Places for People Edinburgh reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I have rented this disgusting first…

I have rented this disgusting first floor flat from new since 2018, I have leaking plastic pipe work under the bath as from 2018, I kept mentioning to the repair places for people men that I have mold behind the toilet and the skirting boards are damp and splitting, both in the bathroom and living room which are ajoined, one man just fastened a nut under the toilet and said that should do it, it didn't, a young plumber came out as I've been complaining for YEARS NOW, he took the side of the bath off, and oh my god, the pipe work was never connected, I had and still have water pouring out of them, even though it was apparently fixed, I have intense black mold and the floor underneath the lino, a huge amount of floor space is saturated, a man came out to monitor it, it read 100% on his meter, I've been living with intense black mold for 5 years, no wonder I feel ill. That was a month ago he came out and nothing. I have 3 leaks in my roof, brown stained ceilings in the kitchen, running into the electrics, bedroom and bathroom. The extraction fan large cover on the outside of on the roof blew off leaving a large gaping hole for weeks before it was slotted back on again, still rattles now. I had a large part of the outside wall just under the eaves peel off like a wave, just hanging off, everything exposed, that took 2 years to fix. I had an outside gas leak for a year before it was noticed and I had another estates house meter that wasn't even mine, so wasn't registered and when the mess was sorted out of course I had a massive bill. On one of the meter boxes the door was broken and the inside was hacked to pieces to obviously make the meter fit. My windows wouldn't close at one point and nearly shattered or took your fingers off. Front door has dropped, letter box fell off and was glued back on. It sounds like a 200 year old house, there's not one room where the floorboards don't squeak terribly. The washing machine switch is wired upto the dish washer, some plugs I can't use because they smell hot. The workmen when building left the front door open and a tom cat sprayed inside the staircase, it still stinks, but they wouldn't change the carpet.I have a disgusting neighbour whose garden is full of rubbish and dogs muck and urine, nothing has been done, it stinks so bad. He's aggressive, loud, noisy and a bully, absolutely nothing has been done about that. The person that is ment to look after this area is totally hopeless, nobody listens, nobody gets back to you, some of the stay at home people are so rude and can't really be bothered to pass information on. The rent goes up because of the badly thrown together houses built by Persimmons, they are the ones that should be picking up the Bill's, but no it's easier to pick on the innocent tenants. I'm disgusted with this company, and please don't write a sickly oh so sorry response Ombudsman is my next stage, I've had enough.

Sally · 25 May 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Amazing staff members

I would like the thank Gaynor and Justice who work for places cor people. The service they provided to me was over and above what i expected. These two employees have given me my life back, helped me through the most difficult time in my life. They did more for me than anyone ever has in my life. I honestly cant thank them both enough. Places for people are very lucky to have theses 2 amazing people working for them and customers of PFP honestly we are so much better pff having them to turn to.

Laura · 21 May 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

From Sheltered Housing to Independent Living.

I have lived in Greenbank for 17yrs,when I came in ,it was sheltered housing.They have now taken that away from us,it is now a Independent Living.In those17yrs it has rained in through the electrics in my bedroom.If there is snow or heavy rain it comes through every time.This has happened 14 yrs out of the 17yrs..It has got to the stage where the roof has to be fixed and part of my ceiling has to come down.I signed papers to move out of my flat and move into another while the work is done.I have been told it has again been put off.Greenbank is badly in need of new heaters ,we were promised.It was a lovely place to live and people wanted to come in.Now there are flats empty.Shame on you a Places for People.

Jean · 15 May 2023

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Poor consultation…

Double glazing fitted to housing scheme.Despite letter apologising for lack of consultation and useful timetabling.It was a shambles. THE Coordinator was frequently unavailable. When miraculously the phone was answered, standard reply was 'I will ask my manager' then no return call.Supliers were changed, as we're spec's for the widows causing disruption to fitters etc.Not an enjoyable experience

Jaffa60 · 18 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling Customer Care.

