5/5
TrustpilotIt was very easy to follow and very…
It was very easy to follow and very quick
Trusted Agent profile · London
OpenRent London reviews
★★★★★
1,487 reviews across 1 platform
39 Great Windmill Street, London, W1D 7LX
OpenRent's office in London, at 39 Great Windmill Street, is rated 4.0 out of 5 across 1,487 reviews on 1 platform.
Reviews
Every review we hold for the London office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
Trustpilot1/5
TrustpilotUsed to be so good
Used to be so good 5-6 years ago, we even rented a lovely flat there. You would find high quality housing, often belonging to landlords that were living there until just before starting to rent out. Flats had high quality features and were well looked after. Now, it is a dump of bad slumlord flats, ugly and in bad condition, just like any other website if not worse. They should have implemented some quality control, but did not and the result is that it's now populated with the worst flats as well as the stingiest and dodgiest landlords. What a shame. Avoid this site like the plague.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Elisabetta,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am sorry that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.If you come across a property on our website that is not in a great condition, you can report this to us using the “Report Listing” button on the listing in question. When you do so we are able to investigate and follow up with the landlord where necessary.Thank you again for your review and for your feedback on the website. We are always looking to improve our service for our tenants and to make renting a better experience for everyone, so your feedback is genuinely very much appreciated.If you have any questions or further feedback, please do reach out to us using the link below:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsBest wishes,India and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotUse one of the many other competitors
Use one of the many other competitors! Don’t bother with OpenRent.The process seems easy enough to set up -and it does save money on paying agents. However - the portal is not set up to accept non-U.K. - unfortunately my perspective tenants couldn’t even pay a holding deposit as they had not yet set up a U.K. telephone number or bank account. Over 1 month now after paying OpenRent and I have still not received my EPC and electrical safety certificate! I have sent 7 emails called twice . No response other than to say the Engineer will be in touch. Although they did remove my property off their site for not having an EPC! Luckily I had already found a tenant. I have had to do the AST directly as the portal didn’t work . It’s been such hard work it made me wonder if it wasn’t worth paying the agent!
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Shannon,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am very sorry for the issues you have had here.Unfortunately, we do require a UK debit card to place a holding deposit with us. If this is not possible, typically tenants will use a debit card belonging to a friend or relative already in the UK to make payment. However, where this is not available, I’m afraid that the Rent Now process can’t be initiated. We do apologise for any inconvenience caused here.It looks as though your electrical safety order has now been cancelled and you have been refunded in full. I can see that we were chasing the supplier for a response for you, so I am sorry that they did not come back to you with regards to rearranging an appointment. We expect all of our suppliers to provide a high level of customer service to our landlords so it is disappointing to hear about your recent experience.With regards to your EPC, I can see that your supplier has now provided the certificate but that there were some issues with the evidence for the insulation. We have been in touch with them again to resolve this for you and I can see that they have got back to you now to ask for more information.Once again thank you for your review and I am sorry for the issues you have had here. I can see that you have initiated the Rent Now process on your account, but if you are not looking to use this service please do let us know and we will refund you for the service that we were not able to provide.If you have any more questions, please do respond to our latest email, or you can reach us using the link below:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsBest wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotHassle free
Really easy to use for a hassle free process
5/5
TrustpilotEverything thing was easily done by…
Everything thing was easily done by online. No hassle at all.
1/5
TrustpilotI Spoke to someone on open rent…
I Spoke to someone on open rent yesterday about renting a property absolutely rude women she told me my partner doesn’t earn enough money to rent a property with anyone (which is not true because I got advice on this after the call) and she even had the cheek to say to me she wasn’t gonna nurse me along when I asked a few questions. I don’t think she is in the right job to speak to me like she did very unprofessional!
