A guide to living in Croydon

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

I would say, avoid! The building doesn't have any facilities or common areas where to work or spend some time. The laundry room has 4 washing machines and 4 dryers, always dirty and quite expensive. They said bills included, but don't expect Internet and council and wait for £140 for energy and water for one person, no matter summer or winter. Transport and places to get a take away are plenty, but I never felt safe in the area, let alone the building surroundings where people shoot drugs on the disposable area and search on others rubbish every night (you will hear them while trying to sleep.

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

It was OK. I never had anything to ask. They always new if I was in or not.

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

More about the area and the fact that the room walls are very thin.

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

Excellent location. Poor management and poor maintenance. I can go for a month with no working heating or hot water . Elevator not working for weeks.

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

They don’t give emergency to anything. They do it at their own time

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

I wish I know how management responds to Repair and management issues.

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

The area is fine. When the trains work, it's easy to get around. There are some local amenities within walking distance.

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

Minimally, if at all, in regards to the lifts constantly breaking down.

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

The cladding is flammable and the lifts are nearly always broken.

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

Great location near to East Croydon station and with everything you need right on your doorstep. Area was surprisingly quiet and felt safe, even as a lone woman at night.

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

I didn't have any issues with my unit, but staff were always around so I know I could pop down to reception to have a chat if needed.

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

Tao cafe round the corner is a fantastic place for a coffee and the pizzas at Trickle are amazing!

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

My area has good shops, cafés, and green spaces, and transport links are convenient, though busy at peak times. My street is generally quiet with regular bin collections. Parking can be limited, but there are few issues with noise or anti-social behaviour. Overall, it’s a comfortable and convenient place to live.

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

The concierge team has repeatedly responded in an unprofessional and unhelpful manner to the issues I raised. Instead of assisting residents, they often make communication unnecessarily difficult. On several occasions, when I approached the desk with urgent problems, the first reaction was not to understand the situation or offer help, but to question whether I was the named tenant on the lease. This happened even during a power outage affecting my friend’s flat, rather than addressing the emergency, the concierge refused to engage and simply repeated that they could not discuss anything with me. Their approach focuses more on blocking communication than resolving issues. The attitude consistently feels dismissive, inflexible, and unwilling to take responsibility, even when the matter clearly affects safety or requires immediate action. This behaviour has created significant frustration and is far below the level of professionalism expected from a concierge team.

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

One thing I wish I had known before moving in is how important it is to keep a detailed record of every communication and issue. The concierge team is often unprofessional, slow to respond, and not proactive in solving problems, so having written evidence is essential if you ever need to escalate or dispute something. I would also advise new residents not to rely too much on the promotions or referral vouchers mentioned during move-in. They are very difficult to follow up on and rarely progress. Another important tip is to check all utility accounts on the day you move in. In our case, the previous tenant’s £900 electricity bill was incorrectly assigned to our flat, which led to a full-day power cut. Instead of helping resolve it, the concierge told us to contact the provider ourselves, even though this error should have been handled before handover. These are issues that you would never notice during a viewing, so being cautious and checking everything early will save a lot of trouble.