Retraction

StudentMoneySaver

This is way too far Dhown the first page. I'd wager Sunil Dhown of IRD Homes would not be at all happy with it falling from the first page. The Retraction has been an unmitigated success in exposing Sunil Dhown and IRD Homes for what they really are...

...thoroughly decent chaps.

lynzpower

I also saw a reference to a moneysaver who alleged that there was a homeless person living in an electricity cupboard due to poor security in her block.

I guess that Sunil/sunny/sonny/ Sunhil Dhown/ Down or IRD homes/property/lettings/agency is well aware of this and has of course have probably not been and signed the guy up on LHA. I am also certain that IRD homes being the pinnacle of professionalism has also ensured that the meters and supply have been boxed in as per the regulations and that the requisite fire protection be offered to this new dwelling should it be granted permission from the relevant planning authority.

PESTS SECURITY EXCESS COLD, ELECTRICITY HAZARD, GAS HAZARD, RADON, DRAINAGE WATER SUPPLY, FOOD HYGIENE, DAMP AND MOULD EXCESS HEAT ASBESTOS CARBON MONOXIDE BIOCIDES ,LEAD, FALLS ON A LEVEL, FALLS BETWEEN LEVELS, CROWDING AND SPACE ,
VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS, LIGHTING, FIRE PROTECTION, ENTRY BY INTRUDERS, NOISE, FOOD SAFETY, SANITATION AND DRAINAGE COLLISIONS AND ENTRAPMENT,ELECTRIC SHOCKS/BURNS/SCALDS/, FLAMES AND HOT SURFACES EXPLOSIONS OPERABILITY OF AMENITIES
UNCOMBUSTED FUEL GAS, RADIATION,STRUCTURAL COLLAPSE AND FALLING ELEMENTS

Are all hazards that Im sure SUNIL/ SUNHIL/ SUNNY Dhown/ Down and IRD lettings/ property/ management , and Mr richard Ebly and his colleagues and Mr Dhowns Wife are all more than capable of dealing with in the appropriate manner whereas of course other landlords would not meet this standard and would fail their tenants

Cannon_Fodder

Some [STRIKE]poor sod[/STRIKE] lucky person is going to come along in 6 months, not get the joke, and sign up with certain individuals...

StudentMoneySaver

It would be ever such a shame if they accidentally stumbled upon a negative review of Sunil Dhown and IRD Homes.

It would be so awful for the potential Tenant and Sunil Dhown and IRD Homes. We all know how brilliant Sunil Dhown and IRD Homes are.

Hi Guys,

This is my first post on here, but I want to make sure that nobody ends up having to deal with what me and my girlfriend have been through over the last six months.

The basic overview, for people who don't want to read a wall of text is that IRD Homes are the most terrible letting and management company I have ever had the misfortune of dealing with (and I've dealt with a few). The are overpriced and incompetent at the very least and threatening and extortionate at their worst.

My story is as follows:

November 2009, I was looking to move to London for a new job and didn't ahve a great deal of time to look around places to live, so when I found a 2 bedroom flat for £1000 a month with private secure parking owned by a private landlord with no deposit I thought all my dreams had come true.

Having been given a whistle-stop tour of the flat, which didn't last long enough for me to spot any of the serious defects, the place looked fine for £1000 a month so I paid the holding deposit and signed the contract a week later. This is where the problems began...

When we moved in, we found the kitchen tap to be leaking all over the worktop and cabinets, most of the lights in the flat had blown bulbs, the sink and bath plugs in the bathroom wouldn't hold any water and the flat was furnished after I had informed the letting agent that I wanted it to be unfurnished as I have all my own stuff. I immediately contacted the Letting Agent (Jeremy of Saxon Kings - One of the laziest and most unprofessional men I have ever met) with the list of problems since we didn't have any contact details for the landlord.

At the same time I enquired about getting my parking permit for my free parking that is provided on site for residents. I was told that since it wasn't in my contract, although it had been confirmed verbally by both the letting agent and the woman who showed us around the flat initially, that the parking space was an extra £100 PER MONTH!!! At first I thought I'd misheard, but was then reassured that I hadn't. As a result I park the car around the corner (roughly 100 yards away) for free!

