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The Forum features a range of studio, one and two-bedroom apartments to rent in the heart of Birmingham’s Southside district. There are a variety of resident facilities available on site, which include a gym, rooftop terrace, communal lounge and landscaped terrace with a pizza oven and BBQ facilities, together with a dedicated on-site concierge team to cater to your needs. The Bullring, Selfridges and Grand Central are only a short stroll away and Birmingham’s New Street station is a 5-minute walk away.
The Forum, B5 Reviews
Write a Review Upload PhotosAn Excellent Place to Live
Building layout is nice, there is a courtyard section in the middle with tables and chairs, rentable barbeques and pizza ovens. The apartments are sizeable and good value. Had a few issues when we moved in but staff made arrangements and the maintenance team quickly sorted them out.
Management are very friendly and are willing to socialise and help out with any issues.
The community at the forum is great too – I have made many friends since moving in, mostly down to the events that management put on! Seems like any reason they have, management throws a party. Christmas, Chinese new year, valentine’s, Easter, Halloween, etc. Lovely initiatives.
Lots of gated parking spaces available at a charge (around £100pcm, standard for city centre but still pricey!)
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Love living at the forum! Local amenities include Tesco and a wide variety of restaurants and other shops. It’s a 5-10,minute walk from New Street Station.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish I had known how great the community is – it would have made finding somewhere to live much quicker and easier!
The bin collections happen at very early hours, and the apartments are usually very hot. Definitely worth leaving your windows open for a couple of hours before bed.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Management have responded to all issues raised. There are a few minor issues I have raised in recent weeks that haven’t been sorted yet, but anything urgent is handled immediately.
The Forum: Fab pet friendly property to live at!
Love the property. The best part is that it’s pet friendly. Has two different areas for dogs to play and enjoy. The terrace is beautiful, common area has tv, pool table and lots of board games to enjoy with friends and the event held at the property are great. Peaceful property at a great location.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Great location in the city Center. No noise issue from the main roads and yet extremely close and accessible to new street station, bullring and grocery stores.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Wasn’t aware of the game nights and regular event that are held here. But they are genuinely a great way to know the neighbours.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
All problems or issues have been addressed to well in time.
Amazing property to live at.
Fabulous property specially for pet owners. Additional benefits are definitely the location, the terrace view and the events that take place. A lot happening but never any disturbance is caused to anyone. Great and helpful management as well. I would definitely recommend it if you’re a pet owner.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
The best thing about the property is the connection to city center and new street station. It makes life extremely convenient.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
There’s nothing that I wasn’t aware of. Just that the gym is only accessible till 11pm. But it’s manageable.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
The management has been extremely supportive and understanding since day one.
Lovely place to live
The Forum is build to rent item,which is morden design.Lovely concierge provided coffee to residents .
Also have professional gym room in the basement.
Building management is fair not very well because our corridor was not clean always,I think this point need to be correct.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
A lovely place to live,very convenience just walk 2 mins to indoor market,so I can buy many fresh food to prepare our lunch and dinner.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Our flat is facing DEAN STREET,it’s very noise in the morning now.Start from 04:30-05:00 the trolley of the market is start to work,so I will wake up.Before is not like this.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Well,we don’t have any problems until now,so I can’t give any comment about this.
Manager Response
Hello A Ka,
Thank you for your honest feedback – I’m happy that you are enjoying aspects of The Forum and, unfortunately, although I cannot control some of the external noise issues you are having, I can control our cleaning programme. I am currently looking into replacing some of the more damaged/stained carpets within the communal area – please can you email me direct which apartment you are living in, so I can assure you the area of concern is on my list?
