Northwood GB Reviews 309

wouldn't recommend honestly, they don't mind coming in and out of your place even though you're paying rent and pretty much useless after you get the place.
A lot of fake niceness where they're all nice with you in your face then they don't mind back stabbing you at the first chance they get.
STAY AWAY.

Absolute bunch a crooks. Invent reasons not to give your deposit back, keep rent that was overpayed. The 1st 10 years of my tenancy, I couldn't fault them, the last 5 years they were rude and unhelpful. Maybe they were taken over and got rid of all the good people. If you're thinking of renting from these cowboys, don't!

It is advisable to exercise caution when considering tenancy with Northwood Peterborough, as some tenants have reported extensive deductions for minor wear and tear issues. The company's practice of charging tenants for seemingly nominal damages, such as a £10 fee for a broken shower chain, has raised concerns regarding potential illegality and unfair financial practices. These practices may warrant review by the relevant authorities to ensure compliance with tenancy laws and regulations, particularly in matters concerning potential fraud and unjust deductions from tenants.

I’ve created an account just to write this review. I have been renting a Northwood property in Manchester for a little over 4 years now and they are absolutely appalling.
Their communication is basically non existent and they take (sometimes literally years) to fix maintenance issues. The only way to get them to sort things seems to be threatening them with escalation.
In the past, I’ve had to wait 2 months for a washing machine and when this was chased I was told that I would incur a fee because I, “didn’t wait”. When I put them straight they apologised and a washing machine magically appeared.
I also had a non working toilet for 2 weeks as they like to cheap out and send their contractor over instead of an actual plumber. This would be somewhat fine but they have 1 contractor across all of Manchester.
I am currently trying to get my oven fixed which has been broken for over 2 months. I’ve threatened to take them to court and that’s the only way they’ve sent the contractor over. I’ve sent a stream of over 15 emails and every time there’s always an excuse. They try to word things politely but actions speak louder than words. I get so stressed when things go wrong as I know I’ll be waiting for an eternity to get it sorted and I have to be all over them before they lift a finger.
I reported a leak 3 years ago and chased it formally in writing many times and they just don’t care.
There’s no out of hours service so if a disaster happens late at night I’m screwed.
My ex girlfriend rented a property in Edinburgh from these lot and she lost her deposit despite having the flat professionally cleaned before she left and she is not an untidy person. So I’m bricking it for when I leave, thankfully I’ve kept records of their breach of contract for maintenance issues. Absolutely will be avoiding this awful estate agency again in the future, even if I find a dream flat and it’s ran by them.

Used my local branch for a number of years now.
No issues at all.

Met with an incredibly rude and disengaged woman on the end of the line when I called enquiring about a property to rent.

In over twenty years of renting, Northwood is the worst estate agent I have ever encountered. Lots of staff that don't communicate with eachother or with us. Any issues we had would take ages to resolve. Staff were rude and unhelpful.

Nightmare company. Do not use.. Can’t trust them an inch. Incompetent, cheating, obstructive and zero customer service.

We were with them for many years as they acted as my letting’s agent. Then the Torquay office closed due to some fraud. So was “run” from Exeter. This is when the nightmare began.

This meant they stopped doing any house inspections, didn’t fix the smoke alarms or faulty mains for over 2 years after were told needed doing. Tried to charge 5-7 times normal cost for any repairs. Then when told we were changing companies, got nasty and openly made up claims, got obstructive, refused to help in any way.

We asked each year if rent should be increased. They always said no, would be too much. Then did so behind our back and did not pass on to landlord. This went on a few years until we got other quotes which were much more in tune, cost us a fortune. Similar to their sale estimate, was 40k adrift from reality.

Do not use guaranteed rent scheme - gave us £430 a month and rented our house for over £650.
Was with them 10 years and with life events we wanted it back and found urine from cats in our carpets, fleas and lack of respect that they had not been in property inspecting for 2 years stating tenant was poorly and can’t legally enter? We expected them to manage it. No defects had been reported and staircase was broken, the radiator had been broken with errors on boiler. Mostly there was a big mast from old tv hanging off the roof onto downstairs property we could have been liable for. Handover was awful they tried to tell us our property wouldn’t go for much quoting 80k when we sold it for 40k more. They wrote list of things we needed to sort never did at end of tenancy quoting out of scope on life of carpets or fittings etc. Cleaner was meant to be cleaning it out after 5 weeks no rent off them we demanded keys back - they didn’t pay for delay quoting more contract jargon. Very poor attitudes and would certainly not get a valuation from them. Do not trust them we dealt with the Newcastle branch. Also could never get the same person always someone just starting maybe they can’t keep their staff. Avoid them at all cost your house

Zero rate for this company! Northwood Sutton/Epsom. They took my deposit and made me pay for it to be placed a in deposit scheme. Now that I have moved they have refused to give me my deposit stating they don't have any rocord of it in any deposit scheme. Luckily I have my receipts but still they have refused to pay me my deposit back. They will be hearing from my Solicitor! Rude staff! Avoid them at all cost!!

If you want a company who will rob your deposit from young students this is the company to use. Rude staff absolutely clueless people who they hire. ( especially the Oxford branch ).

We rented a student house in Exeter, and they charged us for a missing key we were never given. Also, they do everything they can to keep your deposit.

They left me waiting for a long while after sending all required documents and offering to put forward the full year rent forward, past my move out day for my last property, then rejected my application.

NORTHWOOD rented out my property to a family that recked my property, it cost me nearly £10,000 to put the property back in a rentable condition.

Be very careful

Great service from Northwood Macclesfield branch and especially lettings manager Clare Stockell. Our situation was less than straightforward but Clare guided through the process as smoothly as possible. She was in regular communication with me as well as the landlord, Cheshire East council and other parties, providing updates and reassurance throughout. Would happily recommend Northwood to anyone in the property market

My experience from beginning to completing the renting of my property has been excellent.
Communication was great and everything was explained to me & my husband in detail.
After care service has been excellent always listening & giving us an option, which has left us & tenants feeling happy. Will definitely recommend this estate agents at all times who also achieve in getting a good rental for what your property is worth!

Terrible service from Northwood Newcastle - avoid at all costs if renting. Every single time I report an issue with the property it takes a ridiculously long time to have it addressed - never receive updates and the attitude of the staff often borders on rude when all I am looking for is a solution and not to be fobbed off again

Very friendly staff; however, customer service is very poor, do not respond to phone calls. In my opinion, they left the house filthy and unlivable, claiming it was wear and tear. The tenant had wrecked the place.
Left holes in walls
Cigarette butts in the radiators
The gas meter was pulled off the wall and broken
Screwed lock and bolt onto UPVC door
Window looks broken
Splashes of food on the ceiling
The kitchen door is filthy (black), as is the rest of the house
Northwood has not attempted to make any of these things right. However, they claim that they paid someone to paint the lounge. They have been robbed. It looks like I will be taking legal action.
I expected the Northwood Estate Agency to take action to ensure my property was returned in a livable condition, which they failed to do. I am extremely disappointed with their lack of responsibility and their unwillingness to take ownership of the situation.

Used Northwood at Benton Newcastle office . Very pleased I did. Excellent helpful staff with special mention of Claire who valued the property and managed the quick sale. No hesitation in an all round 5 star rating.

Robert T.

Northwood Derby
Took a year (and counting) to sell my property during a "property boom" - will not use again. Life has been on hold for a year as a result. Personal and professional life have both been affected. Fine on the rental side and no issues - advice is stick to rentals.