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Clare,Thank you for taking the time to leave and review and I am really sorry to hear this.We do rely on the courtesy of our landlords when communicating with tenants on our platform and I am disappointed to hear we have been let down here.Thankfully this is extremely rare and I hope this doesn't put you off our platform entirely.I will look to monitor their account on an ongoing basis to ensure that this is an isolated incident.If you would like to contact us with any further questions, you can do so using this link:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsThank you again for your review and apologies again for the trouble this has caused.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotComprehensive referencing? Definitely not
My experience of Openrent is acting as guarantor for a tenancy. They carried out what they refer to as “comprehensive” referencing but it is clearly basic, as they only ascertain your income and then make assumptions as to your outgoings to arrive at a figure that is presumably your disposable income. This then determines what they feel your maximum monthly rental affordability is. It is not at all transparent or flexible and they are not even able to take savings into consideration. I owned my own Estate and letting agent for 40 years during which time I assessed thousands of tenants and guarantors for tenancies. I would never have used Openrent based on this experience.Thank you for your reply. It does seem to make this even more curious though. Annual rent of 30,000, net income of 80,000 plusBased on your reply that is clearly affordable. As I said, the process is not transparent
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Phil,Thank you for your review and I’m very sorry to hear that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.It appears that there may have been some misunderstanding here as to how we make our referencing recommendations.We don’t make any assumptions about outgoings or seek to work out disposable income from this. We look to verify an applicant’s income, either by open banking or referee, and then work out affordability calculations based on gross monthly income. I can see that you have been in contact with our customer service a bit about your reference. I have replied to you again now just to clarify your income. Please do reply to this email if you have any further questions.Thank you again for your review and for your feedback. We are constantly looking to improve our service, so any feedback you have is genuinely very much appreciated.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotPoor customer service and overseas payments let down an otherwise good platform.
Openrent is quite a good platform to rent a property and I definitely saved money compared to an agent. However, I did have to work a lot harder for it. My tenant was an overseas student which is probably not uncommon. This led to a lot of difficulty transferring funds as it all had to go through Openrent and they only accepted UK cards and foreign bank transfers also didn’t get through. I had to proceed with the tenancy without the payments going through which put me in an awkward position. The customer service from Openrent was poor and they essentially just said ‘speak to your bank’. Turns out they had the funds with their bank all along but couldn’t release the funds for an unknown reason. It took me three months to get the funds from my tenant via openrent and ever then only because my tenant paid me so I could pay them and then be paid back by openrent!Overall, if you’re going to let to someone overseas, Openrent is a difficult experience. They need to improve this aspect and they really need to improve their customer service.Update: - Trustpilot recently emailed to say that you're trying to remove this review as you don't believe it's genuine. Trying to censor reviews you don't like is poor practice so I have reduced my rating. - My reference with you is 1513775. You will be able to confirm that this is genuine.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.As you haven't responded to our request for further information, we are in the process of looking into your experience so that we can respond accurately.Please do contact us on the link below so that we can look into this for you:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsThank you again for your review and please do contact us on the link above.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotI’ve used open rent for a number of my…
I’ve used open rent for a number of my properties and all in all is a good provider to use for advertising , property management and contracts
1/5
Trustpilottrying to rent true open rent
trying to rent true open rent? don't waste your time! the robot will tell you have 45th place in line and the landlord will contact you in 48 hours.. then in a week or so you will receive a text that the property let even it is still advertising... have time? try.. dear open rent I won't give anymore details on here, don't give me a robotic template now, answering my post.. I wasted enough time trying with your listings no one ever reply.. I wish I can give zero stars to such a service. shame
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Lina,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.I’m sorry that you were not happy to provide us with a bit more information so that we could look into this for you. Where you do we are able to comment more accurately and provide relevant advice or resolve any issues you may be having.Please do contact us on the link below so that we can look into your experience in greater depth:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsThank you again for your review and please do contact us on the link above. We are looking to build the best possible product for our users and we use customer feedback to improve our service for everyone.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotExcellent communication.
OpenRent is a brilliant way to advertise property. Their communication is excellent. Viewings were simple to arrange and confirm. Prospective tenants could contact us easily and we were able respond as soon as we were available. Pausing advert facility was also very helpful. Thank you OpenRent team.
