The Property Shop Brighton & Hove Estate Agents — Local services in Great Britain

Avoid using this managing agent at all costs! Significant concerns around possible misappropriation of service charge funds, lack of accountability and transparency on how our money is being spent with all requests for accounts/receipts completely ignored, they appointed contractors who proceeded to do sub-standard works and incorrectly issued a Section 20 retrospectively which breaches the Landlord & Tenant Act 1985 (as amended by the Commonhold & Leasehold Reform Act 2002) where a three-stage consultation process must be followed when carrying out qualifying works to a building where the contribution from any one lessee exceeds £250 - They spent £14,000 on sub-standard works, ignore emails from owners concerning the building issues and poor works carried out. Work not tendered correctly, always issued to the same contractors.

It’s come to light that our building had no building insurance for EIGHT months! Something the property shop was solely responsible for maintaining. We also identified that we had no fire alarm contract in place for 4 months! The Property Shop simply didn’t pay the supplier allowing it to lapse, all the while continuing to take our service charge payments which is deeply concerning and could have put lives at risk. When challenged, they denied this until we got proof from both the insurance broker and the fire alarm company (in writing!) that we did not have either in place, this is when they finally admitted it.

We then discovered that TPSB has been deceptively telling owners for the past 8 years that we are share of freehold when in fact they did not post the accounts to companies house for our building management company which owned our freehold. TPSB was the company secretary and paid to do this by us but in 2016 got it struck off and as a result, lost the freehold for the entire building. All 10 owners had this hidden from them and were never informed, only finding out in January 2024 and have now had to spend £50,000 to repurchase it. A story will be appearing in Brighton & Hove News about this later this month.

We have ultimately reported them to The Property Ombudsman and Trading Standards as a result of the above and the owners held an emergency AGM meeting to unanimously remove them as managing agents - They ignored all correspondence to return the building funds until we started turning up at the office demanding it and never facilitated the transfer to a new managing agent which is absolutely appalling. They were members of the Property Ombudsman for sales and lettings only yet and didn’t membership for building management to try to avoid any redress scheme - Trading Standards have just forced them to correct this and are currently carrying out a fraud investigation regarding everything that’s been happening with our building. The situation will soon be escalated to legal action if The Property Shop refuses to return the costs associated with repurchasing the freehold.

Save yourself a headache and go with any management company...

Let me start this review by saying I've rented in Brighton for over 11 years and moved at least 7 times. I have used a range of estate agents, but need to point out how unique TPSB seem to be and what a superb person Lisa (one of the founders) is.

We have enjoyed an awesome maisonnette with stunning views and these are people that treat you like people and honour their word. Lisa has made a difference to our lives that I will remember for a long time and TPSB has my thanks and business any time.

I have never rented with an agency that has been so commited to assisting us and even negotiating with the landlord. I have generally found renting in Brighton to be a brutal experience (demand is high and sadly most companies have poor standards for customer service and in general such as Martin and Co.) but have had some great service from a few select companies before. What Lisa has done for us this last year goes above and beyond any of that.

Moving out of the centre of Brighton and into a large property, for the first time we decided to consider having a dog at a rental property. Personal reasons supported this but we were aware our landlords would probably be opposed. Sure enough one of the two that owns our building, refused to allow this (for understandable reasons). I had several calls with Lisa (who was sympathetic and encouraging) explaining why this was more than just a passing fancy for us and that we were commited to training the dog and ensuring no damage to the property. She spent the best part of four weeks continually working with our Landlord, offering us advice on what may help our case and eventually persuading them to let us adopt a puppy who has now lived with us over a year!

I cannot stress enough how much it has improved our lives, the dog has been a huge boon to my partner who benefitted medically from its presence and in general it has been such a delight to have her here. I should also add property maintenance and the general experience has been smooth and painless, but I feel that Lisa has distinguished herself from the regular professionals and I owe her. I would use this company again in a heartbeat and would thoroughly encourage others to engage them if you...

My experience with this estate agent has been nothing short of a nightmare due to their serious maintenance negligence and complete disregard for tenant welfare. Here's a rundown of the issues I've faced:

Roof Leak: Despite numerous reports, they left us with a roof leak for an extended period. A contractor came to fix it in the rain and promised to return the next day, but never did. They reported the issue as fixed to the agency (I find out at the end of my tenancy) which then blamed me for not re-reporting the problem. I assumed they were returning and shouldn't have needed to report it again. Why didn't the agency follow up to ensure the repair was completed and everything was satisfactory? This lack of follow through not only caused significant inconvenience but also further damage to the property.

Heating issues : heating systems were not working properly from the move in date, only 3radiators worked in the whole house and 1 of those 3 wasn't working properly. The agency's response was to provide an outdated heater that could only heat one room. This is unacceptable and shows a complete lack of care for their tenants' well-being.

Mould Problem: When notified about the mould problem, they took no action. This is a serious health hazard and their inaction is inexcusable.

Electrical Issues: We were left with a shorted circuit for five months after reporting it multiple times. Two electricians failed to fix the issue, and even the director, Stephan, who tried to handle it, ended up electrocuting himself after refusing to turn off the fuse board.

Lack of Communication: The agency claims to have no record of some of these issues being reported however I have been documenting the entirety of these issues, have evidence of all reports and communication. My emails expressing concerns about the maintenance neglect I have experienced have also been ignored, demonstrating their terrible communication skills.

After speaking with other local estate agents, I discovered that this agency is known for being dodgy, which aligns with my experience.

In summary, this estate agent is not reliable with property maintenance, communication, and...