Every review we hold for the Longbenton office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
★★★★★ 2/5
TrustpilotGood looking property only
We are family of 3 migrated to UK in Jan 2021 .We stayed at Simple life semi detached home for 1 year. As we are new immigrants and had no experience in renting house in UK. Simple life required us for 12 months rent upfront as well as deposit and their staff suggested we can offer to paid more than their requested in the market so as to get a higher chance being chosen by simple life.At the end we paid 150£ more than they posted in Rightmove to rent a 3 bedrooms semi-detached in S2 Sheffield. 3 months before tenancy agreement due for renewal and an email from simple life to us saying They are happy to offer us a tenancy renewal at the current market rent of £1250 PCM for a period of 12 months.That's from £1150 to £1250 PCM 100£ more pcm for a Band A council tax of a 3 bedrooms semi-detached at S2 Sheffield.Our neighbour paying not more than £900 PCM for a 4 bedrooms semi-detached and simple life only asked them for 40£ more when renewing tenancy agreement with them.Another neighbour asked for £70 more from simple life for tenancy renewal with their 3 bedrooms semi-detached which they paid not more than £900 PCM . I am not commenting about overpriced but It's good to know rental increment from simple life will be subject to the background of each tenant as well as their so called CURRENT MARKET RENT rate.Houses of Simple life not only a Good Looking property from outside.I had been emailed at least 4 times to inform simple life's Asset manager about not renewing tenancy agreement with them.Luckily got an auto reply email after 3 attempts and saying Asset manager already left this company . As far as i know she was the 4th Asset managers during our 1 year stay in simple life property. Not to mention I had to look for somebody else in their immaculate website to find someone still available and giving a one month notice regarding tenancy agreement.Not surprisingly why tenant's concerns not being addressed and resolved promptly .
Doris · 19 February 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Dear Doris,Thank you for your review and providing us with identifiable information. We have located your records and we can find no evidence that you were asked to bid on your initial rental amount. This is not the process we undertake and although you have left previous reviews, we’re surprised to see that this is the first you have raised this with us.We do our very best to strike a balance between taking a fair view on rental increases for our existing residents, whilst still aligning as best we can with the UK property market from a business perspective. Rents across the UK are increasing considerably due to inflation, as you can see from the following research, the average rental increase in the UK is currently at 12.1%, whereas the increase mentioned in your review is around 8.7%. We do try to manage resident expectations regarding rental increases from the offset of a tenancy - it is made very clear in our tenancy agreements that rents will be reviewed and rise each year and unfortunately, like any business, we are unable to avoid that. https://www.hometrack.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/UK-rental-market-Dec-22-FINAL-PM-HT.pdfAs in this instance, we always give advance notice of any rental increases, giving residents the opportunity to end their lease with us and move to another property if the rent isn’t suitable. We’re sorry if this isn’t aligned with your expectation and we wish you the best of luck in your new home.
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotWave bye bye to deposit unless you…
Wave bye bye to deposit unless you raise a dispute claim through Tenants Deposit Scheme. This took 7 months to conclude as Simple Life decided to rob all of my deposit & I wasn't having that, & im not the only one! Now have some of my deposit back as adjudicated by TDS. Beware of this company!UPDATE. Ignore Simple Lifes reply, they falsely claimed for work that wasn't carried out & tried to charge me. TDS partially refunded my deposit which proves the point! BEWARE
Mark · 14 February 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Mark,We’re sorry to hear that you weren’t happy with your proposed deposit deductions. As we have discussed with you previously, extensive alterations to the property and the garden require approval, or otherwise need to be reverted to its original state when ending a tenancy. This is highlighted in our resident communications to avoid unexpected deposit deductions at the end of tenancies. We’re pleased to see that you followed the correct course of action and as advised, raised a dispute with the TDS, for them to independently adjudicate, which as you have stated, has resulted in you receiving a proportion of your deposit.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotChristine Thompson was amazing from…
Christine Thompson was amazing from start to finish and got me in my new home within days.
Miss · 11 March 2024
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you for your review!
