Tenancy review for 4 Jenner Walk in St Pauls, Cheltenham rented from Patrick Dunleavy rented via HMT Lettings Management

Landlord rating: 1

The landlord, Patrick Dunleavy is rude, lazy and arrogant. I had problems with him from day one because when I moved it, he simply couldn't be bothered to empty the kitchen shelves that were rammed full with kitchen junk, the cupboards were filthy, and the living room carpet wasn't cleaned. It took him over a year to fix the heating in the top bedroom, over 5 visits to fix the cooker, he uses your parking space when he feels like it, he doesn't answer messages when he can't be bothered. He only deals with urgent issues if it's convenient for him, and when he visits the house he makes snide comments. He is extremely unprofessional and rude. The electricity meters are in a different property and as a tenant you end up subsidising another tenant's electricity bill, and Patrick Dunleavy gets quickly annoyed when you keep chasing him up for reimbursement. He is as close to useless as I have ever met. He used bullying tactics to try and effectively steal a large part of my deposit - luckily it was protected with a deposit scheme, and his actions were unlawful.

Agency rating: 6

The letting agency does a finder's fee only, and check out. Patrick Dunleavy, the landlord takes care of the rest (badly).

Property rating: 2

An old townhouse in central Cheltenham. It's a good location although it can be noisy in summer because the property is single glazed and the area is known for unsociable activities. There is no insulation, so expect high heating bills and it does get cold in winter. It is generally a cold house, because it doesn't get any proper sunshine. There is a another tenant in a studio below the kitchen and there is no sound insulation, it's a DIY bodge job arrangement. The boiler is in the other tenant's basement property, you have no access to it. This means if the radiators fire up for no reason and belt out heat in the summer due to a boiler fault (which happened on several occasions, and you can't turn them all down because he's boxed in the thermostats), you are relying on (a) the landlord, Patrick Dunleavy being bothered to answer your messages (b) the tenant being willing to let the landlord in with less than 24 hours notice. The last time this happened was on a Sunday, and Patrick Dunleavy ignored all my messages and calls and on Monday when I texted him again, he replied, "don't bother me on a Sunday". Yes, lazy, rude and arrogant he certainly is. The good thing about this property is that there are no rats, the only rat in the area is Patrick Dunleavy.

Area rating: 6

Apart from the noise related issues, the location is excellent.