Appalling Customer Care.Craig Else is one of the most rude and unhelpful people I have dealt with. He has just called me.I couldn't get a word in edgeways - he just loves the sound of his own voice.I also take exception to being called "Pal"I have been trying to move my elderly parents, one who has dementia, into the Apartment since February.I can't because the balcony is so dangerous due to neglect by Places For People.I have told this to Places For People time and time again.A June date for the repair is not good enough.Because it is empty Craig told me it is a low priority!You couldn't make this up!

Tim · 6 May 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Katie Priestley

Katie Priestley Showed me my new home in Jan 23 and my flat that I had 2 years previous both times she was very friendly and helpful, nothing was too much for her, Katie also showed my son his new flat in February 23, her attitude never changes , she's a very nice person and very helpful.she also went above and beyond for my other son who moved Easter week 23 went out of her way to go to his home before he moved to put a key safe on, think Katie was going on her holiday that day !Thank you Katie x

Alison · 19 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Lacking compassion and credibility

Places for People were directly responsible for flooding my property before Christmas. Water was coming through my ceiling for 24 hours. I made a complaint to Places for People and they offered me £25 in compensation after lying about their company's response, which is incredibly insulting given their annual turnover of £850 million in 2022.They have increased the service charges for our building by twice the amount they are increasing the weekly rent, but refuse to provide their financial accounts (thus are breaking the law!) so tenants can't scrutinize their service charges. Corrupt!They are truly, truly the worst housing association, please don't rent or buy a property from them 😔P.s. In response to Places for People - I have already emailed the Customer Focus Team and submitted a formal complaint. Your company supposedly "investigated" and this was their response - shocking! Please read the reviews properly in future.

Emmanuel · 4 April 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Pretty awful experience in all honesty

Pretty awful experience in all honesty, was offered a property, was then made to wait almost two months to view it, was given no information prior to the viewing. Viewing was then done remotely and I was pressured to accept the property on the spot with no time to review or research my ongoing costs and suitablity of the property. I actually ended up not even occupying the flat and handed my keys back. I am now having dispute over being told I'm am liable for a 4 week notice period on a property I've barely even set foot in. Communication is lax at best and they just hide behind terms and conditions like every other big company. No human interactions or actual discussions, just letter and demands.To give some background to the suitation, I had applied for various properties using homefinder and was eventually contacted by a member of PFPs staff to let me know I was next in line for a potential flat. The application process was taken care of and I was told some work needed to be completed on the property before I could view it. This was dragged out for a number of weeks, almost 2 month before I was finally told I could view. I had intended to do this on my day off but was told I would need to view it immediately or loose my chance. So as a result needed to take an extra day off work to do this. On the day of viewing I arrived at the property, which I had no information on other than an address, I received a call from the agent saying she could not attend. It was agreed I could use the key safe and enter the property to view it. I did think to myself what work had actually been done in the 2 months as it did appear to be minimal and struck me as strange the process took so long. After viewing and calling the agent back I expressed I would like to go away review and think about if this property would be in my best interest to take on but was again told I would need to accept the offer immediately or loose my chance. Feeling pressured, and having no time to argue it as I was due to travel to Wales my fathers funeral, I accepted the offer, locked up and made the first 2 weeks payment as requested. When I did eventually have the time to look at the bigger picture, I came to realise that the property, costs and local area would not be suitable for me or visiting family. So I informed PFP of this, locked up and left the property exactly as I had recieved 6 weeks prior. I had not even booked an appointment to have my gas uncapped, other than my viewing and a brief visit after returning from my father funeral I have not used or set foot in the property. I feel these circumstances should be considered when looking at this matter. The whole process was very slap dash and left me with a lot of uncertainty throughout the process. I feel being held liable for a notice period is unjustified given the uneasy process and the fact I've never even occupied the property. No attempt has been made to have an open discussion on this, except just letters making demands for more money. I had expressed I was happy to pay the 206.40 outstanding before I returned the property on the 2nd of September but it appears they are still trying to charge me for 2 additional weeks on top of this. I have rented many properties privately for most my adult life, and although some haven't been the easiest to deal with, I've been kept informed and disputes were able to be discussed and a resolution made. Honestly this whole process has really put me off using social housing and taking my chances once again in the private sector.An additional note, I did reply to the email they seem to respond to every negative review with on trustpilot, surprise surprise, no reply.

