Portico

A few weeks ago, I found a flat that Portico advertised for rent. We agreed to have a viewing and liked it, so we made an offer. The trick for us was that it became accessible in a few weeks. While we just served the notice, we would have been paying for a month for both flats, but with a reasonable price and the ability to have a dog, we decided to go for it. After that, a few interesting moments occurred: 1) After our offer was accepted, the agent - Georgi - said there was a mistake, and the flat would be available sooner by a few days. Since it was very early for us in the first place, I tried to insist on the original dates proposed, but Georgi said that there was another offer at the table, and the landlord insisted on this. We decided to accept this. It would be good to have all dates correctly from the beginning. 2) There were some issues with their website, and we could not fill in all the necessary forms for two days. 3) Finally, we paid the deposit and started to go through the referencing. At this moment, Georgi went on leave, so all my following communication was with Anastasia and Charlotte. 4) After reviewing the draft agreement tenancy agreement, I decided to ask for changes in a few clauses. Example: To pay the television licence regardless of the equipment ownership or to include the pet in the agreement and a few others. I received feedback that it is a very standard agreement and that they would not change it. After a few phone calls, we agreed to remove a few clauses, but they still refused to include a dog in the agreement (but proposed getting a letter from the landlord to allow it). Discussing these issues with them was tough. 5) This is the most thrilling part. After a few days, we saw our flat advertised by another agency and were shocked. We tried calling the office and writing a few emails but have not heard back. Since we were worried, we went to their office to discuss everything offline. We explained everything, and the answer was that they would try to figure things out. By the end of the day, I received a phone call from Anastasia, who said that she could not find the new ad any more and probably it was a mistake. After that, during the next few days, I constantly called and wrote to get updates on our referencing, but there were none. After 4 days, Charlotte called and said this new ad was not a mistake, but the landlord had used another agency to advertise their flat. They also had an offer, and the landlord should now decide. The next day we received news that the landlord was not responding, so they decided to return our deposit. In short, I didn't like the experience at all. Maybe it was not their fault that the landlord used another agency, but they were not honest about it till the end, and we got the final answer ~4 days before we were due to move in. I do not recommend this branch at all. We wasted almost two weeks on them, which is precious time, primarily after we had already served the notice.
Apr 10th, 2023

We have received great service from Portico. Anastasia, who was helping us throughout the entire process - from viewing the property until collecting the keys was very helpful, friendly and professional. I can certainly recommend Portico services to others.
Dec 27th, 2022

Anastasia was really helpful and very efficient during the whole process, thank you so much!!
Dec 2nd, 2022

Had a very poor experience trying to buy through Portico a few years ago. Whole process felt extremely pushy. We were mislead by an agent into believing a comparable property in the block had sold for them same price as what we were buying for. A few months later it came out the property had in fact sold for 30,000 less. Overall through the process we raised valid issues and were made to feel as if we were dragging our heels, once being asked, condescendingly, youve never bought a property before, have you?
Sep 15th, 2022

It's hard to know where to start with these guys. I rented a property from them in Finsbury Park, that hadn't been professionally cleaned or decorated prior to moving in. I documented all of this and was reassured by Portico that I wouldn't be charged for cleaning or decoration etc. upon moving out. Naturally when my tenancy was up, they tried to fleece me for my entire deposit, despite the agent I'd let the flat from reassuring me that the landlady had agreed to redecorate the place for the new tenants regardless of the state I left it in. I found out during my tenancy that the person who rented before me actually worked for Portico. So clearly he trashed the place and either the landlady was kept in the dark, or she didn't want to spend money on redoing it before I moved in. If you are a tenant dealing with these guys, document absolutely everything on day 1 of moving in - take pictures and videos and ensure they are sent to Portico. If you are a landlord considering working with these guys - my advice would be not to, as they are a bunch of lying charlatans. I've just received by deposit back after raising the case with TDS.
Oct 13th, 2022