Simple Life reviews

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible Experience

Terrible Experience, Avoid Simple Life Homes★☆☆☆☆ My experience with Simple Life Homes has been nothing short of appalling. They do not allow you to physically or virtually view the exact property you’re renting, nor do they provide pictures of the property in its actual state. Instead, they expect you to pay a non-refundable holding deposit (mine was over £250) and later pay your full deposit and rent without ever seeing the property. Their excuse? They claim their properties are either “new builds” or “in high demand,” so there’s no time to offer viewings. This is misleading, as the property I moved into is a poorly built 4, 6-year-old "new build," far from the pristine condition you’d expect. The issues were numerous and unacceptable: - The property was not handed over in a clean condition. - The floor is poor quality, covered in scuff marks, and has sticky patches that won’t disappear even after cleaning. - The skirting boards are severely chipped and look like they’ve been nibbled by a pet. - The mixer tap in the kitchen was loose. - The back garden light doesn’t work. - The garden is a muddy mess with patchy grass, completely neglected and unusable. - The thermostat and heating system didn’t come with instructions, nor did the inspector provide any induction on how to use it. - Rusty towel rails and metal fittings. - Rusty heaters. - Rusty bathroom mirrors. - A broken fridge tray, which should have been addressed before I moved in. For the rent they charge, this is completely unacceptable. The property was not redecorated before my move-in and had scuffed walls, poorly aligned cabinet doors, and a garden door with a visible gap due to its poor fitting. The light fittings are crooked, and no effort was made to address basic wear and tear. They carried out the inventory inspection on my move-in day, suggesting they didn’t inspect the property after the previous tenant moved out. The move-in process was chaotic, with the key collection time changed arbitrarily. The inspector who handed over the property was clueless about the security alarm, internet hub, and appliance manuals, leaving me in the dark about essential features. Since moving in, I’ve had to raise multiple tickets to fix issues that should have been addressed before I arrived. Even if the property had been a brand-new build, their subpar construction and lack of attention to detail would still result in numerous defects. Renting with Simple Life Homes feels like gambling with your money. Their claims of “new builds” or “high demand” are an excuse to avoid transparency, and their disregard for tenant experience is shocking. For the price they charge, it is absolutely not worth it. I strongly advise against renting from them.

Ps · 16 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Non stop problems and no resolutions

I moved in on the 7th November but have had nothing but issues. My move in date was pushed back and I was told it was because the property “stunk of cat urine”. When I eventually moved in there was an abundance of problems that are still not resolved 5 weeks later. The house was apparently deep cleaned but rust is all over the radiators and any metal throughout the house. There was cat fur all over the windows and windowsills. The sliding door wardrobes are so rusty and dirty in the groves where the doors slide it’s horrible.My oven was filthy it was revolting. It had no oven shelves. When I switched it on it cut the entire electrics out for the whole house. It took 5 weeks for them to replace it and give me a working oven.My garden is so overgrown it cannot be managed with a lawn mower. It is riddled with cat faeces and litter. The patio is mouldy, stained and dirty. The same for the back doors. They are also filthy. They haven’t sent anyone to sort the garden since I complained 5 weeks ago.The fridge falls out of the unit as it is smashed. A contractor came to see it, temporarily fixed it (which only lasted 24 hours) and said he’d be back but never returned.The washing machine had to be deep cleaned as it still smelt of cat urine. Same for the sinks.I have no door for my downstairs w/c which is hugely inconvenient. Two contractors have come out, the first had the wrong size door and the second had the wrong colour door. Nothing has been sorted since their last visit 2 weeks ago.The shower was broken when I moved in but luckily was fixed in 3 weeks. Lol.It took them 4 weeks to fit the new blinds as the old ones were stained, smelt bad and didn’t work.The freezer drawer is mixing and the shelf inside is smashed. But compared to the rest of the issues this was the least of my problems.When trying to get answers and resolutions I have been given one response from Leah Gilford telling me it would all be resolved in a timely fashion but since her email she has ignored me and won’t reply when I tell her nothing has been resolved since her email 3 weeks ago.I can’t believe how awful simple life homes have been. Avoid.

