The Letting Group

Landlords stay away! It's been several years since I had my property managed by TLG. To be honest I had such a difficult time with them I wanted to forget they ever existed, but I do think it's important to let other potential landlords aware of what a hindrance they were to me (someone who paid for their services) over the 2.5 years they "managed" my property.

When first dealing with TLG I was in correspondence with Chris quite a bit whilst getting my property ready for my first ever tenant. On one voicemail he left me he didn't hang up property and I heard him talking in a rude manner about myself to a colleague. I signed an agreement where TLG would do quarterly inspections of my property. When I questioned why it had been 6 months since the last inspection, I was told they are supposed to be done every 4 months (which is wrong - they're supposed to be done every 3 months) but they often can't fulfil that requirement.

When I asked for some money back as I was paying for a service I wasn't getting, they said no. When an issue with my kitchen floor was flagged up during an inspection (holes in the ceramic tiles), I was told the floor was in this condition when the tenant moved in. I disagreed and proved it wasn't in that condition by providing my own images. TLG would not accept this by saying on their move-in inspection there were CRACKS in the floor (not holes).

I accepted there were cracks in a couple of places however I told them these had been repaired and that the issue in the floor were holes, not cracks. A contractor even said the holes had been caused by something heavy being dropped on the floor. The original cracks weren't flagged up in the inspection, but new holes. I had a really difficult time proving my case to TLG when I knew the tenant had caused the holes.

I pushed to claim against the tenants deposit when she moved out, to which they reluctantly agreed but made a point to tell me it wouldn't be accepted. It was, and I managed to get money from the tenants deposit. A load of hassle for no reason, after continually telling me "unfortunately we have to disagree with you" despite giving them all the proof.

There was also another disagreement between us when I noticed after moving out the tenant had painted all the doors with matte wall paint (which felt like a chalk board, yuk), when they had previously been glossed. TLG would not accept this even when I showed proof with my own images showing the gloss shine. Again, they were reluctant to put the claim through but again I got money back from the deposit. Hassle again for no reason!

There were various other inconveniences/annoyances throughout the 2.5 years I dealt with TLG (quoting wrong amount for repairs, meaning I had to fork out more that expecting; telling me to remove pests when contract says it's tenants responsibility, charging me for changing my locks without telling me when they were stiff, when a bit of WD40 would have sufficed; allowing tenant to pay every 4 weeks instead of monthly without telling me meaning I had to fork out a load of money in overpayments at the end of the tenancy, something I would have prepared for had I known; told me to repair items that the tenant had broken; using contractors which failed to realise a fault causing me to pay for further unnecessary repairs).

I also came across a couple of Facebook posts the tenant had posted in a group I'm also in. One saying her "landlord was supposed to be collecting" a fridge freezer as wasn't needed by the tenant. I was never asked to collect a fridge so I don't understand why TLG would tell my tenant this. The other saying her "landlord was refusing to help get rid of ants".

I have never been told there was and issue with ants (the pests issue raised earlier was a report of "squeaks being heard"). This worries me that TLG were perceiving me as a bad landlord - God knows what else they told my tenant about me that I don't know of.! Awful Letting agents - absolutely not worth the hassle and extra time, money and effort. Utter waste of time.

*AVOID IF YOU WISH TO KEEP YOUR SANITY!* Where do I start? These are by far the WORST letting agents I have ever had the displeasure of dealing with! Myself and another tenant relocated from the Midlands, so we viewed(in good faith) the property via online viewing. Everything seemed fine and we were not informed of any issues with the property. Several emails were sent before moving in and it was agreed that items left by previous tenant would be removed.

So after traveling 200 miles to our new property, we were met with the following issues: The property was FILTHY! No inventory given. They claimed the property had been cleaned. It most certainly had not. The yard was full of waste. A bin was missing. There was rotting remains in the fridge (which was supposed to be removed before we moved in but was not) the smell was incredibly bad!

Old dirty clothes left in washing machine (again was supposed to be removed before we moved, but was not) Hand marks and crayon scribbled on walls. Stains on carpets. Exterior doors heavily soiled. The central heating was not working. So called the office and got an out of hours number for a guy to come out (it was February and very cold) who informed us that two radiators needed replacing and one radiator had a leak, which had been going on for a ling time.

