat, MY SON WAS ILLEGALLY EVICTED BY IQ PROPERTIES BEFORE THE END OF HIS TENANCY, leaving him and his partner alone and vulnerable in Brighton overnight, in extreme emotional distress, with no place to stay. Not only this, but when we attempted to go through the appropriate channels of complaint provided by IQ, we were met with disinterest and a shocking lack of concern. After filing a complaint report, we were told the manager would contact us within ten days. For this entire period, we were left with no information as to the whereabouts of any of my son’s belongings. On the eleventh day since this awful incident, I phoned the company and was at last connected to the manager who was not even aware of the report. After a minute investigation, it was revealed that DUE TO A CLERICAL ERROR, the staff believed that my son had checked out when he had not – still being in possession of his room key and with the full intent to remain there until the end of his tenancy. Illegally, and due to their own total ineptitude, we finally had confirmation that they had entered his room and disposed of all his belongings. Furthermore, in order to be provided with any compensation the manager of the branch had the audacity to request receipts for all of his items – a request that is completely ridiculous. We have therefore been forced to seek legal assistance in order to gain any compensation for this tragic event. We are still immersed in this frankly distressing process, which is the crowning offence in an entire year of overpriced negligence, ineptitude, and now criminal behaviour. I would think very strongly before paying over £13,000 to sign with this company. Update further to this post and additional advice to prospective tenants. Despite trying to settle with IQ who have written to us saying that settlement “payment will be made immediately”, they have not yet done so and have gone silent and are not responding to direct emails. Apparently, they do monitor social media though, so we are hopeful that they will see this message and will respond to enable this matter to be settled without further legal escalation. It is not clear exactly what “the team are working hard to resolve this matter and reimburse you” means. I promise to update this post once this has finally been resolved – hopefully “immediately” = immediately. adv. 1) at once. 2) in orders of the court or in contracts it means "as soon as can be done" without excuse. Another update to this review. I can confirm that the money has now been received by my son. Our business with this company has now finally come to an end!

This is on behalf of my son So I wouldn’t stay here again if you paid me absolutely infested with silverfish bugs gets worse as the year goes on and you can’t get rid of them all over my stuff in my clothes. Also the staff enter my room as and when they feel the need don’t stick to the policy and have even entered whilst not been there and not locked my door when I was home avoid at all costs.

This Uni accomodation was honestly so awful that it not only ruined my whole uni experience, but got so bad I even had to drop out of my university (City Uni of London). I was 18 and coming to London from York, so I wanted a nice place to stay for my first year. I persuaded my parents to let me stay here, and was so happy when it was confirmed. I'm writing this 3 years after dropping out, so not this isn't an emotional review - I just want to try and save anyone here currently considering this as an option. 1) The building was so hot, it made me physically ill somedays, forcing me to take constant breaks every 30 mins to have a cold shower. I wish I could say I was exaggerating but I'm not. I was on the 10th floor and it was boiling. No aircon in the rooms or anything like that. The window had a safety latch that only allowed you to open it an inch, so it essentially did nothing. It was such a small gap, I couldn't even fit an aircon tube out of it, which I paid £360+ for as it got so unbearable. Reception did nothing, and I was forced to return the aircon back to argos and deal with the heat. 2) The fire alarm would go off CONSTANTLY. I'm not kidding when I say that it would go off at least 4 - 5 times a week, often after 11pm. Usually it lasts 5 mins and I would sit in my bed with a pillow over my ears as it was so loud. One time, it started at 12:45am at night, and they didn't turn it off for a whole 3 hours! I had an exam the next day that I completely failed as I was so tired from the night before. Honestly disgraceful. 3) None of the facilities you see are real. They have such nice pool tables and gaming consoles in the sky lounge, which was such a good idea. What they don't tell you is that the playstations have no internet access, and have no games whatsoever, so essentially useless unless you bring your own games - but even then you can't play online. The pool tables would constantly be "Off Limits" and you weren't allowed to play. You would have to exchange your ID at the desk to get the pool ques and balls, but even then I got told that it's off limits due to people smashing them. 4) The laundry situation was terrible, not much to say apart from charging insane prices. £10 for a basic wash. Simply taking advantage. Most of my "Friends" in the building were having to take it across the street about a 5 min walk to a laundrette who did it all cheaper! 5) Everyone was so anti-social it was honestly miserable. Now this is the only point on this list that isn't the accommodations fault - but it was a huge problem. 99% of people in the building I just never saw. I remember thinking that the building was empty as it took 2 weeks before I even saw anyone on my entire floor! Made me feel so miserable and lonely. Don't get me wrong, the sky lounge was always full of people, but they would always be friends of people in the building, and would only hang out in their own groups. Ontop of this, most were really disrespectful and they would smash TV's - Break the Pool equipment and one time I even got told to "F*** off" by someone trying to throw their own party on the top floor and not letting anyone use it apart from their small group. 5) Last part, the security guard was terrible. Was he a nice person? Sure. But I can safely say that 9 times out of 10, he would be fast asleep and I would awkwardly have to wake him up on the occasion that I needed to ask them something. Overall just terrible. Ruined my experience so badly I didn't even make it past 3 months before dropping out. Shameful company.