5/5
Trustpilot~ Ode to OpenRent ~
~ Ode to OpenRent ~My agent was near useless, they seemed so lacking in ambitionEven though they’re charging me a rather high commissionAll fine words at the start about their record of successThe viewings told a different tale.. in six months.. five or less!At last I lost my patience so I searched online to seeIf there might be some other way to market propertyWithin a tick, and the right mouse click there ‘OpenRent’ I foundSo I did apply, with the hope to try and turn my void aroundNow when I’m moved by something great I’ll set it down in rhymeAnd OpenRent were AWESOME with results in double timeEmails rolled in, and my phone did ping with texts for those to viewWell I thought I’d hit the jackpot, it’s almost too good be true!So, if anybody’s wondering about which way to goI’m a full time landlord of twenty years, believe me this I knowNow I’ve got full occupation and my money’s been well spentAll thanks to Darius and AdamAnd their great team at OpenRent!
1/5
TrustpilotRubbish for Company Lets
OpenRent seems totally incapable of handling company lets. We are a substantial local healthcare provider with a 70 year record of successful trading, substantial group assets and with a number of rented properties to accommodate our nursing staff, yet OpenRent regarded us as unsuitable Tenants, not being able to provide a driving license or passport for the company. It's |OK for individual renters, but not set up for company lets. We only proceeded with the rental because the Landlord knew of our reputation and gave OpenRent the go-ahead.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review.I'm afraid that we do only deal with residential lettings.Our contract is an AST which is designed for individuals as tenants, and so it is not suitable for company lets. I’m sorry for any inconvenience caused here.Thank you again for your review and please do contact us if you have any further questions:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsBest wishes,India and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotRude engineer and openrent unprofessional.
Engineer booked for gas safety inspection on 2 items. Engineer incorrectly completed the paperwork not stating that hob was safe and just that a visual inspection was done. This does not meet regulations so rejected by letting agent. Called engineer to advise, who was rude and told me to get a new agent and refuses to reply to any further messages or calls. Actions resulting in delay to start of tenancy potential loss of tenant and having to pay agents for a gas safety inspection where paperwork is fit for purpose and meets regulations still not complete as its Christmas. Email sent to openrent who just forwarded message to engineer, very unprofessional! Now hunting for complaints procedure for openrent as well as engineer. Asked for refund as paperwork is no use to anyone, does not meet standards for a gas safety check or regulations to rent property. Have used the service many times in the past and been happy but will not be using the service again. You can clearly see from the paperwork uploaded on your system that it is not sufficient. Why would I want your rude and incompetent engineer back to my property when he has refused to reply to my messages since.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Ashley,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I do apologise for our late response.We have been in contact with the supplier with regards to your gas safety certificate in an effort to resolve this situation. We expect all of our suppliers to provide a high level of customer service and professionalism to our landlords and their tenants, so it is disappointing to hear about your recent experience.We do apologise for the service you received and we have taken action to ensure that this does not occur again. We are also very sorry that we have not been able to receive a final communication from the engineer on this matter and we hope that the refund we issued in January went some way towards compensating you for the time lost here.I also apologise that you felt as though our handling of the situation was poor, we always look to ensure that customer issues are handled swiftly and considerately. We will be performing a review of your case in order to determine how our processes could be improved here.Thank you again for taking the time to leave a review. I have also emailed you today, so if you have any questions or further feedback for us, please do just reply to my email or you can contact us on the link below:https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsBest wishes,India and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotThey retain card details and recharge
Really disappointed to log into a disused email account to find emails stating that I was about to be, and then a receipt stating we were charged IN ADVANCE for an un-requested and not required gas safety check because I purchased one last year (it runs out in Jan and we now have a managing agent that will renew it). I had no idea my husband's card details were retained following the first purchase and had I not logged into my old email account which I have not used for months, we may not have noticed the debit on his statement. No doubt they will respond with some reference to small print. Apart from the fact that this practice should be flagged with flashing lights to customers, it's poor underhanded practice.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am sorry for any issues caused here.We have an auto-renewal feature for gas safety certificates to make it as easy as possible for landlords to renew their certificate and remain compliant.I can see that you have been in touch with our customer service about this and I am pleased to see that my colleague has turned off the auto-renewal feature on your account and has issued you with a full refund.We will always email you in advance when your certificate is due for renewal and again when we are about to take payment. In these emails you are given the option to opt-out of the auto-renewal. We do try to make this as clear as possible for our landlords, so I’m sorry that this was missed in this instance.After a certain amount of time, we will automatically cancel an order and issue a full refund if it has not been completed. So we would never hold onto any funds indefinitely if a service was not required.Thank you again for your review and your feedback on this matter. If you have any further questions, please do respond to our latest email.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotEasy to use