Customer · 8 March 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Appalling from the day i moved in

Appalling from the day i moved in. I have had 3 good experiences with staff members (out of thousands - not even an exaggeration) a flooring guy, a plumber and the boiler guy who did the job well, in time and properly. Everyone and everything else to do with this company just causes tenants an enormous amount of stress, unless you work for them like my neighbour - they bend over backwards for that person.

Sarah-Jayne · 5 September 2025

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

I had to wait far to long for my heater…

I had to wait far to long for my heater to be fixed. Damian was lovely, it's taken him five minutes to fix the problem. Just a matter of changing the heater, it's taken P.F.P many many weeks to get here.Less of a wait would be good.Must try harder P.F.P

Ellen · 22 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible, horrendous, disappointing and untrustworthy!

I purchased a newly built house (Squirrelwood development) from this developer and my experience with them was totally terrible from the very beginning until the completion. Firstly, the delays and how they communicated these setbacks to us. The property was supposed to be completed by end of July 2022. Then it was pushed back to September, then November and finally December. I asked them several times when exactly on December and they told me that it was already in the calendar that we will be completing by the 2nd week of December. Based on this information, I made plans. A month before, I filed the remaining days of annual leave on the 2nd week of December (not much was left of my annual leave because I used most of them back then when they gave us false promises - tentative completion date). I also informed my landlord that I will be terminating our tenancy on the 3rd week of December (23rd December to be exact). I made plans to move out the flat we were staying on the 17th and 18th of December and arranged for the professional cleaning of the flat on 20th December. I arranged for a moving van as well. But then they did not inform us beforehand that once the property is built, they still need to secure a certain certification before we could actually move in which took another week to secure. Now, the completion date has been move to 22nd of December. Me and wife work in the hospital as nurses and we can no longer change our annual leaves as our shifts and schedule have been finalised already. We could not find anyone to swap shifts with us partly because of the Christmas season and all of workmates had plans for that week. We needed to move out of our flat to accommodate the professional cleaning and we stayed in our friend’s house for the meantime. It was so stressful for us a we need to change plans again and we need to move out twice! Every time they gave us a completion date, we planned for child care, leave from work and so many other things, and all those plans were laid to waste including our planned holidays. To avoid all these mess, all they needed to do was to inform us about this certification and we could have made changes to our plans (again)!Secondly, the completion and handover of keys was disastrous! Today, I attended the house tour together with my 1 year old son (I was having difficulty sorting the childcare) at 11:30 am. My wife managed to take 2 hours of time off from work and we were excited to see the house. However when we arrived at the site, the front of the house was nothing but mud. The inside was nice though. We did the house tour with Rob (builder) while Lexi (sales agent) was sorting out the paperwork. Rob was really nice to answer all my questions and patiently explained to me everything. Lexi left in a hurry as another client was also completing that day. In the end, we did not get a proper handover of meter readings and most importantly, the keys as Rob couldn’t find the front door keys! We went out to look for Lexi and decided to go to her office. As we were on our way to site office, we saw Lexi with another client and we told her that we still haven’t had the keys. As she tried phoning someone to sort out our keys, I was already losing my patience. I told her that I will get the keys from her the next day as it was already 1pm and my little one hadn’t had lunch yet and was already hungry. She did promise me that she will find the keys and will take a video of herself placing our keys inside the safe in the office and send that video to me. I waited the whole afternoon and was really worried about the security of the house as it is already under our responsibility. We emailed her but she did not respond at all. I just hope that they did find our keys and locked the house. Yet another false promise. Lastly, the experience of buying a house was supposed to be exciting but because of their f*** ups, all it brought us was stress after stress. Christmas season was supposed to be a time to celebrate and enjoy but because of their incompetence, we couldn’t plan for Christmas at all. Their poor communication, false promises and incompetence on top of stress they gave us makes me want to stab them in the eye! It made me wish I had not bought the house. Totally disappointed!

