I reviewed Alba about a year ago having had a rather unsavoury experience with them. However, Paul Wilson, a director there, just phoned me to clear a few things up, so I felt compelled not to update, but to change my review. My two biggest complaints were the service I received when complaining, and how difficult it was to get things done. Basically, the iniquitous woman who called me (and my folks) a liar is no longer there, and neither is the landlord (not Alba, but the fella who actually owns the flat). It's a difficult situation for Alba. As tenants, we felt we didn't get the service we deserved, but as a sort of middle man, it was difficult for Alba uphold any complaints. And, frankly, I'm impressed that, after all this time, they took the time to phone me and discuss things. So now that that member of staff and that bloody landlord have gone, I reckon they might just be OK. read more

Alba Residential - Real Estate Services Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

As far as letting agents go, Alba Residential is a huge improvement from my last adventure. From the viewing stage to the lease signing to moving in, everything was well organized and dealt with professionally. The staff were friendly and helpful, and shock horror they answer the phone! Which is a novelty for me following my past experiences with letting agents. They have a strict procedure for dealing with maintenance issues, which I like. I like a bit of organisation and structure, and this means they get the job done. After a few days in our new flat we discovered a few issues and emailed their maintenance department. We were told to wait 10 days for them to deal with any problems but they came out and sorted the issues in a matter of days. Score! When the direct debit for my rent was set up incorrectly with the bank, instead of charging me for late rent they were super apologetic and gave me a number of options to pay. It was very much appreciated and not what I had expected, so pleasantly surprised. No problems with Alba, would highly recommend them. read more

Alba Residential - Courtesy of Alba website - Real Estate Services Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Having been warned by every possible source to stay away from Grant Management in the grand search for a second year flat, three friends and I ended up leasing one from the Morningside located letting company Alba Residential. It's a bit difficult to compare them to other letting agents as at my tender age, I'm not of the habit of dealing with property. However they have been extremely kind and courteous, and thankfully they don't adhere too doggedly to the rules; though a couple of our documents were not handed in on time, they managed to overlook that and allowed the lease-signing to go ahead. However, the flat is only being cleaned 5 days after the move-in date, and there have already been some issues with the keys. Although we were lucky to find our flat with them, it seems student flats are not really their forte, as I've been through their portfolio and the pickings were slim. read more

Alba Residential - Real Estate Services Near Me - Edinburgh, EDH

Warning to those Alba Residential's candidate victims: My husband and me rented a city centre flat from Alba Residential for more than a year and finally when we decided to move out listed problems and attitude what we had to face: - Maintenance team send me a check-out list which had ridicilous stuff on such as dusty fruit bowl! - When we moved into the property there were ironing tables, used internet routers from different suppliers and a box which had a toaster, broken lamp, etc etc etc Our mistake was not to mention this to Alba as later on we were charged for removal of items not even belong to us. -When the washing machine was broken throughout our stay, it took them and or landlord more than 1 months to replace it!!! Alright now overall Never again Alba and clearly I won't agree their ridicilous bill after me living the flat super clean than it has ever been. No way! read more

What a waste, this company wasted my afternoon. I wasted my afternoon viewing properties that in their own words were "a must see". The two flats that I saw were filthy and mouldy. Yet in Alba descriptions, they were descibe as something they were not. read more

As a landlord I have always received first class service from Alba Residential. I started off by having 2 of my properties factored by Alba. The personal service and re-letting speed of my empty flats was so good that I have moved flats from other letting agents to Alba. Having one nominated pointed of contact, mine being Mark Hastie, makes doing business with Alba very straight forward. Mark is always very prompt and effective at dealing with any issues that arise. Another important consideration for landlords when choosing an agent is speedy payment of rental income - here again I praise Alba and my nominated contact for financial matters, Chris Simpson. I would not hesitate in recommending Alba Residential to other landlords. And finally, I would also like to say that feedback from my tenants about Alba Residential has always been complimentary. read more

nightmare of a company, right up there with the notorious grant management. I rented through Alba for a couple of years, had enough and have just gone elsewhere. What I will say for them is that though they are very good at community publicity stunts, they are horrendous as agents for tenants. They have allowed repairs to go undone for weeks at a time, have blatantly misled me and were a nightmare when it came to trying to get any deposit back. If you are unable to avoid, keep copies of everything, notes of anyone you spoke too and what they said (because from my personal experience they will each say different things, and worst case deny saying it when tackled about it) and be prepared to walk away with a much reduced deposit after months of wrangling, no matter how clean you leave the place. read more

