Laila’s* problems with her new flat started on day one. She and her housemate were due to move into a two-bedroom apartment in Wembley Park, run by Quintain Living, in October 2023.
The keys would be ready in the morning, they’d been told, and they had both taken the day off work. But when they arrived, they couldn’t get in until the evening, and the flat was not ready: it was dirty, and the carpet was soaked with disinfectant.
Laila, 37, had moved to London from southeast Asia for a new job, which was walking distance away.
She liked the look of Quintain’s buildings, and they were pet-friendly, which was perfect for her two dogs.
The website and the development looked professional. Laila was refunded the day’s rent, but the experience would set the tone for her time there.
“Noticing how unprofessional they were when we moved in, I had very little trust dealing with them.”
Quintain Living is a built-to-rent (BTR) development in Wembley Park. Aiming to build 6,000 rental homes by 2034 — over 3,600 have already been constructed— it is set to become the biggest development of its kind in the UK.
New, purpose-built rental developments like Quintain are likely to play an increasingly pivotal role in both the country’s rental market and in meeting the government’s housebuilding targets.
According to Savills’ latest figures, there are 132,000 completed BTR developments in the UK, with 161,000 under construction or in the planning pipeline. This year, almost £1 billion has been invested in the sector.
Quintain Living, which is one of the country’s largest build-to-rent operators, has won a string of development and property management awards and claims to be “the future of renting”, offering “money-can’t-buy lifestyle amenities” and a streamlined payment system in which residents receive a single itemised bill for rent, Wi-Fi and utilities.
“Everything looks very professional, but when you live here, you realise that it isn’t,” says Laila. “There’s a lot of work that we have to put in in order to enjoy this place.”
“For me, it seemed liked [Quintain] was what modern living should be,” agrees Lebona Vernon, 39, who moved to the development in 2021 for its facilities, transport links and all-in-one rates.
But what had been presented as a straightforward experience invariably had complications.
“The number one issue was the lack of flexibility in being able to choose your utilities. They market it as a nice all-in-one deal where you’re going to save money.”
Until April this year, residents’ utility bills were “reconciled” every quarter (now monthly): if tenants have overpaid, they’ll receive credit, and if they’ve used more energy than they’ve paid for, they are charged an additional sum.
They are sent a monthly breakdown of usage. For Lebona, these reconciliation payments equated to an extra £280 to £400 every quarter, which seemed unusually high.
When he queried one £600 reconciliation bill and withheld payment, Lebona says that Quintain threatened to cut off his Wi-Fi. “Every three months, you’d be sent a random bill. They never had clarity,” he says. “The bills just don’t add up.”
Residents claim that they have experienced “astronomical” hikes in both the unit rate and standing charges during their time at Quintain, which they say exceed the market rate.
From April 2023 onwards, for example, Lebona claims that his unit rate was as high as 42.6p per kilowatt hour — despite the London average being 33.03p/kwh at the time.
His standing charges hovered at over £40 per month. More recently, Laila says her unit rate has gone down but her standing charge has increased, costing her around £10 extra per month, regardless of her usage.
Both feel misled by Quintain, which in 2024 advertised a saving of 56 per cent on energy bills on its website — a claim that was later investigated by the Advertising Standards Authority and removed.
An apartment in Quintain’s Ferrum building
Quintain Living
Tenants also have concerns about Quintain’s metering system, which has appeared to charge people for more than they had used. Residents who left their apartments unoccupied, for example, were still paying for consumption.
“One of my friends living in Ferrum [a building in the development] once got a bill and we worked out that it would mean that she’d have to have filled a swimming pool to get such a big water bill. It was impossible in a two-bedroom flat. Something was wrong with the meter,” says Laila.
Thankfully, her friend was refunded. “It makes you wonder whether their meters are working or they’re just coming up with some figures.”
Quintain confirms that utilities are metered on a building basis, with individual consumption measured via a submeter network. They claim that reported consumption is sometimes checked against physical readings.