Felipe · 23 December 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Usual Gasway heating incompetence via PFP!

Again, exactly the same as other reviews, being a pensioner I've been left with no heating on many occasions over the past six years of being a PFP resident.Their sub-contractor is Gasway, who have again proved just short of useless. Things will never change while PFP employ Gasway as their heating engineers. Latest is the fitting of a new Thermostat yesterday, being told by Gasway electrician to go on You Tube to find out how to set the programmes.I still have no idea how to set temperature or programes and await a call from a GASWAY personel who they promise will call.

Alan · 21 December 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Had to put 1 star as it’s not possible…

Had to put 1 star as it’s not possible to put zero. I have been living with no heating for the last 24 hours in minus temperatures and am told by txt that it willNow be Monday. Had to call them to get. Clarification what this txt was I. Relation to, Apparently they can’t get the part as the supplier cannot get this till Monday. I am absolutely furious to say the least to be left in a freezing cold house over the weekend. Surely they could try another supplier. Oh they did leave me with a small oils heater but tbh this is useless. There was no apology either that I have been left in this position. Just a thought - what would the situation be if this had happened on Xmas eve!!

Carolyn · 16 December 2022

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Purchased my house years ago and still…

Purchased my house years ago and still paying a monthly service charge for which I receive nothing and feel that we are treated like a second class citizen compared to those that rent

Mr · 27 July 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The absolute worst and unhelpful…

The absolute worst and unhelpful business.I informed them of a tenants death. There was no care or sympathy for the deceased and of all the businesses I had to speak with this one was the most unhelpful and awkward.All they were interested in was getting the property team into the property to dispose of the tenants belongings and get it ready for a new tenant. I asked for someone senior to call me to discuss...no response. Extremely poor.

Kevin · 28 January 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I note in my last complaint you ask me…

I note in my last complaint you ask me to contact your customer service team. I have been in contact with your company for the last two years, and you refuse to do anything hence why I am complaining.Safety lights are being tampered with by the tenant who lives beneath me. He has even admitted to this. I reported this in October 2021. It is now October 2022 and you still haven't fixed them. My mum fell over last year in the dark and if ahe does again this year i will definitely be taking photos of her injuries and suing you. In addition, the ASB with Dave is still occuring. In line with behaviour over the last 2 years. Once he is told off for one thing, he moves onto another. Then he is told about that and then moves back to doing what he was doing before. Since being told to stop shouting by my neighbour, Dave has now reverted back to doing DIY at unreasonable times. I have sent video clips of Dave drilling and hammering at 6amAccording to Kareece the tenancy enforcement officer, this behaviour is perfectly acceptable. So now I don't have Dave shouting and arguing and threatening to kill people, but I am worken up every day from 5am by Dave hammering from inside a cupboard that is located next to my bedroom. It is active torment.It is active bullying.Places for people do nothing about it.

Lisa · 13 October 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

I have a 90 year old neighbour who is…

I have a 90 year old neighbour who is at her wits end and sits crying because of her two neighbours. One is playing loud music late at night and was heard saying he does not care about the neighbours. The other seems to be listening into her, she once began to sing " half a pound a tuppeny rice" and he played it back over and over again, and this has happened many times, she thinks he is listening in to her every movement, yet when she has visitors he turns it off. All of this has been reported but nothing has been done. All you get is do you want to move, it is the tenant who is behaving badly that should be removed not the victim. I report tenants who fly tip and they send the gardener's to remove the rubbish and leave the flytippers alone. Nothing is being done to help good tenants