If I could give them no stars, that would be more accurate... Sure, when we set up viewings with them they were brilliant, wonderflly helpful and able to provide a wealth of information. When we signed the lease they were professional and helpful at every stage, they even arranged for the landlord to make a few adjstments to the property which we had asked for. We were delighted, FINALLY a letting agency who were professional and helpful... or so we thought. On the day we were due to move in we went to the office, excited at the prospect of picking up the keys to our new flat. We signed the final documents and then got handed the keys and left the office to go to the flat. We arrived at the property and entered the downstairs door which a friendly neightbour held open for us as they were going out. We then climbed the stairs to the top floor to our flat and tried to unlock the door. Tried being the operative word - it soon became obvious that we had been given the wrong keys, and not those for our new flat. We phoned Alba, who kindly sent someone out to us with the correct keys, and we were finally in the new flat! Only once we were inside the flat did we realise we had another problem. The flat - supposedly cleaned to the high standards Alba had detailed we must clean it to before moving out ourselves, was in short - disgusting. Dusty door frames, animal hairs ont he carpet and matress, greasy sticky and dusty cupboards in the kitchen, light shades covered in dust, and urine stains under the toilets seats to name but a few issues. Alba did offer to send out cleaners to us, but this was friday morning, and they couldn't get the cleaners to the property until monday afternoon - Both myself and my flatmate had to be out of our other flats by sunday at the latest, and still had to clean them... we didn't want to move our stuff into a dirty flat either. Int he end we told them we would clean the flat ourselves, and spend the next several hour cleaning it to a livable state. I wish I could say that was where our problems ended - but sadly not. Since moving in we have had numberous maintenance issues, all reported straight away, and every time it has taken months to have anything done about them - with one exception - it only took Alba and the landlord 2 weeks to replace the fridge which was broken when we moved into the property - so we had 2 weeks of no means to keep any food cool. As I write this review just now I am sitting in the flat at the end of my tether - waiting for contractors which Alba are sending out to have a look at the electric fire. Five weeks ago we smelt an electrical burning smell and contacted them immediately to ask them to come and have a look, we narrowed it down to the electric fire. The contractor was meant to be coming this morning, and I am still waiting, at 3pm. I have phoned and asked what is going on, and got no answers, only that they would get the contractor to contact me - so there's one of my precious days off work wasted by sitting around waiting for someone who I seriously doubt will turn up. Alba has put me off renting from agencies ever again, from the day we moved in we have had nothing but problems, and not a single apology or acknowledgement of the inconveniences caused to us. DO NOT RENT FROM ALBA! read more

I was a tenant in Alba for years. I am actually very disappointed in every level. Communication They did not reply to most of my emails, they did not reply to my phone calls, the never replied to my phone messages. Many times.I had to go to the agency every time because I was sending the same email over and over again Maintenance Every time I had a maintenance problem I had to wait too long to fix it. The limit that they told me before I signed the papers was 10 working days. I had to wait a month for some things like fixing the washing machine or the fridge. Deposit This was out of the limit. They were trying to take my full deposit (575 pounds) back just because they told me that the house was not clean. I asked 3 times to send me the bills and explain me why you should take so many pounds for just cleaning but they never answered. Moreover, I had a problem with the deposit for months. No reply even after 2 months. I believe that they are very unorganized to many levels. The only positive trait that I can say is that the receptionists were very polite when I was going to the agency. read more

I stayed in a flat let by Alba for a very brief period at the start of the year. One week into our lease a storm badly damaged the roof and our living, dining and utility area were flooded badly. We came home to a bomb site, unable to have lights or heating on as water was streaming over the fixtures. We could not get hold of anyone from alba and were left for the night. First thing next day we contacted them but they failed to do ANYTHING as they couldn't get hold of the landlord for the whole day. We had to stay in a hotel that night as they failed to offer us other accomodation in time for us to reach them before they closed. No one stayed behind to give us keys. What followed was a farce and includes the following: we were told the property was watertight only to be told it actually wasn't and never could be without proper work done once it started to rain again, the second time it flooded we were offered a literal crime scene (murder near the block two days before) in a dodgy area and £100 less pm than our own place as alternative accom without any photos to go on and no idea how long we would be there for, when we refused we were told that Alba had done all they had to do legally, 3 weeks and only 1 quote for the job (landlord declined due to price), told we could get a months free rent which changed to Febuary being free when we had to move out in January, when we pressed we were eventually given two weeks rent back, when it flooded the second time we had to stay for 2 nights in a hotel since we didn't agree to crime scene property without photos and not enough time to view and move our belongings as it was late on a Friday afternoon (no refund given), at one point left in a pub with our belongings with nowhere to stay as no one from Alba bothered to work a minute past closing time to help us, eventually told it might take months for the work to be done and that we should find a new place. At this point we were living with my mother outside of town as the flat was freezing and damp and was making us ill. So many expenses were incurred during this including hotel bills, travel, food, belongings, new agency fees, moving services etc etc. Not to mention the health issues we suffered from our living conditions and the constant stress. From Alba we received some money for the towels that were damaged and the excess on our home insurance. After much pressing and complaining were given two weeks rent back and our deposit. Please decide from this if you want Alba to be your fallback in an emergency. read more