My daughter paid £4000 upfront in fees and then left her uni course after 3 weeks - having been placed in this accommodation and told to move in/pay from 1st August 2023 (which I queried) she was placed with 2 ladies who did not speak English and therefore she was isolated in her room. She was allocated to the 3rd floor with no lift available and then the cooker did not work so had to eat shop bought butties, her mental health declined and she ended up leaving university due to depression and isolation. We were told to find another tenant to takeover her tenancy - we emailed them details of multiple prospective tenants that they did not contact in a timely manner and therefore we lost the tenants. After many emails to IQ they agreed to relist the Silver en-suite room on their website. In February - 4 months after she left! No other contact has been had since February 2024 until now - an email from their solicitor requesting a further £4100 as they’ve now got a tenant to takeover the lease - after 6 months of it being advertised! I find this hard to reconcile. No contact to inform my daughter that the room was still empty and to continue sourcing a tenant ourselves. From the email received - it was (wrongly) presumed that they would release her from the tenancy once a tenant was found. For me, we signed a contract - fair enough, but when the young students circumstances change within a short space of time and they have the means to re-lease a room, when they’ve had £4000 for an empty room - the injustice of being blindsided has me reeling. Had I known that the room was empty, I’d have been on the streets of Manchester myself trying to find a new tenant. To second another reviewer - the room was filthy on entering with a cooker she couldn’t use. The customer service is awful and I would not recommend this overpriced accommodation to anyone. My recommendation - always do your research and read the reviews before signing anything with this group!

Cette société est A FUIR! Notre fils, étudiant à Londres, avait souscrit un contrat d'une année pour la location d'un studio à Londres, au prix de 1200 livres par mois. Le studio était très mal isolé : il faisait très froid car le chauffage ne fonctionnait pas, la douche était soit brûlante, soit glaciale. Malgré les signalements de ces dysfonctionnements, la société a pris son temps pour faire intervenir un technicien, incapable de résoudre les problèmes ! Le studio était devenu une chambre froide!! Au lieu d'étudier dans son studio, notre fils restait à la bibliothèque universitaire chauffée! Et les problèmes ont continué : notre fils est tombé malade. Nous avons dû le rapatrier en France. Malgré un certificat médical et une lettre de son université précisant qu'il arrêtait temporairement ses études pour des raisons de santé, cette société nous a obligé à continuer à payer les 6 mois de loyer restant, soit l'équivalent de 9000 euros ! En dépit des preuves apportées, ils ont refusé toute discussion ou négociation. Ce sont des pratiques malhonnêtes. Nous étions tentés de dénoncer ces pratiques auprès d'un tribunal anglais, main ne vivant pas sur place, nous avons voulu en finir avec cette société que nous deconseillons très fermement. Ce sont des pratiques de vautours, à l'affût d'argent, et qui ne se soucient nullement du bien être des étudiants. Cette société ne mérite pas l'argent d'honnetes citoyens. Il ya une étoile, mais en fait, elle en mérite aucune. UN BON CONSEIL : FUYEZ LA!!