Easy to use and very fair
1/5
TrustpilotTruly awful customer service
I have used Openrents services for a few years. In the beginning they were professional, caring and genuinely fantastic for private landlords. Over the years their customer service has become questionable. Now they are horrific! I deeply regret using them to advertise my properties. Their credit/reference checks are poor. They give little credibility and leave you confused and unknowledgeable about the tenant. They refuse to speak over the phone if you have any credit check queries, saying they will reply to emails. But they do not reply to emails either. Truly awful customer service. Avoid this company. There are better online companies I have since found and will use in the future, as I will never use open rent again.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Debbie,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am very sorry to hear that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.I am sorry that you felt that our customer service has been unsatisfactory. We work to ensure that all of our customers’ issues are resolved promptly and with care and attention. If we have failed you in doing so, we do apologise.I can see that my colleague has got back to you today in answer to your questions and that they have issued you with a refund for your references as an apology for any issues caused. If you have any further questions, please do just respond to their email.Thank you again for your review and for your feedback. We are always looking to improve our service for all of our users, so we very much appreciate your feedback on this matter.Best wishes,Indi and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotOpenRent cannot take Deloitte references. Why?
Why OpenRent cannot accept a referance from Deloitte employees? The reference gets generated by an internal Deloitte portal in just few seconds and the firm is willing to send this to a third party automatically by HR department, which in this case is OpenRent.I have explained this to OpenRent customer service, sent a message to OpenRent CEO, but I'm still receiving emails to provide employment reference. Someone has to press that link to give a reference and Deloitte policy will never allow that, NEVER CLICK AN EXTERNAL LINK.Some people might become homeless relying on your services. We are in 2022...Openrent...please improve!Is there any chance that someone can fix this asap, please?Thank you
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Georgiana,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I’m sorry that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.I’m afraid that currently we are unable to accept references in this way and do just require referees to fill out the form using the link in our email. However, it looks as though we were able to find a solution to your problem in this case and I am pleased to see that you passed referencing.Where an employer is not able to provide a reference, we are also able to verify your income via open banking. I can see that we were also able to successfully verify your income by this method.Thank you again for your review and also for your feedback on our referencing process. We are always looking to improve our systems and this feedback will be reviewed by our development team towards this end.If you have any further questions, please do just respond to our latest email.Best wishesIndia and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotDo not use for tenant referncing
Do not use for tenant referencing - you are not able to speak to them if you have any questions which makes it a waste of time - they take messages but never get back to you, reception just apologise. I ended up paying twice and using another company. Note Open rent tell you to use the "Need help" button but this just sends you an automated message to email them. Send them an email and they take forever to respond, and the content is nonesense. Ask to speak to them and eventually they say they will call you but then they dont bother. Waste of energy. Dont listen to their responses to previous reviews, its simply not true. They do not deserve your money.
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Clive,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am very sorry that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.I can see that you had a phone call with my colleague on Wednesday and I understand that your issues have now been resolved, if not, please do respond to our last email.I am sorry that you felt that our customer service was unsatisfactory. We do seek to resolve all of our customers’ issues as swiftly as possible and address any complaints with due care and attention. I can see that my colleague issued you with a refund for your references as an apology in this case.Thank you again for your review and also for the feedback you provided. We are always looking to improve our service so any feedback you do provide is genuinely very much appreciated.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotExcellent service totally on line
Very easy to advertise my property to let. Agreed new tenant in 4 days!!! Brilliant! Everything done on line. No personal contact with Openrent to date but process so easy it was not necessary. A lot cheaper than local Estate Agent. Tenent moved in today!