N.O · 12 December 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Regret moving in from the first week here.

From even before moving in there was nothing but trouble. Wish I'd have taken it as a warning and not moved in at all.I had to jump through all sorts of hoops to get the house, DBS checks, credit checks, must earn minimum of 30× the rent plus a guarantor, dogs must have proof of vaccines, references from employers, a lot of various rules in the tenancy agreement such as not to make noise on the estate keep the outside of the house presentable etc, although there was a lot, it made me comfortable knowing it would be a nice safe area to live.The move in date changed by two weeks as the house was not ready, but with no correspondence from the company at all to inform me of this. So as I am stood outside the house waiting on two separate days, I get impatient so I phone them and to be told there's a change of circumstances... Thanks for the update(!) Then when I finally got the keys two weeks later they tried to charge me the previous two weeks rent as well, as they stated their rent is 1st -1st. I argued this out and they eventually took the two weeks off.Once inside the property there was mess EVERYWHERE. If you've ever watched those skit videos of "landlord decorating specials" this is exactly that: paint over sockets, over switches splatter across the floods, gloss painted over fluff and debris. Then every sink in the house was covered in paint/gloss residue where brushes had been washed but not cleaned up afterwards.Then you get an inventory of things that are inside and outside, including any pre-existing damages. With this being a new build you would assume everything was top-notch. Wrong. Go through this like a fine comb as their report was incorrect. They had place of in "good bracket" it wasn't. You get the chance to add your own input, which I did. As an example, there was a lot of damaged areas where the builders have installed the integrated appliances and damaged the doors and floors, which were not in their report.You have an online app/portal to report repairs. This is no good either as the repairmen either don't turn up after making you stay in all day for them on numerous days. Or they state it is not something they would fix, such as wires and metal poles hanging outside the front door (not only as an eye sore but as a trip hazard). Another example being, they install media outlet sockets in multiple rooms however so not supply an aerial of any sort. Which isn't too bad, however they do not grant access to the loft. So what is the point of supplying the outlets for TV aerial if you are not allowed to install one?The rent being over double the usual rent amount in the north of England you would like to think that they would like to please their tenants, but they're in no hurry.Whilst on the subject of rent, it's quite unfair that because they can't get rid of their houses they have now lowered neighbouring houses rent amounts, including one month free.Also because it is a new build it brings it's own problems with that. Whilst the houses are still being built there is constant noise from dawn to dusk. There is also A LOT of mess, so much clay and dirt. My car is constantly a mess, literally the day after I wash it it looks like I haven't washed it for months. Council tax has not been decided yet so you pay an estimate and hope for the best. Delivery companies struggle find the house. As it is still like a building site, there are potholes EVERYWHERE, really bad deep ones too. Some of the workmen on site are also driving quite recklessly, one of them even spilt gravel whilst racing past me and cracked my VW badge on a band new car. So not happy at all.Overall I would not recommend and wish I never moved here. I'm depressed.

Roxanne · 2 December 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Megan was proactive in helping our move…

Megan was proactive in helping our move in smoothly. We had excellent service.

Mavis · 25 August 2026

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Thanks to Charlotte

First and foremost, a huge thanks to Charlotte, she’s been fantastic throughout. Although our journey with SimpleLife had a bumpy beginning, things really turned around. Our first attempt to view a property earlier this year was a bit of a disaster, as they directed us to a place that wasn’t yet owned by SimpleLife and was still under construction. Recently, though, we found another property, and things improved. Initially, communication was a bit challenging, and securing a booking took some persistence. But after passing referencing and working with Charlotte, the experience has been brilliant. Just get past the difficult initial stages of their poor enquiries team.

Otis · 4 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Disgraceful and unprofessional.

