Apex Features Page
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Apex Housing Survey
Thanks to everyone who took part in the Apex Housing Survey. Below are some of the responces.
Remember:
1. People are more likely to respond to a survey if they want to complain - a lack of positive feedback on a particular agent does not mean that every experience with them is a bad one!
2. This survey is not representative of every student and any opinions expressed in the comments are not the opinion of Anglia Ruskin Students' Union.
3. If you want to find out more about housing and accommodation, our Advice Service has plenty of information to get you started.
A full write-up can be found in the next edition of the Apex, out 28th January!
The Responses
We had 54 responses from Cambridge and 3 from Chelmsford
Who lived where?
Uni Halls – 6
Uni Housing – 3
Agency Accommodation – 24
Private Let – 16
How much was rent?
Less than £200 – 2
£200-£300 – 6
£300-£400 – 28
£400 + - 9
House Rating
Perfect – 5
Good – 15
OK – 18
Poor – 13
Very Poor – 2
Landlord Rating
Excellent – 5
Good – 13
Average – 17
Poor – 9
Very poor – 9
Did you know about the new Tenancy Deposit Scheme?
Yes – 20 No – 17
Comments from Students:
Private Landlords:
More personal, cheaper without all the agency fees and quicker to get things done.
Nice bloke but too busy to do what we ask.
Is utterly hopeless!
University:
Mainly ok – Ok standard and average or above rating for landlords. Can wait a while for things to be fixed.
Uni Housing:
Not as secure as halls; no communal space.
Rent:
Too expensive! (Many people said this)
People paying £400 + tended to be more satisfied with their accommodation “It’s expensive but it’s worth it!”
Advice:
Keep a record of all dealings with your landlord.
Make sure they know if you have two people sharing a room as a couple – landlord got really angry when they found out; we thought it would be ok!
“Agents…can provide a terrible service for a shocking amount of money. If this was France, they’d be lynched in the street!”.
Complaints where agent's name was given:
Whitfield
No response to our complaints of appliances catching fire and people trespassing in property.
Need reminders to get small things fixed, but were very good when our window got smashed due to a fight in the street.
Small problems get sorted, but the large ones are ignored.
Are awful!
Are a "pain in the butt".
Are ok – some people have had a positive experience of them.
Rees and Associates
Broken boiler which needs resetting all the time, and a dodgy mattress with a sharp spring sticking out of it has never been replaced.
JSM
Hopeless – things keep falling apart.
Need pestering to get things done.
Are useless at big problems.
Lose things, house was in a poor state with previous tenant’s possessions in it, JSM slow to respond to problems.
Anglia Accommodation
Poor customer service.
