They also pick up parcels which is a plus! It is also pet friendly which I think makes it a more enjoyable place to live.

I feel very secure in the building too because of the security system in place.

The only downside at the moment is that there is a building site next to the apartments, but when those flats are completed it will be fine.

I haven’t given a 5* rating because when we moved in we did notice some minor issues with the flat which took a while to get fixed. I also think the living room area would benefit from 2 radiators rather than the 1 we have because it is a big space.

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

I wish that i’d have known if you pay your rent even one day late you are charged! My card was not updated on the portal after I lost it, and we incurred a £25 fee on top of our already expensive rent!

I’ve got no plans to move but I like to keep an eye on what other build to rents offer and I’m yet to see anything both in our price range, and above, that matches the space and layout that we have.

Indeed I looked around Greenford Quay during Open House London weekend and was struck that while its a very nice development with lots of shared residents facilities that Fizzy Hayes doesn’t have, the actual flats themselves weren’t as nice as ours.

To me that’s important. There are lots of things like in-house gyms, lounges, residents cinemas, communal kitchens, barbecue areas etc that would be nice to have, but the important thing for me is the private space I’m living in. I feel all those other things I’d be paying extra for in my rent, and I wonder how much I’d actually use them?

As an example, Fizzy Hayes has a really nice roof terrace, that was a big attraction for us when we moved in, but in reality, though I like that we have it, (it’s great for Sunrises and Sunsets), I don’t use it much to relax on. We’ve got two really well sized balconies that in the summer massively add to the space of the flat which I prefer to use, and again, looking at other developments I’ve never seen balconies as large as the two we have.

Also given that I flat share, rather than us being a couple, the flat works well for us, in that we have the right amount of private and shared space and the layout is thought through so in our living area I don’t feel like we are watching tele in our kitchen, but rather we have defined spaces for defined usage, and both bedrooms are proper double bedrooms with fitted wardrobes.

My flatmate sometimes has his sons over, I like to be able to give them space and privacy when he does, and that I have a good sized bedroom to retreat to makes that a lot easier.

There is a nice trade off I think too, given we equally share the rent, in that my flatmate has an ensuite bathroom and I have a private balcony. In other developments, one of us would have to do without something and maybe quibble about what proportion of the rent we pay.

I’ve now worked at home for a year during the pandemic, its been great for that, I have space to work indoors and outdoors depending on the weather, (there is also a new communal workspace being set up in the development), the flats seem well soundproofed which is more important now I’m home most of the time, (good both for me not being bothered by others, but actually, given we’re quite noisy ourselves, good that we’re not dealing with complaints from neighbours either).

I have repeatedly said to people that there were much worse times while I’ve lived in London when this pandemic could have happened, and a lot of that relates to where I am currently living and the fact that being at home all the time is not a hardship.

It’s worth noting that during Zoom meetings over the last year my flat has become a talking point, with me presenting from different aspects of the flat to show it off and my boss often referring to it as my “luxury bachelor pad!”

It’s certainly raised some questions and interest, and maybe a bit of envy!

We took out a three year tenancy on this, and went with the unfurnished option in that we both felt this was a development we could commit to in the long term. Neither of us feel any different almost two years later, and as long as it remains affordable for us I don’t see us being tempted to move anywhere else.

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

Hayes is an area in development, so currently a lot of building work happening that promises more facilities as time goes on, including a Cinema and arts Centre next to Fizzy Hayes and a climbing centre that’s already in operation.

That said Hayes is already well provisioned for shops, and facilities within walking distance including a pool and leisure centre, various takeaways, a KFC, Mcdonalds, an Asda, Tesco, and Lidl, and lots of independent food and grocery retailers, as well as pharmacists, opticians, dentists and medical centres.

As a place to shop its very affordable.

Also Hayes and Harlington Station is a five minute walk away with direct links to Paddington, Ealing broadway, Heathrow, Slough, Reading and quick access to Windsor.

Heathrow is also very close, (within a 10 minute drive), which is great if your getting off a long haul flight and just want to get home.

Its more urban than leafy, there are nearby parks, (one of which could do with better care), and though I’ve got no bother with the area and have lived in rougher places, some residents have issues with what they perceive to be anti social behaviour in the neighbourhood, (mostly just kids hanging about). I’ve never felt its unsafe, but it depends on what you’re used to.

Local pubs are a bit rough and ready, (perfectly fine but if you’re wanting something a little less basic then you’d be better getting a train to Ealing Broadway which is ten minutes away).

Hayes works fine for me, prior to living here I lived in Harrow, which as a neighbourhood was a lot more suburban and middle class, and well looked after, but actually was really lacking in facilities you daily need, where I feel Hayes has all that.

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

Currently SKY Q isn’t available.

It’s not a deal breaker, but might have been if we’d known it before we moved in. As I understand it it’s going to be difficult to fix, but currently only Sky HD is available.

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

Seems churlish to suggest but the only thing I can think is missing from the flat is an outside electricity socket on the balconies. It’s not ruining our lives not having one, (it’s not like I cant run a cable from inside), its just the one thing I’ve thought would be nice.