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotGreat experience working with Jack…
Great experience working with Jack Meeks! 5 Star service!!Made our house hunting so easy and a breeze to work through, professional, fast and efficient.Thank you for making our experience an awesome one, coming from a previous rental, being told the landlord wants to move back into the property, we had to move fast, and that’s what Jack achieved for us..Highly recommended!!Thank you,Andrea Taylor
Andrea · 18 April 2024
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful feedback Andrea!
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotTerrible company to rent from
communication is terrible. 3 times in 2 years I made arrangements with them to do the property check. 3 times I waited in all day and nobody turned up. Still not had the priperty check. whenever you email it's an auto reply that they'll reply within 2 days but they never do. They assume everyone reads their social media. We don't. Good job ee have a good neighbour wgo told us today, 9th Feb, they were coming to check the smoje alarms I emailed to say I refuse to wait in all day as I have an appointment and they can't enter when we're not home because of the dog. Again auto reply. Managed to talk on the phone with the asset manager, Heather Blake, she said she'll call the inspector to do ours first but no call back to say she had done this or confirm. The houses are ok but no storage and the rents have increased way too much (£80 per month) and will increase again this year. The back gardens are terrible and are constantly flooded in the winter and even if we put a job on fixflo for this they don't do anything. New drainage is needed.All of these things means we can't wait to get away from Simple Life.
Mihaela · 9 February 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hello,Thank you for your feedback and providing us with further identifiable information via Trust Pilot. Unfortunately, we are only able to discuss matters against a specific tenancy with people who are named on the tenancy agreement and therefore, legally allowed to be residing at the property.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotGreat Reservation Experience
Spoke to Katie after seeing the ad on right move. Called her multiple time through the day and various email exchanges, she was always friendly on the phone and there were prompt email replies. Very happy with my interaction with her and the reservation experience.
Mary · 26 April 2021
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Mary! We're pleased that Katie was very efficient and helpful. Thank you for sharing!
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotOnly provide one way communication
I applied to rent a house from them in April 2022 and thought so lucky that rented a relatively new house. But after I paid the holding deposit, the communciation with them was stopped. They did not update me the status of finacial check and did not tell me when should I pay the formal deposit. After paid the deposit, they did not tell me the key collection date/point until the rental period had already started few days. They had not provided any inventory check documents until I returned the house but they charged me some damaged items that were same status when I checked in.I have reported some drawers required to replacements through their system but the case was closed by the manager without repair/replacement and finally was charged me thourgh the deposit.It is terrible to rent a house from simple life homes and I would never recommend to my friends.
Sam · 31 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Sam, We're sorry to hear that you weren't happy with your move in process. We have looked in to the communications sent to you and we can see that you were provided with communication of the bank details for your final payment to be made 8 days before your move in date. We can also see that as you were moving from afar, you required a very specific move in date, which was accommodated for you. We are therefore satisfied that the team were communicative and accommodating during this process.We can see that there was an incorrect proposed deposit deduction for the freezer drawers, which has since been rectified for you. We apologise for this error.
