"don’t bother …"

The worse communication and I will be avoided them at all costs going forward. Absolutely, all over the place, no processes or anyone even remotely happy to help, they just want your money.

"AVOID NORTHWOOD ABERDEEN AT ALL COST!!!"

Our 18-month experience with Northwood Aberdeen was awful beyond words can describe. As new international students who arrived in the UK in January 2022, my spouse and I were desperate to find accommodation and settled for an old, poorly insulated apartment managed by Northwood. Initially, Northwood was responsive to our inquiries, which is why I gave them two stars, but the subsequent experiences were terrible.

Our troubles began when we discovered a crack in the kitchen window. After reporting it, Northwood concluded we caused the crack by installing an adhesive blind, demanding we pay over £200 for a new window. Despite our explanations and the contractor’s confirmation that the blind couldn't have caused the crack, Northwood remained adamant.

Things worsened when we sought to move to a larger Northwood property, a 2-bedroom bungalow nearby. The viewing was unprofessional; the agent was preoccupied and dismissive. Despite this, we applied, providing comprehensive documentation, including my husband's payslips and a reference from his manager. I also provided my upcoming employment details and a reference from my future manager.
Surprisingly, Northwood insisted we needed a guarantor, despite our clear financial capacity and rental history. Reluctantly, we provided one, but then they absurdly requested a landlord reference from themselves, delaying our application because our property manager was on leave. After repeated follow-ups, we were finally informed the apartment was rented to someone else, indicating Northwood’s apparent unwillingness to rent to us.

As we searched for other apartments, we faced more issues. We needed a landlord reference from Northwood for a new application with another agency. Northwood refused unless we gave a one-month notice to vacate, even though we were only in the application stage. This seemed like targeted discrimination against us as immigrants. Forced to comply, we eventually secured a new apartment elsewhere, without needing a guarantor.

Before leaving, we hired a cleaning company and documented the apartment’s condition, which had normal wear and tear. The only significant damage was a fire-grazed kitchen hob. Northwood had 31 business days to dispute our deposit but waited until the last moment to claim the entire £495 deposit and demanded an additional £200 for damages and cleaning. This unprofessional behavior was rightly timed by the property manager the night before his three-week leave commenced leaving us without anyone to clarify our doubts.

We provided evidence of the apartment’s condition and the mould issue, which Northwood had ignored, but they rejected all our proof. We took responsibility for the damaged hob and made a reasonable offer through Deposit Scotland. After months of silence and deadlines passing, Northwood eventually claimed the entire deposit, suggesting they were doing us a favour by not asking for more.

Our prolonged struggle with Northwood was exhausting and felt deeply discriminatory. This detailed account aims to warn potential renters. Northwood Aberdeen seems to prioritize landlords and lacks respect for tenants, responding to emails at odd hours and openly discriminating without accountability. Now, living in a new apartment managed by a different agent, the stark difference in treatment is clear.

"I called the Northwood branch in Nottingham"

After being hung up on the first time, the lady who answered the call the second time was rude from the start. She offered little to no help and sounded like she really did not want to be there, awful experience. I've never experienced this with an estate agent.
First time dealing with Northwood and I certainly won't be using them.

"100% not recommended this company"

100% not recommended this company to anyone , Portsmouth branch - ask for all the documents included bank details / payslip which they didn’t confirm to rent the place to me , already to send to them few time and still reply to me they didn’t get it. Just ask for the questions - if the landlord will put the deposit to TDS system , they turn down my application within 5 minutes . Wasting time ! Like many people that have left reviews, be aware of them for the deposit issues.

"Absolutely would NOT recommend to…"

Absolutely would NOT recommend to anyone. (Falkirk Branch)
Poor service. Impolite staff. Scraping the bottom of the barrel to take your deposit, after being forced to leave after only 7 month tenancy due to the poor condition of the property overall, from weeks without heating and cooker/ oven, to damp and mould issues causing illness to name only a few. You have to chase everything as promises to call you back don’t happen, they don’t want to deal with it and can’t get you off the phone quick enough when there’s issues. I could honestly go on and on about all the service failings throughout.
Felt forced to accept a ridiculous deposit reduction as I could not deal with the stress they had caused any longer throughout and after the tenancy.