June · 3 October 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

3 jobs completed in matter of few…

3 jobs completed in matter of few days.we are late 70s and vulnerable.my wife called and explained situation.1 Damp appeared on main Bedroom ceiling,2 radiator valve in small.bedroom needed sorting.3 Kitchen fluorescent light not working.Within matter of few days All.these Jobs were rectified.Thanks to repair office. And their tradesmen carrying out work.plus cleaning up after them. Couldn't have asked for a truly better Service.Ty for the work carried out by not just the men but for the Service received.Peter and Sue Curtis. Yaxley Pbo

Peter · 21 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Places For People - don't bother

I thought Places For People was a charity to help people but all I have heard and seen makes me very wary indeed. We were offered a house with Places For People via the Homeless Department at Gateshead Council (btw no Council dept will take responsibility for issues with external companies that they recommended to you, just so you know). The house was in a state of disrepair when we were first shown it. Holes in the walls, broken gate, electrical box exposed to tampering (outside the property), door handles missing and finally there was asbestos in the ceilings of both bedrooms! They tested it and told us that it was safe to leave so long as it was 'disturbed' and they just painted over it. We rejected it on the basis of that and the disrepair. But we also checked out the reviews for Places For People on Trust Pilot and were shocked by what we read. It seems that they push people into signing for tenancies (which is what we experienced), we were constantly rung and harassed to sign for the property before it was ready. I am disabled and we asked if we could put carpets in before we moved in, they said no you have to sort that yourself once you've signed for and paid for the property (considering the price they were asking for it you wouldn't be expected to do that in any private rented housing so I don't see why its ok in social housing, especially as we would not be able to do that on our own after we had moved in), they wouldn't remove the asbestos which WOULD have become an issue in future (I reported this to the Council Envl Health Dept as I was worried for future residents being put in this situation or worse lied to or not told about the asbestos) and they wanted us to sign before ALL the works were completed. The pressure and stress we felt at the time was terrible. As soon as we rejected it (thinking it would be classed as one of out Council rejections) we felt so much better. Turns out private organisations like Places For People and the multitude of Social Housing organisations such as Karbon Homes and Choice Based Letting aren't classed as a rejection as they are private companies and not Council homes so you reject as many of these as you like. Housing Officers don't tell you that and actively hide this info from people so that they feel pressured into signing up to the first property that they are offered and to get them off their Council housing Lists as it makes individual Councils look bad. That is a very important not for anyone on the Council Housing Lists out there. Find out for yourself as they will lie to you and put you in unsuitable, dilapidated accommodation just to get you off their list and they have NO scruples about it. Housing Associations and Charities (like Places For People), that provide Social Housing are there to make themselves money and they often up the rent year on year on their properties, they don't take into account vulnerable, disabled or elderly people and just treat them the same as everyone else....one size fits all - which as we know doesn't work for everyone and is not equality in any form. We were quite shocked and disgusted at the way Places For People treated us. I shall no longer recommend them to anyone and in actual fact tell them to keep clear of private housing associations and stick with a Council Property (not that there are many of them going around or available at the moment and the government has no intentions of building anymore either) as people have much more rights in an actual Council Property. Covid is also being used as an excuse for a huge backlog on repair timescales and many housing association residents are being left in properties in a terrible state of disrepair on "repair waiting lists", waiting for vital things in their homes to be fixed or dealt with. They are all still paying full rent too while these private organisations make money off those who are the most vulnerable, have the least money and have nowhere else to go. It's a terrible situation and one I have had my eyes opened up to. So be aware, be very aware and don't be pressurised to sign up with these evil companies and charities making out that they have your best interests at heart. It simply isn't true and they don't exist.