Although I've yet to see their properties in person, the agents are extremely helpful over email and actually sound like real people instead of automated messages. So many places I messaged sent back emails telling me to check for properties on their site. I've obviously been on the site and found your email address, so most likely I'm capable enough to have checked your site for properties. This lazy response reflects badly on other businesses, and I want an actual agent's help. Alba offered that. They were very good about answering my questions and actively looking for houses for me. They understand what my criteria are, know that I'm moving in a month, and keep the communication going so that I feel comfortable and don't have to check their site daily for changes. They keep me up-to-date if they think they have something new that might interest me and I really appreciate that. read more

Alba residential, clowns or incompetent? I am not entirely sure. Alba residential somehow seem to receive good reviews from a small army of dedicated reviewers, good for Alba, not so good for us consumers. The rental process starts semi professionally (assuming your representative is not late) and proceeds to slide downhill from there. You will be told different things by different members of the company. You will be charged obscene amounts of money in unjustifiable agency fees, you will be forced to purchase home insurance (quite conveniently Alba appear to be the local rep for a few companies, see mitigating responsibility for repair later on). Assuming NOTHING in your flat breaks or was broken when you moved in I imagine you would have a fairly enjoyable stay in your accommodation. i.e. You are not actually required to try and negotiate any kind of repairs/contact with Alba. Alba seem to operate a 'repair infrequently' and 'as cheaply' as humanly possible. They will do everything in their power to mitigate any responsibility they have with respect to repair. Case in point, my boiler. As far as Scottish law dictates, Alba are obliged to keep in working order the heating and water system (Landlord and tennant act 1985, 11.c). Alba agree with this but only to a certain extent. If the landlord of the property has set up an agreement with a 3rd party repair company (eg, scottish gas) which has a policy of no access for their engineers without someone present then Alba seem to have the deranged view that it is in fact the tenant's responsibility to be present to let the contractor in (it is landlords therefore the agencies responsibility to have the boiler fixed). This is in fact nonsense. Alba retain a set of keys specifically for the purpose of providing contractors with access to the flat. If the agency and the landlord have decided on a particular contractor with particular rules then it is fully the agencies responsibility to to fulfill the role of the landlord as specified by the law. To make matters worse feel they can charge the tenant £35 an hour call out to wait around for the contractor (who invariably never turns up). The tenant is not responsible for fees the agency incurs when making mandatory repairs, the landlord is. This kind of financial bullying and pushing the responsibility for repairs onto the tenant is unacceptable and quite possibly illegal. While this case is very specific, it clearly demonstrates Alba's attitude to their tenants. In the eyes of Alba you are a cash cow to be milked and not maintained, you are on a short term lease and it makes financial sense to move as many tenants through their system as possibly (see obscene agency fees). Alba's list of priorities are as such: 1. Alba residential, 2. The landlord, 3. Themselves personally, 4. The tenant. Alba's slogan is 'We remember you have a choice', only in hindsight do you realise the choice is to accept their lousy service or go somewhere else. Do yourself a favor and avoid these jokers. read more

So far I'm very pleased with Alba Residential and services that they provide as agency. This is our 6th rented flat and 6th agency, so I do have experience and can compare Alba to other smaller and bigger agencies. First of all, the viewing with Alba (and Stephen) was the most professional we had (some other agencies had sent someone who event wasn't their employer - just opened the door to the flat and could not answer any questions!!!). And all other stages of lease signing where also professional. All staff always very nice and helpful. When we had some small issues with the flat after moving in, it was dealt with professionally and within reasonable time frame. Personally, I have nothing to complain, very positive service so far! read more

I've rented properties from 5 different letting agents recently and Alba is definitely the worst. These are the problems I had over a 6 month lease: The flat hadn't been professionally cleaned when I moved in despite them saying it had. Maintenance issues can only be reported via email and it takes ages to get a acknowledgement. It took 4 weeks to get a faulty transformer in a light fixed. One week to get a broken shower fixed. The flat had 3 existing TV aerials that didn't work. The landlord denied knowledge of them and Alba refused to repair, despite the fact that anything installed in a flat must be maintained under the "status quo" principle. I had a clear check out report and send copies of final bills etc to get my deposit back swiftly within 2 days of leaving. 21 days later I still haven't been paid, upon querying this I was told "we have 28 days to give your deposit back and it will be done within these timescales" - a very annoying policy as they had everything they needed to return my money for 3 weeks now. I wouldn't use Alba again and wouldn't recommend them, there are a lot of better letting agents in Edinburgh. read more