Thank you in advance,
Louise
Living in the forum
Love the design, simple and has all the amenities everyone needs. It’s safe and a peaceful environment to be in . Love that they value my privacy and at the same time make sure I have everything I need to be comfortable . Love the communal area with games and the bbq
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Love the convenience of train station , bus station and all grocery shops near by . Sometimes the area outside the building can stink that’s the only bad aspect of living here but doesn’t bother me much
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Wish I could’ve got a different apartment . Although my room is great , other apartments in the building have a better layout compared to mine
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
They’ve responded promptly and helped me with everything
Good Place to Live
The build is really new, I believe some around 5 years. This is a good point. The design build is good, we have a sociable room with TVs, couch, pool table. Other rooms it’s possible to work, also we have a Gym with news and good equipment. Other good point, the forum has a roof top area, good during the summer time. When we have any problem with the apartment or other things the build manager always quick answer and resolve the issue.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
What I most like about The Forum is the location, everything is really close (shops, restaurants, cinemas, downtown city). It’s a bus stop almost in front of to the build. I don’t have bad aspects to share in terms of build location.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
Would be nice to know, before we moved, all the taxes we must to pay.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
The building manager always gives attention for any issue, also has quick answer and good communication.
temporary stay only, poor property management, poor repairs and maintenance
design: quite spacious
facilities: BBQ area, stopped for use long time ago (no follow-up by property management company).
building management: need to improve many things but the property management company do not review them in details (security, cleanliness, repairs and maintenance). Never heard the property management company water tank washing service
property management: very disappointed, slow response. Frontline staffs are quite nice and willing to help; if necessary
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
close to public railway stop and coach stop
close to the high street shops and shopping plaza
some selfish people left 5-6 unopened bins and garbage opposite to the Forum, Travelodge and students quarters (there is a small parking area there), very disgusting and affects the hygiene environment of Forum. The property management company can see or smell at the Podium level when they have patrol.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
please consider the repairs and maintenance, cleanliness and security issues.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
The building management’s response to raised issues has been unsatisfactory, by a slow and unhelpful approach. Despite attempts to address problems, their lack of promptness and unresponsiveness have hindered effective resolution. Improvement in their responsiveness and assistance is needed to address concerns efficiently. Importantly, the problem is still not fixed and pending on hold.
Living at the forum
This building has its own gym, with sufficient equipment and most of the time very quiet. I never used the communal lounge but it looks cozy, and they also have a barbecue area for use, which is nice if you have friends over. And the free coffee machine is quite nice. The dog run area also has facilities for the dogs to play with although area is bit small, so more suitable for small dogs. The WiFi in each apartment is fairly quick. The worse part of the building might be the bin store, it’s always messy with rubbish spilled onto the floor, flies everywhere, and there is only one recycling bin for the entire building, which gets full very quickly. And recycling and general waste are always placed in the wrong bins. Rent is increasing drastically like everywhere else in Birmingham, there is also additional cost to living with pets, when they hike the rent up again in the future, it may not be too worth it to live here anymore despite all the nice facilities they have.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Location is great, close to lots of good restaurants, really close to bullring and new street. However, at night, it can get really loud. Lots of bars and lots of loud engine revving heard throughout the nights. Parking is limited so if you are unlucky to not get a parking spot within the building, it’s almost impossible to find parking close by due to how busy the area is.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
It gets loud at night, especially if there is an event/party going on in the garden or rooftop. Luckily it doesn’t happen too often.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
It depends on who you contact, some never reply to your email, some reply quickly. And when I moved in, it was a mess, like they weren’t fully ready. I didn’t receive any important information (like setting up WiFi, utilities etc) like other tenants until a few days later. And it did add some stress when I can’t get any responses to my emails. Situation has improved since then. The reception team/security is always helpful and friendly.
I love the forum🥹
I’ve only been living here a short time and I cannot believe how helpful and friendly everyone is, the building itself is gorgeous and has such amazing facilities such as the gym, the rooftop and the courtyard. Not to mention the sense of community which is so easy to be apart of!
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
The area is amazing for young proffesionals or students, an amazing nightlife and shops near by. Despite it being on a main road it isn’t too loud
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I wish there was a group so I could meet my neighbours beforehand
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
I have never had to raise any issues to do with the forum
lovely building but management is aggressive and unhelpful
building is decent however anything good is marred by the aggressive and unhelpful management.
