A guide to living in Borough of Hackney

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

For someone my age 20-30s, Dalston is a great area. Good connections to the city, access to the overground, plenty of bars and restaurants. A quick walk to London Fields.

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

Í haven’t had any issues as of yet, but building management is always helpful and ready to answer any questions.

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

None, it’s apparent as soon as you walk in how well kept properties are and how careful managers are

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

The local area is great! A lot of choices for groceries with multiple supermarkets and Ridley Road market. The area is very diverse and has loads of bars and cafes to choose from. Connection wise is also good with 3 overground lines within 10min walk.

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

The people working in the building are very friendly and will help with anything. I haven’t had any issues raised with management yet.

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

The only thing I wished I had know is the ability to change the heater provider. It was not clear from the beginning.

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

One of the strongest aspects of living at Woodberry Down is the location. The development benefits from excellent transport links via Manor House Underground Station and nearby bus routes, making travel into Central London convenient. There are attractive open spaces including the nearby reservoirs and parkland, which provide a pleasant environment for walking and recreation. Local shops and supermarkets are reasonably accessible, although the range of restaurants and independent businesses remains somewhat limited compared to more established London neighbourhoods. Parking can be challenging, and there are ongoing concerns regarding congestion, construction activity, and noise as the wider regeneration continues.

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

One of the most frustrating aspects of owning a leasehold property in the UK is the broad and often vague definition of what is considered “reasonable” under leasehold regulations. In practice, developers and managing agents can impose significant increases in service charges, provided they are able to justify them within the legal framework. For example, a service charge increasing from £3,000 one year to £10,000 the next may still be regarded as legally acceptable if supported by budgets or claimed expenditure, even if many leaseholders would view such an increase as excessive or unethical. The system can leave residents feeling powerless, particularly where transparency is limited. While leaseholders technically have the right to challenge charges through the First-tier Tribunal (Property Chamber), doing so may carry financial risk. In some cases, lease terms allow landlords or managing companies to recover legal costs through the service charge, meaning leaseholders could ultimately contribute toward the other side’s legal expenses. This creates a perception of imbalance within the UK leasehold system, where legal compliance does not always align with fairness or accountability.

What is the best feature of your home:

The best feature is the convenient London location combined with access to green open spaces and reservoir views, which provide a sense of calm despite being within easy reach of Central London.

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

very disappointed with my home purchase at Woodberry down. the management that hand the building over is so bad carpet dirty and doors all cracked around the frames. the first floor carpet of Residence tower was replace with a cgeap one compared that what Berkley put when i bought the flat. THEY KEEP INCREASING SERVICE CHARGES WITHOUT BEING TRANSPARENT. YOU WILL BE HIT WILL FALSE BILLS AND SO MUCH SERVICE CHARGES

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

That the management will be so bad and making money on top as the service charges are too much and not transparent

What is the best feature of your home:

Nothing special as the quality is cheap tape and joint on all wall and its not being skimmed on hallways and busy area and now Residence Tower look so bad. the steel of all balcony is rusted and no one is taking care.

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

We have just moved in but really happy with the area, it has everything you need from shops restaurants bars it’s very accessible to everything

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

Very well, luckily we haven’t had many issues but easy to log.

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

Nothing really I had to move in very quickly and was apprehensive about moving my stuff in but the team made it easy for us