This was a nightmare from start to finish. My wife and I earn in excess of £85000 a year between us and they were adamant they wanted a guarantor!!! We provided 2 seperate guarantors from professional working people who were both rejected. The customer service people were rude and did not respond to my emails and I had to constantly chase them regarding my application and guarantor status. I complained and was response by some minion who stated they have a process they go through even though I told them I knew someone who was given a property at the same site whose Mother was her guarantor and she wasn’t even working. This whole experience was a complete farce and showed how unprofessional this company is and they pick and choose who they want. An absolute disgrace. Avoid at all costs.

Mr · 20 October 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

The houses look good for 1 star

The houses look good for 1 star. That's where it ends. Prepare to be lied to, ripped off and let down. Ours on Stonefield edge from new build. Garden floods, sewers reek, paid for front garden maintenance doesn't happen. Plumbing is an absolute joke (our washing machine emptied into the dishwasher). Emergency numbers go unanswered (when the downstairs toilet is over-topping with sewage) and calling out Dynarod is "not our policy to pay for third party maintenance". Any issues within the property you have to fight for. For example; our smoke alarm started going off with no smoke. All day and all night. We rang to report. "Change the battery" we were told even though we ain't thick and had already done that. We disconnected it so we could sleep. 3 weeks went by unprotected before an engineer came out, telling us all the alarms installed were faulty and were all packing up across the site. So, a known issue then! Rents rise annually for no additional benefit, and when enough is finally enough and you give notice to move out, they have you over a barrel. The terms and conditions change silently while you're putting up with all their crap and you find the 28 days notice won't start until your next payment date, so you end up giving (and paying for!) 7 weeks notice if you house moves comes along just after a pay date. Their office people when they eventually get round to answering your emails are surly at best, rude at worst and smug knowing that they're ripping you off. Their rules and regs are underhand (rushing you to complete the faulting log on the day you move in with all the hassle that entails, then blaming you for issues that you missed in the melee), complicated and financially fall in their favour every single time. I'm reluctant to use the words 'fraud' and 'theft', as their T&C's state their intentions readily if you can find them, but you get the idea... They were ideal when we were looking to get out of a problem rental, but boy, talk about out of the frying pan into the furnace.. I'm not expecting to see any of our deposit back either, having dared to 'live' in one of their properties and had the audacity to hang curtains and put up pictures; all fixings repaired you understand but I can guarantee "not to our standard". Never again and recommend anyone to steer well clear of Simple Life.

Matt · 13 October 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

James has been incredibly helpful…

James has been incredibly helpful throughout this process. He arranged a viewing straight away and has made the entire experience smooth and positive so far.

Finlay · 11 May 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Simple Life Team are exceptional 👌

The company Simple Life has got listening hears, they respond to queries on time via the app.Matt Bullman is always on it, he ensures you are okay eventually by following up with the queries. I am gonna say thank you. Also , I can't forget to thank Ben, he received us on our first day 28th of March, 2024, he took his time to explain every little details, he is also a good listener, paying attention to every little details we were highlighting. Ensuring customers satisfaction. And to Christine that kept reassuring us that the move in date that was fluctuating was due to the fact that they need to ensure the property is in good shape and habitable for us. Thank you Christine. Although i have got some queries yet unresolved but I believe the team are on it and would finally get it sorted. Thank you again and God bless.

Bunmi · 29 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Simple Life-Disgusting Company

I recently applied for a property at Charlton Gardens, Apley, Telford. On application there was nothing mentioned regarding the criteria for a guarantor and they were quick enough to take my deposit after I was told I had been accepted for the property depending on references, which were all ok.I was then told I had to find a guarantor and I provided 3, one after another, who were rejected due to unrealistic reasons. All were financially set and had excellent credit scores.Because we could not find anyone else to act as a guarantor, we lost the property which my family had their hearts set on. During this painful experience the Simple Life team showed no empathy or support in order to help us acquire this property.I have now lost a large part of my deposit through no fault of my own and we have been left in limbo to try and find a property within a short space of time.I found this entire process disgraceful and very unprofessional and shall be making all this public all across my social media platforms, highlighting the poor customer experience and lack of professionalism shown.I would strongly suggest dismissing the so called customer service staff and as far as the tools from let alliance, I would strongly avoid having antything to do with them.I spent most of my adult life serving in HM Forces and I am absolutely appalled by the way I have been treated.