My son had booked to stay in iq Manchester but then had an offer from another university. Be aware that however you read the Ts&Cs, they will keep the deposit of £200 unless you inform them of cancellation within 7 days. Even if they were informed 6 weeks before you are due to attend. (I agree that a reasonable admin fee to cover costs is reasonable but the whole £200 seems unreasonable and there is no method of appeal) Also if you don't inform them early enough I would firmly expect them to try to get you to pay for the whole year! A terrible company. Accommodation in Manchester is a problem but avoid this company if you can.

The location of this property is convenient, but sadly, that’s where the positives end. When I moved in, the apartment was filthy, with dust and spider webs everywhere. I counted at least 10 spiders that day, with a variety of sizes. I had to clean that nasty place, as I had no other option. I saw someone say that they asked for cleaning, but they never came, Also, there is a weird smell in the building since I moved in. New tenants should be prepared to do a thorough, deep cleaning right away. The building’s amenities are very disappointing. The elevator rarely works, which is a major hassle if you need to move heavy items. The heating and hot water are also unreliable, the boiler was broken since I moved in, so expect to live without hot water and proper heating. I don't even know how I survived the winter, it was so cold that I had to wear layers to keep myself warm. It was freezing. The maintenance staff are incompetent, they kept using the "fixing the boiler" excuse (that was never fixed until the end of the lease) so they could enter my room even without permission or prior notice so they could freely steal any valuable belongings. They make their living out of that. My phone and earphones were stolen in different entries, Even after I told the building management, they did nothing about it, just kept stalling, claiming they would investigate the issue, but they kept with the unauthorized entries by the same staff until I got another thing stolen. They never stop, and I don't think I'm the only one either. I received no remedies for these losses. The frequent unauthorized entries by maintenance staff, coupled with thefts, pose a serious safety concern. Living in constant fear of someone entering your room without notice is incredibly unsettling and violates the basic right to privacy and security. I was so concerned about my safety that I eventually bought a door lock that I could secure from the inside, just to feel a bit safer in my own space. However, this did little to alleviate the anxiety of living in such an insecure environment. It's unacceptable to have to go to these lengths just to feel somewhat safe in your own home. frequent disruptions from refurbishments, checks, and inspections, happening at least two times a month. These constant disturbances only added to the stress of living here The ongoing stress from dealing with these issues not only affected my mental health but also had a significant impact on my academic performance. The constant disruptions and lack of a stable living environment made it difficult to focus on my studies, leading to missed classes and lower grades. This is something no student should have to endure. The most frustrating part was the complete lack of accountability from the building management. Despite multiple reports of theft and unauthorized entries, nothing was done to address these issues. Their dismissive attitude and failure to take action shows a disregard for tenant well-being. I asked to terminate my tenancy due to these issues, but they insisted I find a replacement tenant. I argued that the contract breaches were on their part, giving me the right to leave without finding a replacement. They allowed me to end my tenancy, but now they are refusing to refund the remaining 10 weeks of rent due to a lack of evidence that they stole my belongings. I filed a report with the police. They were unable to find the CCTV footage from the day of the incident. They mentioned they could search the suspect’s house, but it would take time. I expressed my concern that the items had likely already been sold. I suggested they check his bank account for suspicious activity, but they noted that if he had sold the items for cash, it would be almost impossible to trace. Unfortunately, this scenario seemed all too likely. if you value your safety, sanity, and money, avoid this property at all costs. Do not book with them. They also delete negative comments on Google. So don’t trust that rating.

I would not recommend this accommodation. I made the mistake of not reading the reviews beforehand. The alarms were constantly an issue and the general upkeep of the courtyard and corridors were appalling. Problems with the room were never sorted out and security and general commutation were very poor.