★★★★★ 1/5
Trustpilot⚠️Lying, incompetent company. ⚠️
Have to write another review since they replied to my last one once again making lies and not taking accountability. I contacted Irfan on the 24/10/2022 no response, I contacted Rodolfo on 28/10/2022 no response. I then contacted Tahir on the 9/11/2022 complaining that i hadn’t heard anything and it’s been almost 3 weeks that’s when he reached out to Irfan who then finally contacted me. Do not try to lie on me and take accountability for your incompetent actions. I’ve got the screenshots of ALL emails and conversations i’ve sent, If I could attach pictures to the reviews i would. I was ignored when asked about which company was handling my deposit because simplelife are calculated scammers and withheld the information so I couldn’t submit any evidence so they took all the deposit, i had BEFORE, DURING and AFTER pictures of me cleaning items in the house and they tried to deduct cleaning fees over things i’ve got proof i cleant? Why should money be taken out of my deposit over the garden when issues happened because of the BUILDERS doing a cowboy job?. A lady came to my house from the simplelife team she pulled up in her simplelife car informing me that she needs to inspect the house she had her clipboard to make sure everything was in check in the house on the simplelife side. I told her the issues regarding the yellow stain behind the sink etc and she wrote it down and said she’d get someone on it but nobody showed up. I’m looking at the other reviews and people have said they’ve been ignored by your company too, so we’re all lying now? Honestly this company is beyond disgusting and unprofessional. My biggest regret of 2021/2022*** updating from the reply ***i’ve just emailed over the screenshots to James** another update on the situation, i forwarded the emails i sent to James and he responded back saying that the email i sent to Rodolfo doesnt “appear to be on their server” so he’s getting his “IT team” to “check to see if there’s any issues with the inbox” baring in mind i had this conversation on email on the 19th devember 2022, were now in 2023 January 2023 and I still haven’t heard back from James. They don’t take accountable for their unprofessional actions, they’ve always got something/someone to blame! STAY CLEAR OF THIS COMPANY
Shards · 31 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hello,As stated in our previous response. The purpose of the tenancy deposit scheme is to independently adjudicate any disputes. If based on the information and photos provided by both parties, they feel the dedications are unfair or not warranted, our deductions are overruled. We have dated proof of responses to your communications, all responses were sent to you either the day of receiving your email or the day after. According to our records, the only time a response was not sent, was on 24th, when your contact was out of office, to which you will have received an out of office reply requesting you send your communications to another colleague, which was never received. Any other emails have not come up in our IT search, so we'd like to invite you to contact Team Leader, James at James.Hardern@simplelifehomes.co.uk, so you can send us screenshots and we can investigate for you.There are a number of times throughout this period where you were given details of the TDS and how to contact them, and we can see that you were successful in doing so, as you did log on to the TDS to initially raise a dispute.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotNiamh
Niamh, my contact at SimpleLife from initial enquiries through completion of referencing has been fantastic. She has always replied promptly to my enquiries, helped with filtering out a suitable and affordable property. She has definitely added an effective, efficient and personal touch to the service I received from Simple Life. Thanks so much, Niamh.
F · 19 September 2024
Agent replied · 22 October 2024
Thank you for your wonderful review! We will pass your feedback on to Niamh.
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotPoor service with maintenance issues
Poor service with maintenance issues. We have had intermittent heating for approaching two months during winter and they've sent boiler repair several times who don't know what they are doing. Poor service from Simple Life customer support. They treat you like you're making up the maintenance issues! Please don't make the mistake of renting with this company. Important maintenance issues will go on for months without resolution.
Areeb · 18 January 2024
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Areeb,Thank you for responding to our find reviewer request so that we can identify your property details.We’re sorry you’re having issues with your boiler. As this is an issue specific to the boiler, as any landlord or home owner, we have to rely on the expertise of an engineer to solve the problem. We can see that on two separate occasions engineers have been out to see to the boiler, but on both occasions the issue was not present in order to them to diagnose or resolve. Without the issue being present, the engineer is unable to resolve this situation. The engineer has also contacted the boiler manufacturer who is just as stumped.As the issue is not present when someone has visited, we can see the team have requested a video of the boiler in line with the thermostat showing a demand for heat as and when you experience the issue. Hopefully this will enable the engineer/manufacturer to identify and resolve the issue. We would like to reassure you that we are keen to get this fixed as soon as possible, but hopefully you can understand the circumstances outlines above.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotJack Meeks was amazing
Jack Meeks was amazing. He helped really well. Very polite and amazing person. Explained everything well and was very understanding. Thanks
Arusa · 4 December 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you so much for sharing Arusa!
