Tenancy review for 654 King Street in Old Aberdeen, Aberdeen rented via Contempo Lettings and Property

Agency rating: 5

The agency handling this property is Contempo Properties. They answer to all communications in a timely manner (only during office hours) and have not refused any repair requests. When there has been a delay, we have been informed that it has been due to the agency having to wait for the landlord to act. However, on top of rent and all usual bills the tenants in this flat and the one above share a stairway and are responsible for topping up the electricity unit for hallway lights and outdoor buzzer. We were not informed of this by the agency, or the landlord, and only found out months after moving in via a rather clear "reminder" from our neighbours who had been the only ones contributing. When we asked for compensation for these fees that were never included in the contract, we never got any money and only a vague response along the lines of "sorry for the confusion, but tenants must take care of their responsibilities".

Property rating: 7

The flat has a large living room, two bedrooms, a bathroom and a very small kitchen. The bedrooms get surface mould easily, which the letting agency dealed with when demanded. There are built-in closets in both bedrooms and the hallway. The flat had been empty for some time when we moved in, and during our first week there was water damage as the boiler overflowed - the repair man informed us that the fault had been known before, but was only addressed now that there were tenants demanding repairs. The appliances in the flat are modern and in good working order.

Area rating: 7

The neighborhood is mostly peaceful. There is a bar downstairs and on some nights music can be heard - usually no later than midnight. The closest proper grocery store is a Lidl less than 10 minute walk away, and the Aberdeen university campus is 5 minutes away. There are good bus links to the center (busses 1, 2, 60 among others), it takes roughly half an hour to walk there.