Spaces LifeAvis 

Very helpful - fast response and made a sensible decision in line with what I wanted

The room I have rented is good however the agency are unbearable to deal with. Highly disorganized; From forgetting to give me the keys on my first day.. (Then blaming me for calling the wrong member of the team to arrange key pickup). I had to book a hotel on my move in date, to sending me the wrong prices, changing the prices last minute, offering me a refund then not processing it etc.

If you need the room then try to minimize the need to talk to Spaces Life as it is a depressing unorganized mess. You can see that some of the staff are trying to do their best but it's managed so badly. True cowboys these guys.

Search around and you will see all the bad reviews from their multiple previous brand names.

Swift process. Solved in less than 3 days despite some setbacks. Flat is in line with description and pictures.

The pictures were exactly how the flat was. I was given a virtual tour to save time and also a video was shared to give me the actual present state of the flat. I was very pleased with the agent, Josh, being on time to show me the flat. He showed me the facilities near the property as we approached the flat and gave me a complete tour of the entire property. Even after the viewing, Josh helped through the entire process till the agreement was signed. Thank you for the excellent services!

One of the worst choices I've ever made?

I moved into a room in Bermondsey/Tower Bridge in August 2018 for 3 months. Initially I was happy, unaware of the catastrophe's about to emerge and the unhelpful nature of Spaces in dealing with fundamental issues. Let's begin with the room...

At £949 per month (on top of the £250 administration fee to even rent the room), I got very little. They wouldn't allow me to view the room until I paid a £300 reservation fee which ,unfortunately due to my time-restriction, I had to so I could view this property (they refused to let me view before this at a convenient time, then once paid it was suddenly absolutely fine for me to view...imagine my surprise). It was a shame that it was 32C outside and I didn't sense the damp inside the property then. At this point, I took the property based purely in that I didn't have time to look for another place and I had already invested a significant chunk post-university. For my generous £949 a month, I got a medium sized room (despite it being advertised as large) with a double bed, wobbling wardrobe, damp and a half size desk with the depth of around 40cm. I mustn't forget the generous mattress protector also provided. In addition to my room, I had access to a bathroom (fairly modern and not terrible) and a kitchen (mild state of disrepair e.g. mould on the washing machine, dishwater didn't release tablets etc). I wouldn't rate the dining facilities since they were clearly, at best, garden furniture (literally a plastic table and three stools with holes which didn't fit around the table).

Queue issue number 1: The whole flat was very damp, and upon further inspection there was several damp in several corners of the flat to the point that clothing items constantly felt moist and that laundry took up to 3 days to dry and smelt awful. The solution suggested to one of the tenants was to open the window... not exactly a well-known solution to rising damp. But I digress, this is London and London is well known to (historically) promote living in squalor.

Queue issue number 2: The toilet. Less than a week since I moved in, the toilet began to act strange. The water would rise instead of flush, the shower began to clog and drain flies appeared everywhere. While living in the squalor of London is chic, I hardly felt that non-functioning facilities were appropriate. We reported the issue. We were then told a plumber had been by to fix it. They clearly had not. We reported the issue again, and it was 'fixed' again. One resident was then told that we were 'using too much toilet paper' (note: we were using as minimal as possible giving the very possibility of the flat being flooded by faeces). I had during this time noticed that the outside of the flat has flooded with sewage, and proceeded to call Thames Water who promptly realise there has been a chamber collapse in the pipes. This is the duty of the landlord therefore I contact Spaces again, who pursued with the haste of slug napping. They blamed this on the report taking 10 days to be produced, but since it took them over 2 weeks to respond, I fail to see where the delay as a result of Thames Water was. I would like now to refer back to the 3 times they sent 'plumbers' who told us we were using too much toilet paper and 'fixed' the toilet. I can only assume they did not send qualified plumbers to the site since it only took myself a couple of days to identify the issue with the drains. It had been over a month since we had had a working toilet. I was paying £949 for a damp and drain fly infested flat which had a non-functioning toilet.