Would NEVER trust to rent a property through them again personally.

"Fantastic service all around (Wigan branch)"

Very surprised at the reviews, however our experience with the Wigan branch was second to none!

We were buying our first house through Northwood and had Kayleigh as our estate agent. We initially were looking at a house from strike and had problems left right and centre. When we finally found the house with northwood, It was a breath of fresh air. Kayleigh made the whole process extremely clear, Kept us up to date with everything and was very responsive when we had any questions. from start to finsh was much quicker than expected, all thanks to the hard work Kayleigh and the team put in for us. Extremely greatful for their time and efforts, we even received a fantastic little hamper with lots of goodies to get us settled in our new home which was just the cherry on top. Fantastic service all around and could not have asked for more!

"Northwood Chester"

I won’t go into details about their failings as there are so many, however, just to give you an idea, it was things like not paying the “Guaranteed” rent during Covid, quoting us £3300 for a central heating repair and the plumber we sent round fixed it for £120, but the worst part is when we tried to change agents, as they resorted to blackmail and carried out a forced eviction of the tenants against our wishes and despite one of the tenants being treated for Cancer (of which the knew), let me explain more.
After taking the final decision to leave Northwood, we employed a new agent to take over the tenants (switch service), however, Northwood had a clause hidden in the contract so they can evict the tenants before handing the property back, which they again explained this would cost me lots of money to move away, hence I should stay with them. I explained this was exactly the reason that I could not stay with them and even if they offered their services for free, I would still leave as their code of conduct was despicable. I explained that the tenants had done nothing wrong to Northwood and they do not deserve to be punished, but they proceeded to evict the tenants out of spite.
I spoke to the tenants to warn them of what was happening and the single mother of 3 children explained it was terrible timing as she was currently undergoing chemotherapy for Cancer. I promptly got in touch with Northwood to explain this and that they could not evict them as it was so cruel, but they issued the eviction letter a few days later anyway. I tried to work out with the tenant that they could stay after the eviction notice, but Northwood had this boxed off in their contract also, hence the eviction was carried out.
I lost many nights of sleep worrying about the tenant’s eviction and I tried all sorts of options to allow them to stay, but nothing could combat the Northwood contract, even my solicitor explained the contract was extremely unfair as it did not have any reasonable get out clauses, hence there was nothing I could do.
So my advice is that you avoid falling into the Northwood trap, as it is literally a trap which will punish both the landlord and tenant should you realise they are not capable of fulfilling a letting service and choose to leave.
But more importantly, if a company has staff who are happy to evict a single mother of 3 who is unwell, just out of spite, then even if they were the best letting agent in the world, this totally cruel behaviour should never be rewarded.

"Worst company I have ever dealt with"

Worst company I have ever dealt with, for anything. Used them to sell my house, and had to constantly chase them. (Thorne Branch)

House chain fell through just before Christmas and I had to call them 2 weeks into the new year for an update, and they literally had zero clue what was happening.

Also told everything was sorted with mortgage for bottom of the chain, only to be waiting 5 days, so I asked my solicitor, and their solicitor was still waiting on mortgage. I questioned Northwood who knew about this and just didnt bother calling me to let me know.

"WORST Estate Agents EVER"

WORST Estate Agents EVER

They lie to paying tenants, living with leaks that weren't getting sorted at all. I rented from Northwood for just little over a year and i can honestly say they are the worst out their. Problems from the day I moved in, taking days for replies from Agents, months for repairs and work not being completed and lies within their emails they send. Putting six tenants in a house share at risk of water flooding out of the ceiling near light switches. WOULDN'T RECCOMEND ATT ALL!!

"Worst agents I have ever rented…"

Worst agents I have ever rented through, total scam artists, wouldn't touch them with my own barge pole, never mind d anyone else's, refuse to give information out through fear of being caught out as liers , don't touch them you will regret it.