It took a total of four weeks for them to remove the furniture and complete all the repairs, and shortly after moving in the washing machine went on the fritz. It took another 5 weeks for them to replace the washing machine for which I deducted an appropriate amount of rent, which then then moaned about.

Then just 4 months into my one year fixed term contract I get a call from the landlord himself, a Mr Sunil Dhown, informing me that he will be terminating the contract in 2 months unless I agree to a 20% rent increase. I checked the legality of this and was told that the landlords break clause was a standard thing, but rarely used for this sort of thing. Either way, I had to either move out or pay up. I chose the former.

The misery isn't over yet though, as I still have three weeks left before my move. Upon moving out, I'll warn people that although there is no deposit to pay, they do charge a £50 referencing fee and a £100 cleaning fee to be paid when you leave. They also seem to think that it's appropriate to not give tenants written notice of people coming around to view, although I quickly sorted that out by turning them away at the door.

The flat is now on the market for £1200 a month in their Isleworth development (TW7 4JU) and I would recommend that people think long and hard before signing a contract with IRD Homes as I understand that I am not the only person who has found their approach to property letting to be substandard.

If you don't believe that one group of people could be so bad at doing something so simple I have kept all the e-mails and you can have a read if you like

FTBFun

It looks like we're not alone in our astute praise of Sunil Dhown of IRD Homes

http://www.thestudentroom.co.uk/showthread.php?t=1209724

lynzpower

Yes indeed there are a number of rpeorts about Sunil/ Sunhil /Sunny Down/ Dhown on the internet.

Im sure they cant possibly be true!

I actually lived in one of Richard Elby's properties between 2006-2007 and i have to say, everything you've said is spot on. The flat we rented was lovely when we moved in, aside from some drainage problems. Everytime it rained our living room got flooded and from the outset, Elby refused to fix is. At that point the company was under a different name and he was working with Mr Dhown's wife. Not only were they negligent, but they wer full on abusive to anyone who called. The car lift broke after the legendary flooding of summer 2007, leaving my mum's car stuck down there. Not only did they flat out refuse to do anything about it, they just laughed when we got the police on them. Actually, Mrs Dhown claimed that the lift had been fixed and the car removed when we were stood there looking at the darn thing. Eventually after being threatened with legal action, the lift company removed my mum's vehicle as a favour, then promptly switched the lift off again because Elby hadn't been paying his bills.
The communal hallways stopped being cleaned a couple of months afer we moved in and gangs would regularly congregate in the car parks (above and below ground). The bins were inadequate, cue me driving over several rats and by the time we left, it was generally falling apart.
We received an eviction letter in Sept 2007, so i called Mrs Dhown in a rage to ask why. We'd always kept up payment and were good tenants, but according to her "we were too much hassle". Basically, by asking them to keep up their side of the contract, we were hassling them and that warranted an eviction. On closer inspection of the letter, it appeared that the old company had gone into administration. She was basically using our "hassle" as an excuse. Needless to say we stopped paying rent for the last 2 months as we knew we wouldn't get our deposit back.
The letting agent also said they'd stopped dealing with Mr Elby and pals, because they were simply too abusive to their staff and clients. Basically avoid this man like the plague unless you want to live in a complete hovel and be abused for asking for any kind of upkeep.

p.s. - There was a homeless an living in the utility room when we lived there. I think it might be Elby himself.

lynzpower

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/528675

IRD HOMES and RICHARD EBLY seem to have traded under the name SD investments previously. Heres a link to an old moneysaver who struggled to get her deposit back!

Surely Shome mishtake! Im sure it cant be the same company as of course we know that IRD HOMES/SD INVESTMENTS Sunhil and Richard Ebly are property professionals.

StudentMoneySaver

Surely not... I hear Sunil Dhown and IRD Homes are [STRIKE]grossly incompetent and dangerously inept[/STRIKE] the best Letting Agent in the World.

FTBFun

They certainly have some excellent advice on their website:

http://irdhomes.co.uk/landlords.html

From our experience we can and do understand the frustration experienced by landlords in appointing letting agents that have no understanding of being a landlord themselves and as a letting agent are solely focussed on their fee, full stop.

clutton_2

i do hope someone has put a link on the kingston students site to this wonderful thread here on MSE...