Hot Or Not - Cardiff Housing edition…
Cardiff! it’s the moment you’ve been waiting for, and no, it’s not the return of Joe Lycett, YOLO Wednesdays, or the Lidl bakery. It’s even better.
We’ve been going through the housing reviews you, the students of Cardiff, have sent in over the last year. And wow, you guys have been through some serious shit! 💩
These reviews have shown the good, the bad and the ratty Cardiff has to offer. 🐀 So, we thought we would share some of the best, and worst, houses in Cardiff, according to students who have lived in these houses themselves.
No landlord influence, these words are coming straight from those who have been there and done it, so no one has to sign the dotted line misinformed, again. It’s time to put the power back in your hands!
So, let’s begin with… THE GOOD
This review was so beautiful it brought a tear to my eye. The reviewer said:
One of Cathays Finest - 20A Salisbury Road‘people are usually surprised that it's a student house, it has a spacious, grown-up vibe.’ When people enter my uni house, they’re usually surprised it’s not a squat.
The landlord who manages this 3-bed dream pad adapted the tenancy so the tenants could have pets and responds quickly to any issues that the tenants have.
Their landlord is so nice that he even dropped them off a cooked meal and beers when they had to self isolate. What a touch!
The property is said to have lots of natural lighting and is in a brilliant location.
We would 1000% recommend you read a review before you moove into your next gaff.Located in the heart of Cathays, these tenants would ‘1000000%’ recommend this property. The tenants say the ‘living/dining/kitchen area is huge and beautiful. Perfect for house parties.’
We all know how stressful and awkward the process of choosing rooms can be, but in this house, all the rooms are at least a ‘decent’ size, with some ‘bigger than others’.
They say the bottom floor shower is not as good as the top floor shower, so make sure you bag a room upstairs...
They rated both the management and the property 5 stars. It sounds like 2019 every day in this house!
Plenty of time to clean up after parties. The Landlord actually gives warning before they come round!Rated 4 out of 5 stars by the current tenants, this Cathays gaff is described as in ‘good condition’, which the tenants were happy with throughout. If you’re looking for a bit of peace, this could be the perfect choice for you.
Rather amazingly, the landlord actually gave them notice when viewings were booked in. No one likes being caught in their towel.
Their deposit was given back sharpish, a massive win considering some deposit disputes last months, in fact, some seem to never end….
Now it’s time for some to avoid. 😔💦
‘Perhaps one of the worst experiences you could have with a house’ - brace yourselves.
‘We had raw sewage coming out of our shower due to a block caused by illegal cheap plumbing on the toilets. After the cowboy plumber supplied by Kingstons arrived, he broke the plumbing even more and caused raw sewage to flood the whole garden and lower bedroom. The cherry on top is that he walked the raw sewage through the house and washed his excrement covered tools in our sink. This mess was left for about 2 months despite countless calls and emails, eventually leading us to report them to Environmental Health who ordered them to send someone to clean it up. The guy they eventually sent simply used a jetwash rather than the deep disinfection job that the biohazard required.’
Actually never heard anything quite like it.
Rooms are described as cold, mouldy and have paper-thin walls. The lights and boiler broke several times, and the curtains in the front bedroom smell. The oven also sounds like a biohazard.
Might give that one a miss then.
Reading that review made us sad AF.Now, this caught my eye because the tenants state there is no gas safety certificate or carbon monoxide alarm, which is illegal. Students, know your rights!
The occupier said 2 beds broke with nobody on them, which are yet to be replaced. One bed is being held up with bricks due to the support dipping and breaking. To add to the shoddy sleeping situation the blinds are broken, and no curtains are attached. Sounds like one long nightmare.
Plug sockets are hanging out, the table was snapped when they moved in and they had rats for months because CPS refused to fill in the hole. Cathays has enough rats, thanks a lot CPS.
AVOID.
This reviewer has had some serious landlord deposit beef. They said the ‘landlord attempted to charge £800 from the deposit and refused to return it after failing to protect it with the deposit protection scheme.’ They took it to court and received double their original deposit in compensation.
In short, they would not recommend letting with this landlord.
Also has difficult parking, not for the wimpy driver x
So there you have it, a sneak peek of what’s hot and what is not in Cathays. Check if your future home has been reviewed here and if it hasn’t… You know what to do, give it a review here first and help fellow students out
XOXO- Gossip girl