Absolute legends at reception very helpful and cheap for money

The studios are spacious but the building is old and not greatly maintained. Although tenants change, I will say I had an awful experience with people not respecting shared spaces. Damaging property, spitting on indoor floors and poor hygiene, resulting in fruit flies all over the building. Also way too expensive for what you get, the building doesn’t even have a courtyard or a gym and it is significantly more than accommodations that do. They also charge more for their laundry in this building than any other accommodation I’ve been told about.

Terrible stay. - cold water for 2 months (December and January !!!) - washing machines and dryers DIRTY and working once a month - lifts ALWAYS broken - the rooms are bad quality and everything breaks after being used much - the first time you enter the room PLEASE CHECK EVERYWHERE for dirt, especially under the bed.. months and months of dirt under my bed. no way I couldn't breathe. - no air conditioning in the rooms, and they don't find a way to help you, I think that if you pay 450£ a week you could at least do something not to boil in the rooms from June to October. - useless help at the reception (we love you Laura) but useless when in need of something that is broken - fire alarm going off every day please do not go there

Hate it here - would give 0 stars if I could. Almost all of the positive reviews posted since September are likely fake, as most of us here seem to share the same sentiment. I would literally rather sh!t in my hands and clap than stay here again next year. That’s not a slight against operations management (we love Shelley!), because it’s quite obvious the company itself is a mess. Aside from the COMPLETE lack of airflow in the blocks, and the constant neglect of maintenance issues both in the hallways and in almost every room, Sterling Court’s biggest problem is the lack of communication between residents and staff regarding important matters. A few weeks ago, an individual was found deceased, (presumably in their room), and we were told to stay in pur rooms as the body was wheeled out. At no point did it occur to the IQ staff to inform students of their passing, or soothe anxious residents, and had we not looked out of our windows, we wouldn’t have known a thing. Another issue in this building is that there are barely any cameras and essentially no proper security measures. We’ve had repeated instances of things like residents being sexually harassed/assaulted by the same individual, people’s door handles being jiggled at night, and people being followed to their rooms at odd hours. Once, at 7am, a member of the maintenance team attempted to open my door whilst I was using the toilet (the handle has been broken since September but they’re “going to fix it soon”), and when I reported it he said I was lying. A more extreme example would be the fact that a rape was reported around a month ago, and although the resident was evicted, residents were not informed or asked for information, nor did they think to search for other victims. Nothing was actually done for the victim’s wellbeing, after the fact, and were it not for the victim herself and her friends telling people, no one would know. A less IQ is not a nice or safe place to live, and I would advise you to NEVER stay here unless absolutely necessary.

This student accommodation is a melting pot of cultures, welcoming everyone with open arms. It's perfectly located, just a 10-minute walk from NTU, offering a scenic route filled with interesting sights. You'll find all your grocery needs met with nearby stores like Lidl, Tesco, and Murat's International store. Plus, there are plenty of cozy coffee shops nearby for relaxed days. What truly stands out here is the wonderful staff. They're incredibly kind and caring, making you feel right at home from day one. In summary, this place is more than just a place to stay—it's a friendly and convenient hub where you'll feel like part of a family.

I wish I've read all the reviews here before paying a reservation fee. But anyway, I just lost £275 reservation fee from Flinders house for academic year 24/25. I wanted a refund coz we found somewhere more affordable. They told me I could not get my money back coz it has been more than a week. Well I've been trying for weeks!! They told me to log in the portal to cancel my booking but there was'nt any option there, then I have been ask to email them, but the email was invalid, and the man I've spoken to was dismissive. There was no means of communication with management or service at all. So in the end, I emailed complaints department, they replied and told me they'll sort it out, but they didn't !!!! I'm Just happy that we found somewhere else. To think, this is the kind of service that we'll be getting if we push through with it, and my daughter haven't even move in yet🙄🙄