15th Apr 2024 (6 mo. ago)
Disappointing. To start with, communication seems to be an issue. No problems with the initial rental in 2021, all went smoothly except we weren't informed when the property was ready for us so we wasted several hours waiting to be told. Never told us how to set the house alarm or how to top up the gas/electric. Simple information we should have been provided with.
Our stay at the property was generally ok though the description of "Finished to an excellent and high standard throughout" is a work of fiction ha ha - the place hadn't seen a paintbrush for a long time. The stair bannisters were FILTHY.
We had an issue with large damp patches on the walls in the back bedroom. These were reported and (after several calls/emails) eventually someone came to check it out but we never heard anything back so it was never rectified.
The toiler drains kept blocking which we reported but was never resolved, we just had to get adept at unblocking them ourselves.
We asked if we could look after a cat we had been offered to us in the property. Again despite numerous contacts over a couple of months we never got a response and the cat went to another home.
Fair play to the maintenance guy who called around a few times, he did his best but he always seemed to be asking if we'd heard about this and that from the landlord/agent, which he hadn't.
Despite all this, we were happy in the property and I spent quite a bit of time and money painting the back yard walls, laying artificial turf and making the outside a really nice area at the back of the house to sit out in during the summer months.
We decided to leave this artificial turf in place when we left as a goodwill measure, it really made the back yard a much more habitable area than the old crumbling concrete underneath.
When we came to leave the property we spent a lot of time cleaning the house, (inside and out) and it was in a much better state than it was when we moved in. In my presence a representative from Howell & Co inspected the property and, apart from a couple of minor things (washing machine needed a tray cleaning and a drawer emptying) we were assured everything was good.
We asked for our deposit back a few weeks after we moved out and Howell & Co decided that there was £200 of work needed doing. For what?? Apparently several cupboards needed cleaning, so did the oven (we only used it a few times just after we moved in because it was in a poor state, despite us trying to clean it) and apparently the backyard needed a deep clean because it was covered in cat excrement!!! A local cat or cats did occasionally soil the grass when we were there but it was perfectly clean when we left - I know it was because I had spent time cleaning and brushing the entire yard. We were being charged for visits by cats AFTER we left. I complained and Howell & Co reduced their bill to £120 but they were charging us for things that didn't exist, had been ok'd by their own representative or NOTHING TO DO WITH US.
From reading previous posts and talking to other tenants it seems Howell & Co have form for not returning full deposits.
I appreciate this is long review (and has been written at different points over a couple of months) but its and honest and truthful account of our experience with Howell & Co. Sorry, but I cannot recommend them based on this.... Read more