Stath Lets Flats: Press Team Lettings Nightmares

19 June 2018

 

The Channel 4 press team tell us their lettings and estate agent nightmares!

Phil Cairns

Press & Publicity Manager, Film4

I once rented a 1st and 2nd floor flat off Caledonian Road, and the exterior wall of the building had (in retrospect) a frightening lean to it, and a massive crack down the side, so you could actually see the pavement outside through the crack as you were walking through the hallway and up the stairs. Three months after moving in we got back after work one night to find that Islington council had slapped a dangerous buildings notice on the building, ordering us to move out!

Benjie Goodhart

Press Website Editor

When I was a student, we rented a flat from an absolute looney. He rented a flat to our mates as well, and one of the mattresses smelled of wee. Rather than getting rid of it the normal way, he doused it in petrol, balanced it on the windowsill of their (6th floor) flat, chucked a match on it and kicked it out of the window. It missed the phone lines by inches.

Toby King

Press & Publicity Assistant

I was on a house viewing. The place was nice enough, until the letting agent showed us the bathroom. It wasn’t mouldy. It was mould with a bathroom in it. Literally every surface was black with the stuff. I’ve never seen anything like it. The letting agent turned, looked me dead in the eye and said with a completely straight face, “The bathroom has a rustic charm.”

Amy Wackett

PR Manager, Current Affairs & Factual

In my previous flat, the letting agent arranged for a contractor to come round but they didn’t confirm the date and time. I was at home practising yoga on a Saturday afternoon, the doorbell went but then immediately I heard a key in the door and three people walked in. I was in full yoga gear and only had a matter of seconds to extricate myself from a downward dog. I then had to stand there awkwardly while they worked out a quote to re-paint my untidy, washing-strewn bedroom.

A week later, the exact same thing happened to my flatmate when the decorator walked in to find him chilling in his lion onesie!