“The biggest issue with utilities is the lack of transparency. Obviously, we need to use electricity. We need to use water. We’re happy to pay for it,” says Laila. “But right now we have no control over the tendering process, how they choose the energy broker or the utility supplier. We can’t move; we can’t choose.”
In October last year, Laila moved out of her two-bedroom flat and into a studio in another building at Quintain. She was £75 in credit for her energy usage, but she says it took her six months to get her money back in a process that involved a string of emails and phone calls, as well as a letter to her MP.
At the end of her tenancy, despite paying £200 for the flat to be cleaned by Quintain’s recommended company, she says Quintain tried to charge her for cleaning and for marks on the walls that had been there — and discussed at length — when she arrived.
When she provided evidence of the cleaning fee she had paid, her deposit was refunded.
“It wasn’t about getting £75 back. It’s the principle. That’s money we have prepaid; money that they shouldn’t have in the first place. But they withheld the money and waited half a year to return it, which is really unfair,” says Laila.
“I think they are constantly looking for ways to exploit us financially…It got me thinking that they’re probably doing this to everyone after they leave to see if anyone would go through the hassle of collecting the evidence and writing back. It’s a lot of work.”
Despite Quintain advertising a “vibrant community”, residents believe that successive rent rises are deliberately pushing them out of the development.
When Lebona moved into his two-bedroom apartment in 2021, he paid £1,700pcm. Within three years, this had risen to £2,660pcm (including utilities and £100 “pet rent”), representing a 54 per cent increase.
“They said it was the average price range of properties in the area. But they own all of them — of course they’re going to say that.”
In 2024, Lebona was offered a one-year tenancy renewal (he had previously had a three-year lease) at £3,082pcm, which he contested. Under the government’s guidance, tenants with a multi-year tenancy must be given six months’ notice for a rent increase, whereas Lebona says he was contacted less than three months in advance — and only after he got in touch.
Quintain eventually responded that the figure was a mistake, and offered £2,732, but on a “rolling monthly contract”, which did not offer security of tenure.
“For further transparency, your own behaviour in recent weeks and months has also impacted this decision,” the email read.
A series of tongue-in-cheek posters which Lebona had erected in the community noticeboards in protest at the rising utility bills was, he says, cited as the reason for this rolling tenancy, alongside “poor language in messages and emails”.
Eventually, Lebona decided to move out. “They wanted to make it easier to kick me out,” he says. “I’d been creating a stink. It was an eviction by any other means.”
Lebona Vernon moved out of Quintain last year
Lebona Vernon
Emma, who did not wish to give her surname, moved into her apartment in Quintain in October 2021 and experienced similar problems. She had grown up in Wembley and moved to Quintain with her two children after a difficult divorce. She was looking for a safe place to live that was near her family.
Like Lebona, Emma saw substantial increases in her rent, which rose from £1,800pcm when she moved in to £2,400pcm in May this year, a hike of 33 per cent.
Emma also alleges that Quintain staff or contractors accessed her flat without advance notice on different occasions. “This happened to a lot of people, including myself. They were letting themselves in to test the electrics or the doors. That was totally inappropriate. People have children; there are people with vulnerabilities — like myself coming from domestic violence issues. We’d constantly complain about it, and they’d say: ‘We trust our staff.’”
Quintain says it will always seek agreement from residents before entering their homes.
In 2023, when Emma was paying legal fees for her divorce, she requested a payment plan from Quintain to cover a month’s rent, which they agreed, and she paid.
But in September the following year, when Emma wrote to Quintain about her tenancy renewal, which she had not received, she says Quintain simply responded: “Unfortunately, you are not eligible for renewal due to your payment history and arrears on account.”
Emma was later served a Section 21 eviction notice, with Quintain issuing possession proceedings to reclaim the property. Emma unsuccessfully attempted to appeal the eviction, trying to delay it until the end of the school year.