Mr · 27 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Niamh was extremely helpful

Niamh was extremely responsive and helpful in helping me secure a property! Estimated response time was only a couple of minutes, almost unheard of.

Chante · 13 May 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Smooth, Enjoyable Process - Thanks Matt!

I was looking for a property fairly quickly, so I contacted Simple Life about a development and was put in contact with Matt Boyd. Matt was a god-send throughout the entire process. He took my numerous phone calls without complaint, provided clear explanations of the process, and maintained quick, consistent communication. He ensured that the process was smooth and much less anxiety inducing than I expected!Despite the high demand in my development, I was able to select a property and complete my application in less than a week. Without Matt's quick responses and his help, this would not have been possible.I highly recommend and I can't wait to move in! Thank you again, Matt!

Charlotte · 13 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

3.5yrs - 100% deposit returned - overall would recommend

We lived in a flat from the first day it was built and we moved out a short time ago - 3.5 years in total. We only moved out because we bought a house and we're happy there whilst we stayed there.A few negatives were the furnishings which looked great but didn't wear well. Definitely a case of looking the part but probably not having longevity. I believe they were from a company called Loft.The insulation was poor both ceiling to floor (above us) and floor to ceiling (below us). We could hear music really loudly if it was being played in the room below and conversations and doors slamming from upstairs.Finally, there were issues with thefts from the post room in our building and it took a while for the building manager to put cameras in and frosted glass. It seemed to fix the problem but I avoided ordering things for delivery unless I was certain I'd be in. Simple life were easy to deal with and responded to our requests in a timely way with their app. They organised events every now and again to get us together too which was a nice touch. The building and communal areas were kept clean too.The rent cost was increased yearly but by a modest amount and by the time we moved out we were actually paying a bit under what I'd expect for the area. The car parking cost didn't rise in the 5 years and was secure.When we moved out we were wary of being stiffed on the deposit but we ended uo having no charge, which is the main reason why I am giving it 5 stars. There is a free service for them to check and advise on what might be chargeable. We paid for a deep end of tenancy clean and we replaced the freezer drawers (which were smashed up to be fair) and did a few patch ups of the paint but other than that they accepted a few scuffs as wear and tear instead of using our deposit as a weapon and an excuse to fleece us - I've experienced this many times so pleased to report this didn't happen to us.All in all would recommend and was a positive experience over the time we loved there. We would've stayed a while longer had we not got on the property ladder.

Matt · 10 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

FAIL TO DELIVER ON THERE PROMISES

Fail to deliver on there promises-House was selected and deposit was all paid and move in date all agreed .. but near the moving date they have decided to push the date back - which obviously caused us issues as everything was planned to go ahead on certain date .. but we agreed to this new move in date but a week later date pushed back a whole month which left us no where else to go. Not professional at all lame excuses and no empathy on someone circumstance.. caused me additional stress and anxiety for no reason.

Amit · 7 September 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Spoke to Charlotte and Niamh a few…

Spoke to Charlotte and Niamh a few times over the last week, both super helpful discussing available properties in the manchester area

Mia · 14 May 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Charlotte was concise and enthusiastic…

Charlotte was concise and enthusiastic about the property we viewed- she assisted greatly by answering any questions we had thoroughly. Brilliant service!

