Tag: mould

CPS

I don’t need CPS, I need CPR after this experience

CPS scammed me and my friends, it was our first time living outside of uni halls and they used that to their advantage.

As soon as we moved in there was a leaky gutter and I reported it several times over the following months. Water began leaking through my window and created mould all over the walls, which grew on my bedding and all my belongings. I had to stay with a friend as I have bad lungs and the room was deemed a health hazard by an independent mould inspector that my parents paid to get done as CPS continued to ignore the issue. Photos attached.

  • cps homes cardiff wales uk mould mold rotten landlord land lord student student housing rent deposit illegal CPS tenant rent renters
  • cps homes cardiff wales uk mould mold rotten landlord land lord student student housing rent deposit illegal CPS tenant rent renters
  • cps homes cardiff wales uk mould mold rotten landlord land lord student student housing rent deposit illegal CPS tenant rent renters

Finally, after 5-6 months they decided to repair the gutter and fix the mould (that was my fault for not alerting them soon enough?!) The work was supposed to take no more than a couple of days, but it turned into a couple of weeks and then a month for the room to be habitable again. In this time I had to remove all my belongings from the room, my bed frame was taken apart and the mattress up against the wall as they moved a CEMENT MIXER in and had several workmen in the room daily. There was absolutely no way I could function or sleep in a room without a bed or privacy, and so I continued to stay at my friends house. They offered me no compensation for this time, they did not provide me with alternative accommodation and they harassed me constantly to pay rent (the only reason they started the work was because I stopped paying rent until they fixed the room). It was a recurring issue with previous tenants, one of the workmen told me that years of mould had been covered up with paint year after year.

  • cps homes cardiff wales uk mould mold rotten landlord land lord student student housing rent deposit illegal CPS tenant rent renters
  • cps homes cardiff wales uk mould mold rotten landlord land lord student student housing rent deposit illegal CPS tenant rent renters

But CPS still pointed the finger at me and caused me incredible stress during my studies, I had to seek mental health support and I was physically unwell too from the damp/mould. Eventually, the room was fixed but the relationship with my flatmates was gone and I had been bullied by CPS to pay rent for a room that I couldn’t live in for months. I had been homeless for a couple of months at this point. I found someone else to fill the room and had to pay additional contract change fees (£150 to cross out my name and add a different one! Scam!) [As of September 2019 this is illegal!]

They gave me my full deposit back. Not sure how much was taken from the remaining housemates / my replacement but I was just so glad to be rid of them. I ended up paying CPS over a grand for the time I was effectively homeless including contract changing fees. It really ruined my second year of University and I would really ask anyone thinking of signing with them to reconsider. The house will turn to shit in weeks of moving in. They don’t fix anything. There weren’t even beds/mattresses for the first week of renting the property at FULL RENT. It was so dirty on the first day we moved in. They’re rude and aggressive and called me a liar despite all the photos that proved I wasn’t making up there was a damp problem (even more sinister when you consider how many times they painted up that same mouldy bedroom). They manipulate their reviews by sponsoring sports teams and getting team players to give false 5* reviews posing as tenants to muddy the clearly very negative reviews from honest tenants. Avoid CPS at all costs.

Rent: 275

Deposit returned?: Yes

Cardiff Student Letting

Wonder if they put black mould and slugs on the inventory…

Rented a house with Cardiff Student Lettings in 2nd year and 3rd year – we couldn’t be bothered moving. Overall we were pretty happy with the agency. They responded to all our issues within a few days, apart from a broken blind which just stayed broken but we lived with that. They always gave us plenty of notice before viewings

(Something I really miss now being with CPS who gave a 10-minute warning on a Saturday at 10 am!- but that’s another story.)

The house itself wasn’t the best and I was constantly ill due to cracks in the walls and black mould. We had an incessant slug problem which when I completely lost it one morning over, they came and put some polyfiller down which helped a bit… They fixed everything very cheaply if they could do it themselves they would, so a lot of stuff was very haphazard. It was quite a cheap house (£285 pcm and then 300 ) for a 4 bedroom so overall we thought it was decent. We got all of our deposit back minus £50 in total but that’s ok because we did cause a bit of accidental damage.


Overall would recommend as the team were always friendly and helpful.

[Unfortunately, this reviewer doesn’t know the name of their landlord. Whoever they are should be ashamed, as mould can have serious health effects and landlords should never let this happen.]

Rent: £300

Deposit Returned?: Partially

CPS

It’s habitable! So habitable that we’re taking it off the market, so no one new can rent it!

Where do I begin?

Firstly, we were promised that the bathroom would be redone but didn’t get this put in the contract meaning that we couldn’t force them to do it despite the promise.

Once moved into the property there were several issues such as severe mould and damp, a broken gate onto the street, a broken window that faced onto the street downstairs and if a burglar saw it could easily break in, cupboards unclean, broken dishwasher, cupboard under the sink disgustingly mouldy and damp, carpet torn, stuff left from painters and a barely functioning front door. There were also damp issues across the entire house.

So what did cps do?

After emailing and calling at least once a week and going in, the window and front door were fixed… in January (only 5 months after we moved in…). Why did they fix it? Because we called the council and had them come round and they threatened to take away the HMO license. Only reason CPS/the landlord did anything about that.

I will give credit that our dishwasher was fixed within a month which for CPS is pretty decent.

With regards to the mouldy and damp kitchen – the landlords excuse was that he was redoing that following summer. That is a bullshit excuse for the condition.

So we had gotten the council round and they sent a report to CPS/landlord. And so they organised to do works which we were told would be minimal and not disruptive, and would also only take a couple of days.

They started the works about 6 weeks ago… it’s still going on. They tore off the outside render, made holes in our house, completely tore up our back garden and filled it with builders crap. Our neighbours actually had to complain because the builders knocked bricks down their fireplace. Due to the holes in the property, we got rats and had to have pest control. This is all happening during lockdown.

CPS have been unhelpful in communication and take about a week to reply. We have asked for compensation especially as one of us is still living in the property during lockdown and having to live in this shithole. CPS simply stated that the property was habitable because there was someone living there – this is not the definition of a property being habitable. We are worried we won’t get our deposit back because of the damage that the damp had done. The builders have stated that they would never have called the work they are doing minimal and that the damp was diabolical. Which considering half my house has asthma and other lung issues, is extremely dangerous.

The property was actually taken off the market after one of their employees came round for a mid tenancy inspection because of the actual house itself. If you have to take a house off the market, surely there is a bigger issue here?

We pay £330 for the house, if I were to price it, I wouldn’t pay more than £280 and during the works, the rent should have been halved. Because of the works we have no garden during lockdown and can’t even open a window in the hot weather because of the dust.

I know CPS is a hit and a miss. But whatever you do, DO NOT GET A PROPERTY THAT IS MANAGED BY CPS AND NOT THE LANDLORD!!!

Rent: £330

Deposit Returned?: Still living at the hole in question