1

Students and international tenants, please read this before renting through GLP.<br>I waited around a year and a half to write this because I wanted distance from what happened. After reviewing the emails, contract, inventories and photographs I kept, I feel even more strongly that I would never rent through GLP again.<br>I was a young international university student living alone in London, and dealing with my property manager, Victoria Hansell, became one of the most stressful and upsetting parts of an already extremely difficult year. I genuinely found the experience traumatic.<br>I repeatedly felt intimidated, overwhelmed and made to question myself. Huge financial demands and lengthy contracts/reports were presented with enormous confidence, yet when I examined the evidence myself, I repeatedly found reasons to challenge what I was being told. I genuinely felt my inexperience as a young international student was being used against me.<br>The clearest example was my break clause. GLP confirmed my tenancy would end 10 April 2025, and my rent was already paid through that date. Yet I was required to transfer another £15,210, covering 11 April–10 October — beginning the day after my tenancy ended.<br>I was frightened of the consequences of refusing, so I paid. Astonishingly, Victoria herself later wrote that in her opinion, since notice had been received, “good practice would be to void the payment due,” but said their solicitor advised otherwise to safeguard the landlord. The £15,210 was eventually refunded.<br>Checkout destroyed what little trust I had left. I was presented with around 20 alleged issues involving missing items, things supposedly added by me, cleaning, bulbs, repairs and more.<br>I challenged them point by point using GLP’s own check-in inventory and photographs. Some things they attributed to me were literally visible in their own timestamped photographs from before I moved in. A table and clothes airer they said were “added by tenant,” for example, were already photographed inside the flat at check-in.<br>The cleaning charge was equally upsetting. The apartment was dusty and dirty when I received it; I remember cleaning crumbs and accumulated dust from crevices while moving in. Yet after cleaning the property when leaving, GLP proposed another £200 + VAT cleaning charge.<br>I kept challenging the deductions and producing evidence over the span of many months.<br>The result? My entire deposit was returned. £0 deducted.<br>Around 20 alleged checkout issues and hundreds of pounds in proposed charges became zero deduction after I stood my ground and produced the evidence I had kept.<br>I cannot know anyone’s private intentions. What I can say is that my dealings with Victoria repeatedly left me feeling manipulated, intimidated and as though my lack of experience was being taken advantage of. I found her approach frequently dismissive and combative rather than helpful.<br>This genuinely affected me psychologically. I was already struggling that year at university and away from home. It took me a long time after leaving London before I even wanted to revisit these emails.<br>Students: photograph EVERYTHING when you move in. Keep every email. Know your rights. Challenge anything that looks wrong.<br>I am relieved I stood up for myself, but a young student should never feel they need to build a case file to protect themselves from their own managing agent.<br>I would never rent through GLP again. Based especially on my experience with Victoria Hansell, I strongly recommend students and international tenants look elsewhere. I sincerely wish someone had warned me.... Read more
12th Sep 2026 (4 days ago)