A guide to living in Lancashire

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

Repeated attendances from emergency services. Police and fire crews due to disputes with other tennents in their flats neighbouring ours. Late night early morning it feels like weekly one of them will attend for a domestic incident or arson. To the point had I known just how often this would happen I certainly would not have moved there. I’m not comfortable leaving my daughter at 17 at home alone at night when I work nights now.

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

I initially had a leak they responded within 24hrs.

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

The constant domestic incidents with neighbours a few doors down and next door is draining when I work 13hr shifts I need my sleep and when police are attending it’s not quiet.

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

The location is very convenient for local transport, shops and a variety of rural walks including a small nature reserve nearby.

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

Prior to moving in the need to order bins from the city council and registration of the post code so that it is possible to set up redirection of mail.

What is the best feature of your home:

The location on the outskirts of Lancaster is convenient and suits my needs.

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

The location is fantastic as we are super close to local shops and have a lovely park nearby, which is perfect for going out for a walk. The neighbors are absolutely amazing and very friendly. The only real downside here is the parking finding a space for the car can be quite difficult and frustrating at times.

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

The management team responds quickly and efficiently to any issues. Whenever something needed fixing, they handled it without delay and with a very friendly attitude

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

I wish I had known that parking on this street can be very difficult. Also, although there are outdoor security cameras installed, none of them actually work. They are desperately needed because we sometimes have issues with vandalism for example, someone recently scratched my car. Having active cameras would make a huge difference

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

Honestly the alleyways are an utter disgrace. There is rubbish absolutely everywhere in every alleyway and now we have rodents. They have been found on the front of the street and in the alleys. Some people in these houses fling and dump their waste absolutely anywhere. I daren’t go outside because I am scared of letting in a rat. The overall area isn’t too bad, but the lack of repercussions for certain tenants flytipping is really disheartening. We have had an increase in rent of over £200 in the last 4 years and it has seriously gone down hill. There are police cars speeding to around the corner with their lights on almost every evening, there are some tenants who will scream out of their windows if you deign to bring in your bin rather than leaving it on the alley. There are some tenants who will literally hoard everyone else's bins and then still dump their rubbish all over the alleys! The parking situation is dire. Having to fight for a space every evening because I have mobility problems is a joke. Some people take up 2 spaces without a care for anyone else.

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

Yes, we had a leak from the isolation valve on the downstairs toilet. It took them a while to come out, but I had isolated the leak myself, the issue wasn’t urgent. The repairs team are courteous and undertake repairs on site quickly. We did have an issue with the boiler. I did advise it was likely the expansion vessel but was told it couldn’t possibly be that as the tap on the casing was the correct sound (no visual check done of the membrane). A number of people attended and eventually we ended up with a new boiler. I had to keep emptying the condensate trap myself in the meantime and keep re-pressurising the expansion vessel.

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

I wish I had known just how awful the alleyways are and the laissez faire attitude of the fellow tenants in the area towards the state of them. I wish I had known just how much the rent was to increase (although that was a general unforeseen boom in the housing market and dip in the overall economy). I wish I had known just how cheaply the houses are done up. The carpet lifts with the suction of the vacuum, the paint comes off of the walls easily, the sealant does not hold and the vinyl marks very easily and doesn’t clean very well either due to the material.

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

The house is a good layout. Easy access to public transport and local schools. Kids in our development all get on well together

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

Quick response on all repairs that I have had over the last year

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

Make sure all the paperwork is gone through when collecting the keys to the property