1/5
TrustpilotHave Landlords who discriminate tenants
Would give no stars if I could. Saw a house for rent in my area that looked perfect for me. Inquired and was told that a prospective tenant was underway, I then got another message saying it fell through and asked if I was still interested. I had continued my search and saw a few other properties that were suitable and cheaper and after consideration I declined due to the rent being right at the limit of my budget and didn’t want to take anything on and struggle. A few weeks past and the property had been re-listed at a cheaper rate and I had since found out that I would get more help towards housing so I actually could afford it. I messaged asking if it was still available and was told yes and to fill out the details before arranging a viewing. I was then ignored for over 24 hours before I messaged to ask if everything was okay. I got a prompt reply saying that because I don’t work I wasn’t allowed to view the property. I unemployed due to disability and get disability payments instead of a salary. No where on the add did it say that benefits weren’t accepted and it actually had students could enquire so how are they more reliable than someone on benefits and I get a high payment so money isn’t a problem. I feel very discriminated against and the fact that I’ve been denied a perfect property because I don’t work is shocking treatment and feel this shouldn’t be allowed and I will be looking to have the landlord reported to my council. I have rented 3 properties with no issues being disabled so I have multiple good references and no reason not to be even considered. Landlords shouldn’t be allowed to discriminate against potential tenants and OpenRent should do better vetting them if this is the kind of people they allow to advertise.
1/5
TrustpilotOrdered a PAT test for my property and it…
Ordered a PAT test for my property and it Was booked between 4pm and 6pm. Got an email to say he was finishing another job @ 3.50pm. I emailed a number of times but he never showed up. Poor serviceJust received my reply from openrent. Just lip service. Don’t use them if you want someone to turn up. Booked a locally PAT tester who turned up and did a great job
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Brian,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review, and we're disappointed to hear that the engineer did not attend this appointment. We also apologise for any inconvenience that this caused you.We value and act upon all feedback that we receive - while these occasions are rare, we will follow up with the engineer directly, as well as take steps to improve how communication is handled between our landlords and suppliers, as a result of your experience.In the meantime, I have looked into this and can see that your order has been cancelled and fully refunded to you. If you have any questions about this order, or any other part of our service, please do contact our team using the following link: https://www.openrent.co.uk/faq#i-have-more-questionsBest wishes,Joseph and the OpenRent team
1/5
TrustpilotDISGUSTING RIP OFF -paid £45 for a gas…
DISGUSTING RIP OFF -paid £45 for a gas certificate, needed to change appointment, no way of contacting them. Messaged website and they gave me an online text box which I sent off before the due appointment - this was not responded to and they have charged me a £30 call out fee. Reported this to banks fraud team and am in process of getting a charge back. Do not be tempted by low prices, there is no way to contact this company if you have an issue. Go with a company that provides a telephone number FFS!
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Hi Lanah,Thank you for taking the time to leave a review and I am sorry that you have not been happy with your experience of OpenRent.I’m afraid I can’t see that you have recently ordered a gas safety certificate on the account with the details you have provided. In order for us to look into this more closely, please contact us on info@openrent.co.uk providing the full property address. I am sorry that you found our customer service to be poor. We are contactable at all times by email, phone, and from the blue “Need Help?” box at the bottom of every page on the website. We work to ensure that all of our customers’ issues are resolved promptly and with care and attention. If we have failed you in doing so, we do apologise.Thank you again for your review and please do contact us on the email address above.Best wishes,India and the OpenRent team
5/5
TrustpilotReally easy and great experience
Where the same review appears twice we show it once. We leave out reviews that name another agent or another of the brand's offices.