Blake · 13 May 2026

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Poor customer service

House is comfortable new and estate is well maintained. Contractors used are decent and did a good job when issues were raised. About everything nice I can say. They Are trying to do us over with the deposit return. We painfully gutted cleaned and tried as hard as we could to look after the place to be hit with a few fees for weeding and cutting the grass after we left even though the inspection was done 8 days after our hand in date mid summer and was still half the length it was when we moved in and was freshly seeded 12 months ago so any weeding issues they have seem ABIT ridiculous. "patch painting" was also listed at near enough 40 a scratch and are saying we owe 30 pound in rent after paying on time each month and handing keys back early.Cost of rent considering the area we were in was very high in our opinions could easily be 200 pcm lower. Thanks for not much simple life you truly were a serious waste of money

Calum · 13 August 2024

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Outstanding repairs and rent increases

The houses are nice enough, but as new builds there will be issues. I have repairs that are older than my tenancy been there a year and most of the repairs are still outstanding from the first day I moved in. I get no meaningful updates and no one really cares. They have access to your property and workmen will enter your home when they please without warning as they wrote this into your tenancy agreement. The crime and horrible tenants are rife in Pullman green Doncaster, and it’s clear they let to anyone who will pay the over inflated prices

Vin · 12 February 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

My experience with Charlotte was very…

My experience with Charlotte was very helpful she guided me through the process and explained everything in detail.

Tracey · 27 May 2026

★★★★★ 3/5

Trustpilot

Simple Life are okay

I'd say Simple Life are okay, nothing spectacular but not completely terrible. Our home again was okay, but did have mould in no matter how much we tried to ventilate the property. In fact, it seems as though within the week and a bit of moving out of the property judging from the check out photos from Simple Life the mould had returned in some areas of the house. The bathroom wasn't fitted with an extractor fan which we never understood given that the property was a fairly new build. As you can imagine this again meant there was an issue with mould. The garden always flooded towards the bottom end I think because they didn't flatten the ground when the house was built. Cracks in walls and paint somehow falling off the walls despite nobody touching them. Monthly rental costs were decent to be fair, however after speaking with neighbours who moved in quite a while after us in the same type of property it seems they were being charged a fair bit more than us. I don't know if this is standard practice for rental properties but just thought I'd mention it. I obviously had no way either of validating this, I'm just repeating what they said.I think communication is what really lets Simple Life down. When enquiring about moving into a property they are very quick, however if you need to contact someone after it's very difficult. I think one very simple replacement/repair we needed took them the best part of a year to respond to, and even then they massively overcharged for it as we were able to find the exact same product online far cheaper with a quick Google search. Another repair we enquired about they never actually got back to us about. Because they seemed to change property managers all the time it was also difficult to even know who to speak to regarding different issues. When moving out Simple Life gave us a list of repairs and costs needed which the vast majority of were fair, however when sending this they advised that if we disagreed with anything we needed to contact them in writing to tell them this by the deadline. We did email them regarding a couple of bits, multiple times yet still haven't heard back. There were occasions where we were able to get a pretty quick response during the tenancy but these were few and far between. Regarding moving out and getting deposits back I noticed quite a few complaints on here. Simple Life didn't give clear instructions on how to get the deposit back which I think is part of the problem. I haven't had any issues getting the money back yet apart from the poor communication already mentioned, and I do trust that we will get the remainder of it back, however I was confused on how to do so as all Simple Life said was "contact TDS as outlined in your welcome pack" or something along those lines. As we lived in our property for an extended period of time it was impossible to find the welcome pack given on move in day. I searched through my emails back to around the time of moving in day and nothing, no welcome pack. I really hope they weren't referring to a physical welcome pack after living in the property for years and having been moved out for weeks, as that could very easily have gone missing or even thrown out after moving out. They also said we needed to contact them if we disagreed with the repairs but then said we needed to contact TDS which was confusing. The following email telling me to contact TDS I might add was not in response to any of our previous emails. They seemingly ignored all previous emails and then randomly sent this one separately in a different email chain. After logging into my TDS account again there were no instructions on what to do and no option to raise a dispute, if that's what I wanted to do. Of course I enquired with Simple Life about this but haven't heard anything back. I reckon to reduce the number of complaints regarding this and help with the confusion Simple Life should be more supportive and should better explain to tenants how to do this, especially with how poor their communication is when you follow up.I've definitely had worse landlords but Simple Life are as I said just okay. Generally speaking the bar is pretty low when it comes to landlords these days.*Edit* Hi simple life, I posted this review accidentally from a family member's account, however the purpose of this review was not for you to reach out and assist me, but rather to give my honest review to potential new tenants of Simple Life properties. You cannot help with the issues we had with our home, the lack of response to simple repairs throughout the tenancy as it's way past move out date now, and you haven't been helpful with explaining how to get holding deposits back. If you really wanted to help you'd have already responded to the multiple emails that have already been sent to you rather than waiting for a review to be posted online.