Becky · 8 September 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Not good

We were offered a property at the beginning of June- it was the end of August before we got the keys. They messed us around constantly trying to prove a 16 year old is British with no driving license or passport a birth certificate isn’t enough.The house was filthy I have taken pictures. It needed decorating in every single room. Ground on muck .The kitchen cupboards had new doors but inside they were filthy Fat cow graffiti written on the ceiling they painted over it but it was clearly visible. They gave me £100 towards decorating because they admitted it wasn’t clean- it’s a four bedroom room house it doesn’t cover the paint! They left the carpets from the previous tenants- not ones you would want to walk on - hanging! We had to remove them. Knot weed clearly growing in garden- it is not a simple thing to dispose of -at the time i didn’t know it was Japanese Knot weed. I actually have come to love the stuff as it is not legal for me to remove it and not much else grows in my garden. Repairs they try there best to not repair anything and it takes time if it is their responsibility. We have been without hot water for four days now and our repair day is another 14 days away- because we have a shower upstairs it’s ok - my husband is disabled and has bad legs bandaged up to his knees he can’t get upstairs at the moment but still it’s not an urgent need! The walls are so thin I can hear my neighbour use her toilet and her nocturnal habits are clearly audible. Not her fault I can hear my child roll over in her bed or open a drawer the house is poorly constructed. Everyone knows when a family member is using the toilet when we’re sat watching tv not just the flush. I don’t need my large house now as my children have left but getting downsized isn’t simple nothing is simple when dealing with PLACES FOR PEOPLE. Most people don’t have a choice who there Landlord is .you go with whoever has a property available if you do have a choice don’t choose these people. They are not good!

Barbara · 30 August 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Compassionate and professional

From the ladies on the phone, I believe one was Nicola and the other Jacqueline.To the builder who came called Noel, I can not fault PFP.They try their very best to give an appointment and although it was at first had to be rescheduled, it was well worth the wait.Patient considerate and kind is how I found the ladies on the phone.The builder Noel was polite and totally a professional.Very blessed to be a tenant at my late stage in life with PFP.

PAT · 8 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Can only say a huge Thank you to Tom…

Can only say a huge Thank you to Tom who has been sorting out a problem with my property after previous resident manager ignored issue numerous times. He is covering our scheme while looking after his own and any problem is sorted quickly he is a huge credit to places for people a huge thank you from myself and the rest of the residents of The Beeches Derby

JM · 4 September 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

9 years of yap yap yap

Rented a flat for 9 years as I had no choice due to parent moving away for work are re marage. Place was in poor condition to begin with. Poorly fitting windows and damp in the bathroom. Multiple leaks from the roof. Never fixed not even with the " major renovations ". Constantly phoning in fixes and getting fobbed off or blamed for the damages. Electrics in the kitchen. Where a death waiting to happen. Fire doors that could trap you inside. A lift that broke down Multiple times with disabled folks inside. Never missed a rent payment in all the time. Yet get treated like dirt by staffers and corporate The kicker comes when I split withy partner and loose my job. Pfp got notice of income issues told no problem. When the time comes.es for the housing benefit to be payed it was not payed. Unfortunately the job center messed up the claim 3 times due to pfp giving them the wrong details every time that it was requested. Ended up apparently owing over 2k to pfp for missing payments. Just as the situation was solved they served an eviction notice on me. In hindsight I should have had the hb payed to me then I pay pfp but I thought it was better to cut out the middle and get it sent direct to them. Still haven't payed the debt and never will. Not my problem that they can't give a government agency the correct information.

Sara · 19 July 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Customer/After Care: Nicola Jukes & Diane Rawson

Nicola Jukes has been an absolute legend. From the point of moving in to dealing with near endless queries and questions and just being a god tier problem solver, Nicola has looked after, sorted and managed a near never ending string of "ooh i've just found this, can you help?".I've never been left wondering what's happening, I've never had to chase anything up, Nicola has kept me posted every step of the way and ensured the right people are assigned the right job and always does everything possible to ensure a rapid turn around.Places for people have been an absolute pleasure to deal with from day one (also another huge shout out to Diane Rawson who was my personal saviour during the purchase and move!!! Cannot thank her enough either).Thank you so much for being absolutely the epitome of legendary customer service! You guys are amazing :D

Andie · 4 July 2022