Also maybe the capacity to mute some residents on the app like I can on social media. The residents app is a great idea and has its uses, but like all social media it has its abusers as well, and there are A VERY FEW repeat offenders whose passive aggressive quibbles I’d like to read less of!

4

Facilities

5

Design

3

Location

5

Value

5

Management

Firstly, the building is incredible, the facilities are of a high quality and if you work from home you’ll find the co-work spaces super helpful in breaking up the monotony of the day with a better work-life balance as a result. There are 3 tabled areas to work from along with 2 chill out-areas with comfy sofas and an incredible 14th-floor roof-terrace that on sunny days is a delight to work from. The little details that make all the difference: rubbish is deposed of via on shute on your floor, really secure bike storage, really nice security staff to wish you well on your day!

In terms of staff and management (not security, they’re great), this seems to have undergone a big shift over the last few weeks. When we first moved in communication was poor: unanswered emails, ignored requests, and a seeming lack of concern for residents. Couple this with unnecessary restrictions on the opening times of the facilities, a lack of a plan in opening them, and a feeling of money-motivated customer service – suffice to say we were not impressed. Things came to a head when I, and other residents, began to file more formal complaints. These were picked up very quickly and meetings with management were swiftly arranged. Our concerns were listened to and compensation offered (not asked for) and steps outlined for improvement.

Although still early days, this has so far made a huge difference. The facilities are opened 24/7 with residents encouraged to clean surfaces when they use them to increase the safety of the building – this was a sticking point in opening them up previously due to concerns over COVID. This feeling, of the future at Greenford being much better than the past, is shared by many of the residents I speak to. I think its reasonable to say that new development teething problems coupled with difficult circumstances for a business to operate in with co-working spaces, goes some way to excuse the previously bad experience here. The changes were made swiftly and communication has become much more transparent.

In summary, the building is amazing with facilities that will blow you away, there are good vibes growing between residents, and management – although off to shaky start – seem to be improving.

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

The development is well connected with a central line zone 4 stop around 8mins away and Picadilly line around 12 mins away. Connections to central London are pretty good and getting a seat is no problem. For those that cycle, it takes me around 40mins to get to White city along the canal and around an hour to central, which is certainly doable for budding cyclists.

We have two dogs so green space has been a must, Greenford does pretty well on this count with Horsenden Hill right next to the development with acres of countryside. Me and my partner moved here from Winchester and are glad of the familiar green space.

The development is a work in process and restaurants are an obvious missing feature of the surrounding area. There are a couple of decent pubs around but if you’re looking to be wined and dined you’ll probably have to take trip to nearby Ealing town. Hopefully, restaurants will move in as the rest of the buildings are finished.

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

That arranging the bills would not be so seamless, worth chasing yourself rather than leaving it to the company Greenford uses which I found to be poor.

If there is one thing you would change about your flat or property what would it be:

Mainly just the initial experience, the customer service was pretty poor at first. Other than that, the opening of restaurants/bars in the local area would make the experience more interesting.

—

I feel like I’ve aged three years since I moved to East16 in September 2021, because it sure has been one rollercoaster of a ride.

Let me start at the beginning. First of all, when we first got in touch to do a viewing, it was almost impossible to get ahold of anyone in the lettings teams. I called multiple times and sent countless emails over many days, only to be ignored or told it was a bad time and that I’d get a call back. When I finally managed to secure a viewing, we fell in love with the flat itself (on the surface, it seemed perfect…) We quickly found out that only 4 floors in Falconbrook Gardens are actually pet friendly, despite the adverting saying the entire building is. Our options were thus very limited in choosing a unit. The website also did not (and still does not) state that there are any extra charges for a pets — but, having worked in real estate, I sensed there might be some trickery afoot. The lettings agent played coy with us and said they’d check about the pet fee; meanwhile, we put down our non-refundable deposit. Shortly afterwards, we got a call saying it would cost £50 for a dog (£25 for a cat, £40 for two cats, and £75 for two dogs I believe). We agreed as it had been difficult to find somewhere pet friendly and we loved the property.

The dreaded referencing process began. We had the rudest and most incompetent BoB property managers conducting our referencing process, who kept pushing for us to pay 6 months upfront and finding any possible reason to force the matter (the one that landed was my probation period). I tried to suggest proof of savings or an alternative method, as we wanted to keep our money in our accounts. We were made to feel like scum throughout the referencing process (for context, I am a Project Manager in the Civil Service, and my partner is an engineer in the Defence sector, so we hardly have unstable jobs). Nevertheless, we agreed to pay upfront as we were in too deep at this point. The referencing checks were supposedly complete and the contract would soon follow.

A month later, and 1 week to move-in monies being due, we still had no contract. I chased the BoB over and over again, and was fobbed off each time with promises of it being sent in a few days. I finally reached out to another staff member, who informed me that his colleague didn’t complete the referencing process properly, despite us having been told it had been. Thankfully, he sped through it and we were able to move in — but if I hadn’t have chased so intently, we would have ended up in a hotel paying out of pocket like other residents did.

