Extremely high electricity usage (over £1800 in less than 6 months)
Very poor fit and finish
Criminal activity on premises (personally lost over £500 worth due to theft)
Shocking sound insulation (you can hear people walking in a corridor in every corner of our flat)
On-site staff polite but unable to resolve any issues
Many of the promised features and services currently unavailable
Very cheap appliances (broken hob after 4 months of usage)

And all this pleasure for over £900 per calendar month.

To start with, when we moved in September we started to notice little quirks of the flat (which we must’ve omitted during the viewing being amazed by how much was included in the price; concierge, secure car park, gym, security and a rooftop terrace), we started to notice smaller and bigger things: lack of grouting in the bathroom, improperly assembled furniture, uninsulated drain pipe in the kitchen causing hell a lot of noise, drafty windows, horribly loud corridor, radiators with a wrong wiring (in order to switch off the radiator in our bedroom you have to go to the bedroom next door and vice versa), damaged windows’ glaze (windows in a bedroom and living room were covered in black gunk) – we have immediately raised this issues with the staff and wanted them to rectify them since the flats were meant to be finished to the highest standards and clearly weren’t. The problems still persist, despite the fact we have raised them 6 months ago. They have managed to rectify only windows, however attempted it 3 times, first time we were given less than 12 hrs notice so we weren’t able to arrange the necessary time off work, second time when we have managed to make the arrangements window fitters never turned up, and third time, window fitters turned up and changed the windows only to find out that the window in one of the bedroom has been installed improperly and accumulates outrageous amounts of the humidity in between the glazes.

When we’ve received our first bill we were shocked to the core, the electricity usage exceeded the EPC over three times and we were again met by the staff’s reluctant response. We’re currently 8 weeks into our dispute with Scottish Power and the situation still remains unresolved. The concierge arranged for us a visit of a Construction Manager – who apart from being very rude and unmannered person didn’t provide us with any information, furthermore all the information provided by him were clashing, proving his incompetency. He quickly advised us to switch off the boiler as this was supposed to be the reason for our high electricity usage only to back out from this plan after running a quick test of actually switching the boiler off and noticing this doesn’t affect the smart meter, then proceeded into denial claiming 400 pounds per month are compeletely normal for a 2 bedroom flat, claiming it’s merely of fraction of what he pays. Clearly not a reasonable explanation, we were informed he was involved in the construction of the building and therefore has its stake in maintaining its reputation. We have been presented with conflicting facts and after his visit we have never heard back from Alliance City Living in regards to this matter. More than that, we were later told by the staff that indeed, our bills seem ridiculously high compare to the other same size and same occupancy flats.

In the meantime I have been trying to contact the EPC assessor who conducted the assessment of this flat only to found out his phone number written on the EPC is non existent and the company isn’t interested in registering the complaint. Only today – 8th of March we have been advised by the company that a third party assessor will re-access the flat and we will be given a new EPC which hopefully will shine some light on this case as nobody really knows why the electricity here is so high!

In addition, at the beginning of February our hob has broken down – we’re still waiting for this to be rectified and we are being dismissed by the staff saying that since the hob is still under a warranty we have to wait for them to deal with that issue and due to COVID this will take longer than expected. It is currently over a month that we’re living without a working hob.

All of that was recently followed by the fact that my bike was stolen from a secured car park, where it was locked with a D-lock in a bike storage area. At this point we were told by the security that they’re not present on site and they’re available only on the phone-call if you see any suspicious activity (as if a motorbike which was stolen a week ago wasn’t enough) or as I was told by the Property Manager ‘if you forget your keys to the building’.

Not to mention that since we have joined Facebook Group of the residents we have learned about the problems of the other residents, loud parties on the 4th floor, drugs presence in the building, teenagers spitting out through the windows and throwing the cigarette ends on the balconies of other residents as well as other thefts on the premises.
It has all escalated to the point when we wanted to leave the tenancy and never again have anything to do with Alliance City Living, however we have been recently informed they are not willing to release us from the contract.

In my opinion, this is far from a ‘luxury living’ experience and if I had a chance to go back and never deal with these people I would’ve stayed away from this company.

If you’re a working adult, who likes peace and quiet, concierge who will greet you with a smile rather than a CCTV footage of your bike being stolen and want a hassle-free life – stay away from this property. There are cheaper apartment buildings available with way better flats and service than this.

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

In my opinion, this is far from a ‘luxury living’ experience and if I had a chance to go back and never deal with these people I would’ve stayed away from this company.

What is the best feature of your home:

There aren’t best features of this home, the idea was brilliant, however the execution was absolutely terrible.

The hallways are hotel like and cut into small sections witch is nice but the doors are heavy so you can hear when people pass through them as they kind of thud when they close.

I don’t really use the gym but it’s there… you have to go outside and down a metal staircase that has no anti slip tread so good luck when it’s wet or icy.

The lay out to the flats, mine being a 1 bed is pretty good, all areas are nice and light apart from the bathroom as they don’t have windows. Fit and finish is to a good standard, we have had minor issues that have been sorted by building management for example, water leaking from the toilet area, this was mis diagnosed but rectified quickly when I found the issue myself.

24 hour security is advertised on the website, this is 24hour cctv not real security. There is however 24 hour security on site for the office on the ground floor of the building who make it very clear that if you have an issue they aren’t bothered.