The leak had damaged all of the surrounding flooring and carpet, and was obviously affecting the effiency of the central heating. Calling the office to the next day to discuss this and was met with a very rude agent who accused me of lying, saying that the reported issues were not true and that we were responsible for paying the call out fee! Of course, very angry, I explained that there was no way this was right and eventually, they claimed the landlord agreed to pay for this. Engineers did come a few weeks later to replace radiators and try and repair the leak, which proves that what I reported to them was indeed true.

We were left with a soaking wet carpet and the smell of damp, which never fully left the property. No further decorating was done to resolve this and later the boiler was replaced, but the heating never worked properly due to there still being a leak. No ventilation in the bathroom - no extractor fan and window glued shut. Damp and black mould in bathroom, kitchen and living room. Plaster falling off the walls due to damp.

Serious rodent infestation - rotten flooring in kitchen/bathroom extension where rats were gaining entry and raiding our food cupboards. The floorboards all rotten and collapsing, as well as all kitchen fittings. Terrible half done decoration - half painted doors and very bad, messy paintwork throughout the property. Doors hanging off the hinges. They tried to raise the rent by 100 pcm even with the property in this condition, and they tried to do it based on a clause that was missing from the tenancy agreement.

We were in the property 12 months, and although several builders and engineers came and went, none of the issues were ever fully addressed. After 12 months of absolute hell, we left the property and have now luckily found a cheaper, much nicer property with a far better landlord! TLG also tried to keep all of our deposit by blaming us for issues that were there when we moved in.

After submitting a formal complaint and threatening court action, they finally released our deposit back to us, as they said was a "goodwill gesture". No, we were entitled to our deposit back. Good will has no part of this situation. Any communication with TLG can only be explained as being "gaslighted". They NEVER accept any responsibility for anything.

The fact that they are allowed to trade as a business is unbelievable! Also, the photos they use to advertise properties are out of date and are not a true representation of the property. Please do not be fooled by these! I hope this review helps others to not go through any of this! Please see attached photos of the property in question. 10 Byron Street:

The three ladies at the South Shields office are very kind and helpful! They assisted me in getting the property I wanted, fixed up everything I asked and have been swift to respond to my concerns and questions. It's really feels like they are signing a good balance between serving the tenants and landlords. Moreover they placed the right urgency upon the different pieces of written that needed to get done! Recommend working with them!

We were very excited to rent a property that seemed very well, with all the things we wanted. Apart from arriving 20 minutes late which is not my main complaint we entered the house. The first room was. okay, the furniture broken, dusty, with spiderwebs and hair so I ask if furniture can be thrown as its unusable, no, it needs to be kept as its the landlord's but they may agree to get it replaced for new ones.

We continue the viewing. Keep finding broken stuff everywhere we look. Floor is full of dust hair and dead insects. I asked if the property will be cleaned before the letting, they reply that it has been professionally cleaned, I laugh, but we continue, they told us the only thing that they need to do is paint the bathroom and kitchen ceiling and use anti mould paint, that worries me a bit, but I guess a small spot is not much to worry about, however we go into the kitchen, the ceiling is completely black, the kitchen cabinets are green inside due to the mould getting inside them, the cupboard seems to have been painted in black due to the amount of mould, all cabinets and surfaces are sticky, greasy and with hairs, the cupboard is full of trash on the floor, the bathroom is mouldy dirty and the radiator seems to have been leaking since God's know when.

When we tell the agent that the house is too dirty too mouldy and in a really bad condition they smile and say 'it's not for everyone'. You should be very ashamed to rent a property that is a health and safety risk for your tenants. Citizens advice advises that giving a property on that state is illegal and I am gonna report it as its dreadful to imagine that someone like us who can't afford a huge rent may have to say yes to this dangerous property. We were devastated that there was no offer to fix these issues as we really loved the house size and location but this is just inhumane.

Today is the 8th of January 2022, yesterday I put the viewing for place in South Shields. I turned up at the property with 10 minutes to spare, nobody shows up. So I rang them, only to be told that the property I had came review you had already been let a couple of days before. Nobody recognise the mistake and nobody called me to tell mei to tell me this information. Not the best start for my first dealings with this company.

Excellent service. They are very polite and super professional. I highly recommend it to all my friends. Thank you Nicola and Demi.

I would certainly recommend The Letting Group to any landlords looking to find a tenant. Demi and Nicola great at there job and very friendly service

Excellent service! First time using a letting agency. Everything was smooth from start to finish. Thank you to Demi and Nicola for all their help and support. Would highly recommend.