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotDon't even bother...🙄🙄
I enquired about a 4 bed in Newton left willows, they took my deposit around £275 I filled in the full application as requested via let alliance (their reference partner) and got an email stating I had been rejected.So let's break this down for transparency.The applied for property rent 1150pcmMy current rented property 2105 pcm (penthouse apartment in liverpool)They couldn't tell me why I had been rejected and told me to speak to let alliance to determine why so I phoned them only to be told it was simple life homes who had made the decision not let alliance? Looks like someone can't get their story straight.Affordability. I would need to have a minimum rent floor per month of around 1333 according to their calculations even though my income far exceeded this 😅I earn over 100k and have no CCJs or IVAs or bankruptcy attached to me. I even offered to supply a guarantor, didn't even consider it they just said no as soon as I asked.Bottom line p*** poor company with a p*** poor attitude.BTW they offer you into a draw for a free months rent for leaving a review but I've left this one for free :)Avoid if you want to save yourself a headache.Ohh and they are only partially returning my holding deposit??? Pretty sure that if a landlord rejects an application then the full deposit is to be returned? Or did I imagine that 🤔
Charlotte · 27 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Charlotte, We're sorry to hear that you had trouble passing referencing. Unfortunately, as this is a public forum, we're unable to discuss the details behind this situation due to GDPR. A member of our team will be giving you another call today to chat through. If following this call you wish for further information, you will need to make contact with our referencing partner, Let Alliance.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotHannah Bishop was very quick and…
Hannah Bishop was very quick and helpful providing information when we were adopting a second dog .. great to be allowed pets without any hassle! Thank you
Fiona · 26 June 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
That's so lovely to hear! Thank you Fiona! We hope your new family member is settling in well!
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotMoved in October 2020
Moved in October 2020, reported a few days later that the garden keeps flooding! Baring in mind i have a child and dogs. It took me numerous times and emails for them to come out. Basically refused to come out until summer time. Again after numerous reports and emails they came out, they stuck a stick in the ground and said they hadn’t laid enough soil. Said they would let me know what they decide to do next. Shock horror, never heard anything back. It’s like playing catch up with these lot. Since then they have only been out another time to tell us the exact same thing! The houses are shocking and made with cheap materials! All the walls are cracked and some places have even cracked that much I can see screws inside the wall!! Not only this but when my yearly tenancy ended they emailed and asked if I wanted a rolling contract or another year. Obviously I opted for the rolling contract as I was looking for another home. Couple days later I got an eviction notice for “end off tenancy” basically putting a single mother and child out onto the streets but can’t be bothered to come out for repairs! Do not move into one off these properties, the price, customer service and quality off the house just don’t add up! Paying way more than I should for a cardboard house. Neighbours have also had to move out due to their kitchen flooding every time it rains! They actually came to fix that job (shocked I know!) a week later they experienced the same thing so moved house! DO NOT USE THIS COMPANY! They was originally called “Ascend” but changed their name… wonder why?? Won’t let me reply to but as for “aggressive dog” these concerns with the contractor was never discussed with me. In fact one of your colleagues came out once and even said that they was really well behaved dogs. Bring out the lies, I have had proof of everything since the day I moved in, I’ll tag you in all the pictures shall I. Had my very own “swimming pool” in my garden, in 2 and half years you’ve come out twice and my dogs where inside the property. Never had a problem with my dogs they even live with a 1 year old. Absolute cowboys.
Aliyah · 17 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Aliyah, Thank you for providing more identifiable information enabling us to locate your tenancy.We note your concerns over your garden. As explained over the phone, due to an aggressive dog at the property, the housebuilder isn’t willing to attend for the safety of their staff. We can see that you had previously raised a maintenance request for settlement cracks in the property, however, once a contractor was instructed, someone at the property wouldn’t allow access and confirmed that there were no works to complete. We can also see that there are no outstanding jobs currently live on your maintenance reporting software. We’re unable to go in to any detail over eviction notices on a public forum, but if you need any clarity over this, please call the team, who are able to chat through in more detail with you.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotRelocation
I spoke with Catalina and it was a great experience. As we are relocating from Northern Ireland, making arrangements remotely has been quite difficult, Catalina made it seamless. We look forward to the next stage of the process and moving into our new home
Kiera · 24 May 2021
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you Kiera! It's great to hear that the process has been made seamless for you, particularly with such a big move. We will make sure that Catalina gets a copy of your compliments.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotFantastic experience
The whole process has been very easy from applying to rent with simple life up to the current day of being a simple life tenant.