Crime is relatively low levels. Apart from the 1 motor bike theft, 1 attempt at stealing another motorbike just last night, 2 cars being vandalised and a few pushbikes being stolen.

The carpark is constantly lit to try and deter the chancers but light does bleed into the flats so it’s never totally dark at night time. Also parking is allocated, not all flats have one and there’s no parking for visitors.

But the balcony I have is nice and spacious it looks out to the views of the park I don’t have for much longer as they’re building another apartment block there. The roof terrace is nice to use in the summer when other residents don’t leave all their beer cans up there.

Overall it’s a nice place to live and everyone I’ve come across sofar have been lovely, the community Facebook page is helpful aswell. There could be improvements but I’m pretty happy with my flat.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Relatively quiet area with good transport links into City and Airport, good small selection of shops, cafes and supermarkets on the doorstep. The building backs onto a large country park that doesn’t see much ASB.

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

No pets is a big one. Nowhere in the add does it say no pets and I was also told that providing they don’t cause any trouble pets are ok. Then when I double checked as me and my partner wanted to start a family and get a dog (we can’t have kids) I was told that pets aren’t allowed in the building because the people who own the development said so. This is frustrating as we have insurance for the flat that would cover any damage and even offered a deep clean once we leave the building.

The doors are loud so you hear them thud when they close and the lifts break down often with people inside them.

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

I’ve never dealt with my landlord, everything is done via building staff.

I have had issues when we first moved in that were rectified relatively quickly.

It has clearly been stated by Alliance Management, in a Zoom call in 2020, that several amenities that were initally offered to us will not be available because they had to take “financially responsible decisions to keep the investors happy”.

The biggest drawback for me is that there is no promised security at any time of the day. Personally, the initially promised 24-hour security was the main reason I chose to live in Park Gate as opposed to other apartments. I was willing to pay a little extra for this particular service, thus the lack of any security on the building premises is a major concern for me in regards to safety. The lack of a security service has made me change my routine, meaning I have to take extra steps to ensure that I do not put myself in danger such as having to opt to travel by Uber, having my groceries delivered to avoid travel, avoiding travel to get groceries at night and ordering food instead. Like mentioned in other comments, there have been several robberies, antisocial behaviour, etc.

Another major concern for me while living here was the unattributed costs that came with the apartment. The lack of options for an internet provider means I have to pay around 36£ for such an essential service (it’s not even good – for someone that works from home, the speed is very slow for the amount that I’m paying).

Additionally, the electricity costs have been sky high. I have to pay around 100£ for electric and gas, something that should not cost me more than 50/60£ on average in a new built apartment. I understand that these costs are for me to bare, yet I hope you understand that these costs were not budgeted for when I moved in.

There are small positives, such as the well equipped gym and the concierge services. Peter at the reception has always been very polite and helpful! My parcels are always kept safe and the Reception staff have always responded to any queries that I had. Another positive for me is that I love the layout of my apartment. The rooms are also quite spacious.

To summarise, this apartment complex has a lot of potential but Alliance City Living has not been willing to provide us the “luxury” experience that we residents are paying for. I’ve lived in a different luxury apartment complex in the city centre and the difference is very stark! While you are paying for “luxury”, you are unfortunately only receiving the bare minimum.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Starting with the positives, the location is absolutely amazing – there are several shops which are all walking distance. There’s also a Tesco right in front which is open until 12 am.

In terms of transport, there’s bus stops right in front of the flats. The buses are not as frequent as I would like but they go directly to the City Centre! The closest train stations are Birmingham International and Solihull, and there’s buses running to each of those train stations.

Bins are located outside in the car park so there’s no stink inside the building. There are also letter boxes in the lobby.

The roads are very busy and due to the location of my apartment, I’m able to hear the traffic inside the apartment. It’s but very bad but you definitely can’t ignore the noise.

Like mentioned, there’s been some antisocial behaviour because a landlord had been renting out their flat as an AirBnB. This has been stopped now but every now and then, you can hear some ruckus in the hallways.

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

The sky high electricity bill and how bad the Internet provider “4th Utility” is.

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

I’ve contacted Peter and he’s been helpful but there’s only so much he can do.

Regarding the property management I cannot say anything but the perfect team. Staff does not only create welcoming atmosphere, but also acts like a family to you. Especially, Karolina, the kindest person who is always ready to help. My moving in and moving out process was flawless only because of her. Karolina is ready to go beyond her responsibilities to provide the best advice, and help tenants at any time. Undoubtedly, my stay in Manhattan was amazing because of the caring management team.

Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:

Manhattan is situated in diverse area, where you can find anything from authentic restaurants to small grocery stores. The location is perfect wether you are a working professional or a student. Within seconds you are in Chinatown, and a 10 min walk will take you to the central district area. During my tenancy I used every opportunity to explore the local coffee shops. Usually, the area is quite during the weekdays and it gets livelier during the weekends. What I can say for sure is that you will not get disturbed by anything but at the same time there is always things to explore.

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

Personally, I would recommend staying in Manhattan if you want to experience a diverse atmosphere of Manchester, and have the best bonding experience with neighbours.

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

I had a problem a heater, when I just moved in. I was shocked that my issue was addressed straight away by Karolina. It was fixed within the next few hours. With a blink of an eye any issues disappear because of the efficient response of management team.