A guide to living in Canary Wharf

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

My second review here: NOTHING HAS CHANGED! All lifts are out of order so far at 2am in the morning 5 August 2026

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

Yes, watch out you might not be able to get home considering the amount of times the lifts are inoperative.

What is the best feature of your home:

My apartment. The lifts and the lobby are the worst.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Good transport and greta restaurants and shops along with now growing entertainment venues. Overall v good

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

They haven’t and the problems still exist and nothing has changed. They expect the residents to police the smoking issue themselves!

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

That you are allowed to smoke in this building and the furniture was not stained etc

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

The location itself is convenient, with good transport connections and easy access to central London. However, the area can feel very busy and noisy, and the overall experience depends heavily on the quality of the accommodation itself.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

The reception staff have always been polite, friendly, and professional. However, the response to serious room-related issues and requests for flexibility has been disappointing. Several problems were reported, but some were not properly resolved. For example, issues such as noise from the fuse box, mattress quality, and room differences were dismissed as being standard, despite later moving to another room where these problems did not exist. When we raised concerns about the temperature making the room extremely difficult to live in, we requested a reasonable solution, such as changing to a shorter membership period or finding a replacement tenant. Unfortunately, no flexible solution was offered.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I had known that this was a membership agreement rather than a standard tenancy agreement, and that there would be very limited flexibility once signed. I would also have wanted to know more about room conditions, especially temperature control during hot weather. The room became extremely hot at night, making it impossible to sleep comfortably for months. I would strongly recommend future residents carefully check the contract terms, understand the exit conditions, and view the exact room before committing.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

One positive aspect was the location of the apartment. It was well connected by public transport, close to shops, supermarkets, and restaurants, making it convenient for everyday life and commuting around London.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

No actions from the building management have been taken. To make matters worse, when I moved out they tried to charge me almost £500 for a bed that was already broken when I moved into that room.

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

The property I rented was not as advertised. The listing photos were outdated and did not reflect the actual condition of the flat. For around 10 months, there were major leaks from the living room, bathroom, and bedroom ceilings. They were aware of the issues but never properly fixed them, and the situation only got worse over time. At one point, while I was sleeping, a large piece of the ceiling/wall (around 20 kg) collapsed just a few feet from my bed. It could have caused a very serious injury. Despite this, I never received any compensation or even a rent reduction for the months I lived in those conditions.

Please tell us about the good and bad aspects of living in your local area:

Love absolutely everything about Ark, the community events, sunday brunch and what not. Only bad thing I would say is temporary residents/hotel guests, I wish long stay guests had more separation from the short term guests because it can be disturbing at times.

How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:

Yes they are mostly quick with resolving any problems that I may have

Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:

I wish I knew more about the long stay residency and short stay. How the building is also a hotel