Queue issue number 3: I requested a refund on my rent, as is my right when the facilities are not reasonably working. I had to pursue this issue with multiple emails following the release of my deposit. They refused on the grounds that they did 'all that was possible' to fix the issue, again citing Thames Water as the main issue. Given that, they still did not fix the toilet in a speedy manner and it was actually myself calling the council which resulted in the fix. They were very slow to respond to my emails and, when they finally did so, they used inaccurate date stamps for when the issues were reported (luckily I do not delete my emails as regularly as I should).

Issue number 4: I wasn't told that I would have to move out at the end of my 3 month tenancy. I tried to renew with no reply for several days (given I was only staying in London an additional 2 months I thought it was better the Devil you do know etc etc). I was then told they were selling the flat. All of us in the flat were panicked - several of the tenants had been there longer than me and were also not told. I luckily found somewhere to live quickly (and it was a step up let me tell you, for £100 less as well!). However, my outrage comes from contact from Spaces 3 weeks before we are due to move out: we can renew our tenancy... at the bargain/special/discounted rate of £955. Fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice, shame on me.

Issue number 5: They tried to deduct £20 for a mattress protector from my deposit. 1) I left the mattress protector I had originally received. 2) No mattress protector costs £20, let alone the nasty nylon protector that came with the room at the beginning of my tenancy. I requested a receipt. They declined to provide one and promptly removed the charge from my deposit. They did charge for the £50 check-out inspection fee, on top of the £250 administration fee at the beginning of my tenancy - so they received £300 to effectively walk in a room (they didn't even greet me to give me my keys, I picked them up from a café about 20minute walk from the flat... with all my luggage in tow). I have often heard the word scam for less...

Thus, I will be pursing my legal rights with my solicitor. I look forward to hearing from Spaces then.

To summarise a long review, I wish I had never used Spaces Urban Living. Given for that price in London I could have afforded a very nice studio, I am glad I left when I did. Besides which, they've tried to turn the place into a grim airb&b for the unsuspecting. I genuinely have no desire to see them succeed as agents. I hope, whoever reads this review, I've saved your money, hygiene and minimised your stress by encouraging you not to choose Spaces.

Edit Update: I shall be calling Spaces in the next few days. My initial response to the reply is: I actually reported the drains on the 10th September as evidenced in my emails which I can happily supply. The toilet we actually reported via phone the week earlier so all the reply has told me is that our concerns were not noted at all. Furthermore, the reply does not adequately address any issue but receiving the keys of the property.

Very friendly and helpful staff. I've had a great experience with Spaces and their houses are superb! Highly recommended.

Although I have only been a tenant with spaces life for just over 6 months, I found them to provide an excellent service. Any problems that I encountered was dealt with quickly and efficiently. Always with a friendly and approachable manner. I would not hesitate to recommend them.

Probably the worst agency I've ever had the misfortune of dealing with. The property I live in is constantly in need of repair and the agents never bother reading and/or replying to any of your e-mails. Nobody seems to want to do their job properly, and expect all the reward without outting in any work. Absolutely shocking work ethic - STAY AWAY.

I've worked with Spaces for a number of years and the experince has been very good.

Very good customer service and quick response!

Josh from Spaces was really helpful and understanding of my situation. Transparency is still something that is super important since it saves so much time, trouble and resources especially when people come from different countries with different ways of dealing with tenancies. Overall a good experience.

Been with Spaces for just under 6 months and the guys have been great. Always quick to respond and find a solution. Thanks

From start to finish honest and reliable even when a couple of issue's (My fault) came up helped me resolve them.

Office team fast to respond and happy to help!

Been with spaces for several years and very happy with them.

Great service. Thanks for everything!

My experience of the Spaces team is their total commitment to their spaces being home.
I feel completely safe in their space! A team I trust and feel safe with, that’s important for me in my home.

I was with Spaces for 6 months and everything went well.

Their team were responsive.

I particularly liked the fact that they called us back (YES! they called us back!) when we had a problem with our boiler and got it sorted the same day . . .
It meant, we did not have ice cold shower the next morning...

My experience with Spaces was great. (which is NOT something I can say with the other real estate agencies I was with before).

They were fast to respond to my requests.

In a word, they cared.

I even meet the founder and saw how passionate he is about what he does!

Been staying with Spaces for several years now. Love their properties and its easy and straight forward to book. Definitely recommend them