The move in day finally came. Although we picked a Saturday and we were told this would be fine, the BoB changed their mind about working on a weekend and forced me to come in for handover on Friday. This was a 2 hour journey there and back as we were living in Kent at the time, not to mention being in the middle of the stressful moving process. They refused to be flexible and do it earlier in the week, when I was already going to be in London. That same Friday, they handed me a pet agreement — which I had not been sighted on — with a long list of things we couldn’t do with our pet (including put a bed for them on the balcony).

We finally moved in and thought all our troubles were behind us. Little did we know, they were only just beginning.

Our “professionally cleaned” flat had a thick layer of dust over every surface including the windows, bird poo on the balcony, and glue/ paint splattered all over the floor. The quality of the finishings, it became quickly clear, is terrible. The trims, doorframes, and kitchen walls are painted with water-soluble paint, meaning it chips and rubs off with the slightest provocation. The 52-page inventory with 100s of photos (with the pixelation of an early 2000s Nokia) conveniently missed all of this.

Our toilet was overflowing from day one and it took 106 days, 6 planned visits, 4 attended visits, and possibly 8 billion emails to fix this leak, which accounted for over half of our water bill during this period. And we are the lucky ones — the building’s management, which is supposed to be more convenient as it is on-site, is vastly oversubscribed and badly managed.

The first night we couldn’t sleep due the train noise (which was advertised as being silent), so if you’re a light sleeper you need not even read on to find out about about all of the other BS we’ve had to deal with…

Perhaps most worryingly, both buildings have been rife with security issues. One of the two doors to the flats was broken for weeks, and clearly accessible due to the lock being removed for most of that time. It took weeks of begging to get it fixed. Unsurprisingly, we have had thefts of countless packages and personal property, as well as Fizzy’s own TVs and laptops. We have had multiple break-ins, none of which Fizzy has notified us about (instead, we found out through word-of-mouth that Fizzy laptops containing our personal data were stolen).

It’s impressive, actually, how many burglaries occur considering no one can actually find the buildings, which are identical and next to one another. They both have the same Fizzy East16 marketing plastered all over them, but no one thought it would be a good idea to post clear signage with the official block names, as in our addresses. So, even when packages aren’t stolen, they’re constantly delivered to the wrong block or returned to sender. Recently (again, after months of complaining — notice a theme?) they put up a teeny A4 plaque on the side of the building with the block names on it. Needless to say, I doubt emergency services will be able to see that even if they stand right in front of it, let alone from the street. My engineer’s boyfriend’s quick calculations estimate the sign-to-building ratio is approximately that of an ant to a human.

All of these issues would be readily resolvable if we actually had the 24/7 concierge that they advertised. When we had our viewing, there was someone at the desk. Unsurprisingly, this is yet another promise Fizzy has broken and for months there has been no one downstairs. In fact, they moved the desk and chair from our building over to the other one to keep making the same claim to new viewers. Once again after countless complaints, they’ve put a BoB in one of the buildings’ lobbies during working hours. Clearly, this does little to fix all of the aforementioned security and delivery issues, especially as their presence is patchy at best.

Moreover, the gorgeous common spaces which incentivised us to move here, and which are meant to be free for residents to book for private events, are now a chargeable service. Never mind that we are already paying market value with amenities embedded into our rent: if you want to book the Fizzy Club for a few hours it will now cost you hundreds of pounds in fees/ cleaning costs plus a hefty deposit (if, that is, anyone even responds to your booking request in the first place). And if you want to do yoga, be sure to book the room days in advance to give them enough time to manually send you the door’s code. But anyways, who needs yoga with all these hoops you get to jump through?

To top it all off, we have been in regular talks with management and the Head of Marketing and Sales specifically has been a nightmare. She is rude, thoroughly unapologetic, and simply unpleasant. She clearly has no understanding of basic customer service nor any idea how to deescalate a situation of, at least in part, her own making through failures in management. Her favourite game to play is “how far away from me can I throw the blame?”

The only ray of light in an otherwise gloomy fizzy world are some of the BoBs, specifically Jason and Tyrra, who are both really genuine people who really do their best to help us, and the only ones who have actually taken responsibility for anything (although most of it is out of their control). If someone would just give them the keys to the kingdom, that would probably solve a lot of our issues. But alas…

Anyway, if you’re thinking of moving here… just, don’t. The only thing unique Fizzy/ Greystar offer is “pet friendliness” which is limited to only a few floors; the rest is the same old BS of every other London landlord. The only way they are “reinventing” renting is with how much they can charge you to deliver a substandard service. All they care about is money and couldn’t give a monkey’s about their tenants.

Prospective renters: You have been warned.

Sorry, not sorry, Fizzy/ Greystar (look, that’s a non-apology apology I picked up from your Head of Marketing)… There’s only so far a half-hearted bottle of cheap Prosecco can get you.

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

The local area is great, if you stay on the main road. It gets a bit dodgy otherwise. Lots of shops & supermarkets and the area is clearly in the process of being gentrified.

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

To be honest, most of it is bad and was uncovered after moving in and this is covered in my review.

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

Hannah is the only member of senior management who has made a real attempt to respond in a kind and helpful way. Unfortunately, we are going to need a lot more than that to get this building back on track and a lot of the damage has already been done.