The judge granted a possession order, although it was postponed until May this year, when Emma was forced to move out.
She and her children are currently staying with family while they search for a new place to live. “It was a nightmare process. They were going to get the bailiffs to evict me, so I left before they came,” she says.
“I’ve had to move half an hour further away from [my children’s] school, and my daughter had meltdowns as we were leaving and packing up. It’s been extremely distressing and disruptive, and I’m further away from my family now, who I moved to Wembley to be near.
“I’ve now got to find the deposit for somewhere else, and I’ve had to put things in storage.”
Quintain refutes these claims but says it was not able to give more details due to data privacy laws and not having consent “to the disclosure of evidence’.”
‘It’s built as a home, but they’re treating it like a hotel’
When complete, Quintain Living is set to become the largest development of its kind in the UK
Quintain Living
Like Lebona, Emma suspects that part of the reason for her eviction was so that Quintain could rent out her apartment at a higher rate — or use it for short-term Airbnb lettings.
“They were determined not to let me stay there, and I fundamentally believe that it’s because they wanted more rent from my apartment,” says Emma. “Rents for that area have increased so much, and it’s pushing people out. People like me, who have grown up in the area, can no longer afford to be there.”
The masterplan for the development promises a “new residential district”, but residents share concerns that Quintain is renting out properties commercially on the website, particularly for events at Wembley Stadium.
Certainly, properties in the development are listed on Airbnb, and Quintain has a host profile. Quintain says that only 15 apartments out of 3,635 are used for short-term lettings, but tenants believe this is happening “all the time”. Tenants are not permitted to sublet their apartments themselves.
“I think there is a need for more short-term stays here for people coming to the Ovo Arena for events,” Laila says. “But the flats are supposed to be built as homes.”
Tenants feel that Airbnb lets lead to a drop in maintenance standards: Laila says short-term tenants frequently leave their rubbish in the wrong place, which has led to mice, for example. But more importantly, they believe it is eroding the sense of community at the development.
“It’s built as a home, but they’re treating it like a hotel. Only they don’t have the same manpower or services to take care of people’s messes,” says Laila. “They are almost incentivised to bring new tenants in if there is a chance that the new tenant would be willing to pay more to live here.
“I think [Quintain] need to start treating us more like residents who want to make this place their home, instead of [prioritising] people who are just staying here as a hotel. There are lots of residents who want to make this community thrive.”
Quintain says that its short-term lettings are limited to 15 apartments and denies the claims made by residents about living at the development. Danielle Bayless, COO of Quintain Living, said: “Our residents are at the heart of everything we do at Quintain Living.
“Customer service is paramount and the management of our 3,650 homes for the long term is our priority. We have robust governance structures and have staff in every building to ensure any issues are raised and dealt with quickly and effectively.”
For residents, the problems they have encountered at Quintain are symptomatic of wider problems within the rental market. “The stories shared by these renters are deeply concerning and show how vital it is to overhaul our broken renting system.
Large build-to-rent providers like Quintain are supposed to be professional, and are likely to play a larger role in the rental market in future,” says Tom Darling, director at the Renter’s Reform Coalition, which many residents contacted for support.
“When it comes into force next May, the Renters’ Rights Act will deliver more security for tenants, ending section 21 evictions and introducing an ombudsman and other important safeguards. But as too many renters can attest, legislation offers little protection if it isn’t enforced.
“The government must provide councils with the resources and guidance they will need to put the new Act into practice and uphold tenants’ rights. Whether large or small, any landlord who breaches the law or abuses their tenants must face swift justice — otherwise rogue operators could go on ignoring the law with impunity.”
Lebona moved out in July last year, but it has left a sour taste behind. “It’s affected me. It’s disillusioned me in corporate benevolence, if there is such a thing,” he says.
“We need a rent cap in London, and for councils to be able to build their own housing. As long as people are driven by profit, we will never solve the housing situation.”
*Names have been changed.
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