Lambeth: I found renting a flat in Brixton from Lexadon so bad I moved to New York

Ricardo Rauseo paid 12 months rent upfront (£21,000) to secure a one-bed flat in Brixton from landlord Lexadon in 2022, after starting a master’s degree at the London School of Economics (LSE).

Equivalent to £1,750 a month, the property’s online advert boasted of ‘modern fittings’ and showed a smart communal roof terrace lined with potted plants, while Lexadon was described as providing a ‘unique and fresh approach to renting’. But the 28-year-old claims that upon being handed the keys, the flat failed to live up to the promises of the original listing.

Mr Rauseo claims he and his partner were left shivering due to a living room window that wouldn’t close, while faulty bedroom lights resulted in them having to use a torch to see at night. Pictures shared with the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) by Mr Rauseo of the roof terrace show a single dying potted plant and rubbish discarded on the decking.

Mr Rauseo, who now lives in New York, said: “Knowing it was expensive, we expected some professionalism. We didn’t understand how we could pay so much for a flat and there be no sense of accountability. It was like, if this is the most I can afford and this is how I am treated, what would the situation be in a cheaper flat?

“It was so destabilising that me and my partner decided to move out of London and back to the USA. I’m sure there are other landlords who aren’t as incompetent, but it affected us so much. A hundred per cent we would have remained in the UK if this hadn’t happened.”

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Emails seen by the LDRS show that Mr Rauseo emailed Lexadon 15 times over seven months about repairs needed to the windows. In another message seen by the LDRS from Lexadon, Mr Rauseo is told he will have to pay the bill for a contractor the landlord sent out to resolve issues with lights in the property.

The email informs Mr Rauseo that he is being charged for the contractor’s visit because there was no electrical issue as reported, rather ‘the spot lights needed changing which is the tenants’ responsibility’. But Mr Rauseo insists that a separate contractor sent out by Lexadon previously informed him the light fault was in fact an electrical issue.

Mr Rauseo added: “The renting experience was a culture shock. I thought it would be similar to the USA with housing and it just was not. In New York the housing market is very competitive. It’s incredibly difficult and the rent is expensive, but there’s an expectation of a certain level of standards. That was just not the case here.”

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Chas Ochalek, who rented a £1,547 per month one-bedroom flat in the same apartment block on Coldharbour Lane between July 2022 and October 2023 described her experience with Lexadon as ‘frustrating’.

The 38-year-old said: “The front door [to the building] was always stiff. Frequently you wouldn’t be able to get in. We had to buzz other people in the building and hope somebody would let you in.”

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Ms Ochalek claimed that eventually the door was left unlocked by Lexadon, which resulted in strangers coming and loitering in the hallway of the building. Mr Rauseo also remembered issues with the property’s front door and claimed he sometimes had to sleep at friends’ houses because he couldn’t get in.

Vito Moloney Burke, who paid £630 per month to share with four others in Brixton between September 2020 and September 2022, claimed Lexadon were ‘unpleasant’ to deal with.

He said: “In the first few months one of my housemates was sat around and the kitchen chair just collapsed under her. We got in touch with them [Lexadon] to sort out some new chairs and they came back and accused us of using force to cause the damage so we were liable for the damage.

“The front door stopped working for a few weeks. I could just push it open from the outside and the lock didn’t work. After a few weeks my flatmate’s bike was stolen.”

Mr Moloney Burke added that Lexadon fixed the lock soon after the apparent theft, but he described the resolution as ‘too late’.

The Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) approached Lexadon for comment by telephone and email about the issues raised in this article but didn’t receive a response.