Lauren · 18 September 2025
Agent replied · 24 September 2025
Thank you for your feedback Lauren! We delighted to hear that you've had an excellent experience so far!
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotChristine was responsive and very…
Christine was responsive and very helpful
Paul · 12 September 2024
Agent replied · 22 October 2024
Thank you for your review Paul!
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotOlivia has been absolutely fantastic
Olivia has been absolutely fantastic. She was very helpful in securing the property and was constantly in touch to ensure everything went on smoothly. Here is a big thank you to you.
Omobola · 13 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you for your kind feedback!
★★★★★ 4/5
TrustpilotSo far so good !!
So far so good, can’t really complain. Shout out to Katie Blackburn and Ben McCarthy from the lettings team for their assistance. Apartment is secure, modern and looks the part. The simple life team communicated well prior to move in and hopefully that continues.
Tobi · 30 April 2021
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Tobi,Thank you for your brilliant review! We will make sure that Katie and Ben get a copy of your compliments. We hope you enjoy your new apartment!
★★★★★ 1/5
TrustpilotDon’t bother ringing…
Don’t bother ringing. Waited a long time for someone to answer. A lady called Jade answered and sounded like she wasn’t bothered to be there. At one point she is saying random things not connected to what I’m talking about. I asked if she was actually hearing me and next thing I know the call was disconnected. Funny I’m not a tenant, just someone calling during my working day to enquire about a property I’ll ideally like to rent. Guess I’ll take my business where it’s wanted coz clearly the level of ‘customer service’ I was getting today makes me wonder if they even care. I have tried calling back and no one answered the phone. It’s not even 4pm so guess everyone has left for the day.
Ari · 3 January 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Ari,Thank you for getting in touch with us and thank you for your feedback. We have spoken to the lettings team to gain more insight into your calls. We can establish that your first call had an exceptionally bad line, which resulted in the call getting cut off. We have located and listened to the call to ensure that it was handled as we would expect. We can see that you were unsure of what you were looking for and our lettings negotiator tried to query to assist you as best she could, including offering to send you the details and the option to book in a call for the following week. To gain more information from you, I believe James has been I touch with you via email requesting further details but has struggled to get a response. If you could get back to us via email, we would very much like to help as much as we can.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotBeen with Simple Life for 2 years now
Been with Simple Life for 2 years now, still really happy with my home and the service. Any issue that I've had (which isn't that many) has been resolved fairly quickly. For instance, my fridge stopped working and I had a brand new fridge as a replacement. It has made renting a lot easier and I have no plans to move in the near future :)
CJ · 22 January 2024
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you so much for your positive feedback CJ! We wish you many more happy years in your Simple Life home!
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotExcellent service
Simple Life HomesTheir responses to emails were super fast. No delays. When I had a question it would be answered as detailed as possible. Rebecca is a very professional agent and loved doing viewings with her.
Brigeta · 21 July 2022
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you Brigeta - we really appreciate your feedback!
★★★★★ 3/5
TrustpilotWas meant to recieve a payment link…
Was meant to recieve a payment link yesterday to pay for tenancy. Didn’t recieve. Was told I’d then recieve it today. Still haven’t. But meant to move in on Monday?? I can book any movers until I’m absolutely sure we have a place as otherwise we’d be moving across the country with all our belongings and nowhere to put them
Alexandra · 16 May 2024
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Hi Alexandra,We're disappointed to see your negative review. We're sorry that you didn't receive the payment link on the day that was communicated. We can see the team sent this out early the next day and we understand that you are now moved in and happy with your home.
★★★★★ 5/5
TrustpilotReview from a Contractor
I am Gabriele, Owner of GMW General Repairs based in Dunstable, Bedfordshire.Around a month ago we started to work along with SIMPLE LIFE, servicing their new estate located in Houghton Regis. I can confirm that those people know what they are doing, specially Hannah Bishop, a very polite and professional person. I had the chance to work mainly with her in regards of mainteninace jobs and i cannot be happier of our work cooperation.
Gabriele · 28 June 2023
Agent replied · 17 June 2024
Thank you for taking the time to leave a review Gabriele - it is much appreciated!
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