18th Aug 2026 (30 days ago)
Unfortunately, my tenancy with Robinson Davies Property was an extremely burdensome experience, both financially and in terms of the time I had to spend dealing with issues.<br><br>As an international student coming to the UK, I ultimately felt that I was treated as an easy opportunity for additional charges. The property itself was of a good standard-as you would expect for a property costing approximately £8,000 per month-but the problems arose primarily from how the tenancy was managed, particularly towards the end.<br><br>Our contract ran from September to May. From around January, the property administrator began carrying out routine checks, often giving short notice and repeatedly contacting tenants to gain access (spamming). She also arranged two property viewings. After the first, we were instructed to prepare the property for the second viewing ourselves, 5 people cleaning down the whole place for a day to please the landlord. No «thank you» was received.<br><br>During the second viewing, two tenants were ill and had locked their bedroom doors while resting. Despite this, the viewing continued, and their rooms were knocked on several times and them entered and shown to strangers while they were sick in bed. I found this extremely uncomfortable and showed, in my view, very little respect for tenants’ privacy.<br><br>After January, we also received an email from the finance team requesting that we change the account to which we paid our rent. Rather than the UK account originally specified in the contract, we were asked to transfer the money to a UAE account under a name that we did not recognise from the tenancy agreement or previous correspondence (see screenshot). We asked for an explanation for the change but did not receive a satisfactory response. This understandably raised concerns for us.<br><br>The most difficult part came after the tenancy ended, when our deposit was due to be returned. We were presented with numerous deductions, including charges for what we considered fair wear and tear, stains that had already been present when we moved in, exterior window-related cleaning, and approximately £850 for cleaning!!!!. The property was cleaned for two days by the tenants, but this was not accepted. In total, the alleged damages and costs exceeded £3,000.<br><br>Fortunately, one of the tenants was studying law, and we challenged the deductions through the relevant deposit adjudication process. After months of correspondence, the dispute was ultimately decided in our favour. Of particular concern was the documentation submitted in support of the cleaning charge, which the adjudicator found was not sufficient to substantiate the claimed cost. (See Word template she sent us after requesting to see the invoice for cleaning attached).<br><br>I strongly dislike seeing temants placed in situations where they have to spend significant amounts of time and energy challenging questionable charges or practices. Tenants should be treated fairly, with respect for their privacy and in accordance with their agreements.<br><br>Based on my experience, I would strongly avoid Robinson Davies Properties and the property administrator involved. London is an incredible city, and students should be able to enjoy their time there without having to spend months disputing their landlord over their deposit.<br><br>Overall, an awful and unnecessarily stressful experience.... Read more