Tenancy review for 131 Orwell Road in St Johns, Ipswich rented from Usher Mann

Landlord rating: 1

Do not rent any property by this landlord. His name is Usher Mann. He has several properties in Ipswich and should be avoided at all costs. He does not uphold his end of the contracts and tenancy agreement, and due to little tenants protection you will get the short end of the stick. Our property had NO back fence, a broken front door following an attempted break in whilst the house was vacant, street facing windows that did not lock closed, an unattached back gate, broken glass and bulky waste covering the front and back garden, no lock on the bathroom door in a HMO, a leaking shower, and an almost unflushable blocked toilet. Our house was not safe at all and our dogs were always running into next doors house because of there being no fence. We emailed CONSTANTLY and it took 6 MONTHS for the landlord to secure our property, and he only bothered doing his job because we got environmental health involved who eventually threatened him with legal action. He uses the estate agents to manage his property so you cannot even contact him directly and estate agents are somehow not allowed to arrange any repairs to make your house safe without the landlords consent so all they can do is email him and wait for a reply. I was almost signed off work for the amount of stress this caused as this is not a safe area - check Nextdoor - and my bike was stolen with the locks cut off it within 24 hours of it being outside. Combined with the attempted break in at the start of 2020, you are not safe with this landlord in this house. If anything threatens your safety, you cannot depend on this landlord to uphold his agreements. We now have a leak in the sink and lo and behold, the landlord is ignoring the estate agents again, while we have to constantly empty a bowl of water from the cupboard.

Property rating: 4

3 bedrooms and a front room let as a "bedroom". Landlord seems to have done refurbs himself, there are carpet nails sticking out which have cut us many times, windows which do not stay open, one which wouldn't lock. No mould, thankfully, but do not live here as a house share if you want any communal space whatsoever, the kitchen is also way too tiny for 4 adults. It's only just big enough for a couple.

Area rating: 4

Bike got stolen within 24 hours of it being outside. There was an attempted break in to the vacant house.