BBQ and pizza over have been unavailable since moving in and there is dog poo all over the roof gardens with no attempt from management to deal with this or indeed arrange for cleaning
Car parking issues due to getting a parking ticket from parking in my own spot for weeks. Management seemed to have no control over who gets tickets so this continued for months. really painful seeking resolution
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
local areal is fantastic. Lots of public transport, train station nearby bus stops all round. Parking in the building car park is a bit dangerous as the management will probably ticket you despite paying for a car parking space. (over 3 months for me) and will be unable to deal with this unless you go down there on a daily basis for weeks…. so dont get a parking space…..
can be quite noisy in the morning about 4am due to rubbish collection which is super noisy
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
just about the landlord – the community and people are great however its ruined by anytime you have a problem its met with aggression
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
standoffish and aggressive tone from the get go. very hostile and unhelpful.
Manager Response
Hello,
Thank you for your feedback – its really useful to us! Unfortunately as you’ve declined to provide us with your name, I’m limited in my response to you – but allow me to try and respond to your points.
Your comments regarding management is unlike anything we have received before – I would like to understand this further and therefore invite you to contact me directly to discuss your concerns.
I am currently undertaking a car park review, including the company we are using for patrolling. As we directly do not ticket cars, once a ticket is received we work with the patrolling company to void as many charges as possible – within reason. We have found that alot of residents are receiving tickets because they are allowing guests to park in their spaces, or that residents are parking in a bay not allocated to their property.
I hope you reach out to me direct so we can review the above.
Great apartment with poor management
Zero safety – Anyone can enter the car park as the door has been broken for over 3 months – even though the car park charges £100 monthly.
Pets – The new management doesn’t care about the building’s regulations. Some pet owners are really disrespectful and leave dog excrement everywhere. Management has no time to review CCTV and stop them.
Weekend – No housekeeping on Sunday, and common areas are messy and unsightly.
Last but not least – I have not had any personal experiences, but the whole building is complaining about new contract changes, manager behavior, and price increases in the group chat.
Note: Smethfeild construction is starting this year next to The Forum. No one would like to stay next to a huge project with constant noise.
Please tell us what you like and dislike about this area:
Place was thriving and we had a good management in the past. place is falling with new management in place. price that we paying is not worth.
Please share one thing (or more) which you wish you had known before you moved in:
I should known that the apartment is not listed under council to pay council tax.
How has the building management responded to any problems or issues you have raised:
Just fix the car parking door and stop the pet onwers who are leaving the dog **** every where. may be charge fine if doesnt being disrectful.
Conduct a monthly meeting – all residents would like come and share the current issues in the building and which help to maintain and keep the building going. why would you stop the good inititives ?
why Pizza oven is never working ? summer is almost over
Manager Response
Hello SM,
Thank you for your feedback – its really useful to us! Unfortunately as you’ve declined to provide us with your name, I’m limited in my response to you – but allow me to try and respond to your points.
I am aware of the pedestrian gate magnetic lock having faulted – this has been raised with a maintenance contractor as a high priority issue.
With regards to pet management, we care both about the residents with pets but also how us being pet friendly impacts residents without pets. We are aware of certain owners not picking pet waste up and have spoken to these individually after reviewing CCTV (which we always have time to do!)
We have housekeeping at the weekend, but I am happy to review should this not be sufficient. I understand the usage of the communal areas increase during the weekend, and therefore can see how areas are becoming ‘unsightly’, however, on returning to site on a Monday (normally before the cleaner starts) the communal areas do look tidy and well presented.
I haven’t received concerns from residents about this, but will contact all residents if/when we are provided with information by the council that will impact our residents. Although we are aware of the pending development of the Smithfield site, we have no impact or control over these works. Looking at recent news articles, I can see there has been speculation over works starting in 2023, however, we have not had this confirmed. Should you wish to understand more about this development, you can contact planningandregenerationenquiries@birmingham.gov.uk using the reference 2022/09643/PA
I’m sorry you’ve seen the change in management as a negative. The team are working hard to provide a community that our residents love – and we have much feedback reflecting this. I would love to host a open meeting with all resident, which I will look to book in soon, however, I urge you to contact me directly with any concerns you have before they impact you to this degree.
Resident photos
Facilities
24 Hours
Balcony
Bike Parking
On Site Cafe
Central
Coworking
Concierge
Garden
Communal Gardens
Gym
Lounge
Onsite Maintenance
Parcel Lockers
Parking
Pet Friendly
Play Area
Private Dining
Resident Events
Roof Terrace
Security
Service