Ellie · 12 July 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I am so pleased with the process so…

I am so pleased with the process so far. A special thank you to Christine Thompson who guided us through everything and was so quick at responding enabling us to also be as sufficient as we could back. We are so pleased to have found our lovely home, from applying, to referencing everything has gone so well so far. We are also grateful to the help we’ve received from Shannah Levey and happy with everything so far and long may it continue! We hope that we have all the same views when moving in. :) can’t wait!

ERS · 2 July 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Finalising our future home st the current time

We are currently in the process of finalising a property with simple life and up to now I can’t fault them at all. Everything has been super quick and if I’ve had any queries the staff have been quick to respond.A special thank you to Holly who has show us around twice now as my partner could t make the first viewing and she’s been on hand via messages when I’ve needed any other advice

Julie · 18 September 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Without a doubt one of the most painful…

Without a doubt one of the most painful experiences iv ever had. Getting through to somebody unless you are looking to be a new Tennant is near impossible, when you go down that route you get fobbed off with the usual ‘I will get someone to call you back’ which as expected never happens. I moved out over 8 weeks ago now and iv not had one single email regarding my holding deposit, I have tried ringing every week and have managed to speak to somebody once which they said it was ready to be emailed and should be with me shortly, this was 4 weeks ago this week. This has been expected as i know multiple people who have dealt with simple life regarding holding deposits and they are absolutely horrific regarding them. Charging £70 for the removal of dust of a radiator being an example. They are notoriously known for making it extremely difficult to get any response or any money back from your holding deposit. I will continue to attempt to contact them as legally they have my money but in reality I expect absolutely nothing anytime soon, awful company, horrific communication, no aftercare at all or clear process in place. Once your out your bottom of the list in terms of response.

Jack · 25 June 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Terrible experience, terrible company

My recent experience with Simple Life Homes was incredibly disappointing and frustrating. The application process was nothing short of a nightmare. The representative handling our case, Shannah, was consistently rude and unhelpful throughout. Every interaction felt like an uphill battle, with her dismissive attitude making an already stressful situation even worse.There were some delays in our application process due to my wife's HR team being difficult (which we communicated to them) with providing references. While we acknowledge this caused some setbacks, you can truly judge a company by how compassionate and understanding they are when things don't go exactly as planned. Unfortunately, Simple Life Homes showed no compassion or understanding during this time. Instead of working with us, they added to our stress and frustration.One of the most significant issues was their refusal to adjust our move-in date to allow for a proper in-person viewing of the property. We wanted to ensure the home met our expectations before making any commitments, but Simple Life Homes made this impossible. They seemed entirely unwilling to accommodate this reasonable request, pressuring us to make hasty decisions without adequate information.It felt like we were being time-pressured at every step, leaving us no choice but to sign documents and move forward without the due diligence we deserved. This high-pressure tactic made us feel like we were signing away our rights and agreeing to terms we weren't fully comfortable with.Overall, the experience was highly unsatisfactory, and I would not recommend Simple Life Homes to anyone looking for a stress-free and respectful home rental process. Their lack of flexibility, poor customer service, and absence of compassion left a lasting negative impression.Looking at all the unpaid reviews, you could say we got lucky in rescinding our application. Avoid.Edit:We later got a call from a contracting company on behalf of simple life wanting to do repairs, they thought we were living at the property even though we had rescinded our application. It turns out, that the bath was rotting due to leaks, no wonder they didn't want us to see the property! Watch out for 75 Newport Lane, do thorough checks!

Edmundo · 14 June 2024