I feel Alba get money for nothing, the only useful thing about them is that they get your flat rented out quickly at a good value, they take £50 a month and then theyre useless. My last tennat had a cat which they wernt allowed so i kept the tennants deposit to buy new carpets, I had to argue for about 3 days over email with the tennat, Alba wanted nothing to do with the problem even although they were the ones carrying out the final inspection which they failed to invite me to. Getting them to do anythging is like talking to a brick wall aswell, I've tried to organise repairs for flats through them, theyve said they will get in contact with the tennat to arrange a suitable time blah blah blah and you never hear from them. They also try to offer services like fitting smoke detectors, fire blankets etc, the charges for this are rediculous. All in all youd be better doing it yourself! read more

Everything went well until check out time, we got stung on our deposit for cleaning. Beware when they find something that is not clean the a whole house gets billed for. Make sure the place is spotless and take your own photos on arrival read more

I rented a flat from Alba Residental for 14 months. In those 14 months, the toilet flooded 3 times. Rather than replacing the shredder system they kept sending out plumbers who kept saying that there was nothing they could do to prevent any future blockages. When I moved in the flat was disgusting and nothing had been cleaned. Alba sent two cleaners who surface cleaned the flat. I ended up cleaning the entire flat myself after that. When I moved out, I left the place spotless. Alba came up with a massive list of items which they considered needed cleaning or replacement. The thing which outraged me most is the fact that they charged me £80 to replace a cracked freezer drawer (surely this is part of wear and tear, especially because the drawer wasn't actually broken, it had a minor crack in the handle, which still worked perfectly fine). The other thing they charged me for is "dusting the bed frame." This is ridiculous because I had hoovered AND dusted AND mopped the entire house. They also claimed that I had caused moulding in the bathroom, which was unventilated and did not have a window to air the place. Due to the fact that it is a closed bathroom, it is hard for water to evaporate. I used to leave the door open after having had a shower but minor moulding and minor stains appeared on the white rubbery bits between the bath and the wall. There is absolutely nothing I could do against this because there was no way for me to ventilate the bathroom properly. These stains are part of wear and tear and from time to time, the bathroom sealant just needs to be replaced. They charged me for this as well. There are plenty of other things which I was charged for, in addition to which Alba refuses to refund me the agency fees which they have unlawfully charged me (according to this website: http://www.reclaimyourfees.com/). I would recommend to everyone to stay away from Alba as they took 25% of my deposit when I moved out. My friend had a similar experience with them when he moved out and did not receive any of his deposit back. I should have listened to his advice when I was moving flat because he told me to NEVER get involved with Alba. read more

This agency does not deserve to have decent tenants. Avoid it by all means! I really liked one of the flats Alba advertised online so I have arranged a viewing. Being asked for a contact number I gave them my mobile so I could be notified if any changes occur. Waited for the agent (Justine) to arrive for 30! minutes. He or anyone else have not called to say they will be late or anything. I have called the 3 times only to be told they're on their way. Well 30 minutes is MORE than enough so I left. Called the same day to arrange another viewing - got one the next day. As before the agent (Laura this time) was late/didn't turn up. Called waited couple of minutes for someone to pick up (in the meantime hearing how they value customers and how great service they provide!). I was told the agent is just arriving at the property and I will be called back when she's there. Myhm, no one called... I haven't waited more that 10 minutes cause I thought this is pathetic and Alba just doesn't give a damn about customers. AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID AVOID!!! read more

They offer an efficient experience of viewing, signing and moving in. However in concluding my tenacy I have experienced so many issues with Alba in terms of communications, deposit settlement and ridiculous expenses. In addition, there is an administration charge hidden everywhere for everything. Furthermore, the delay in Alba returning my deposit was unacceptable - they continually suited themselves. I don't think they realise that it's not their money and that they are meant to be providing a service... really WOULD NOT RECOMMEND ALBA... such a long-drawn out and frustrating experience. read more

I received an exceptionally good service from all the Alba staff I dealt with. I rented from them while I was studying at Edinburgh Napier University. I stayed with them throughout my Uni course, 3 years in total. The staff were very friendly and always ready to help. read more

I was very impressed by the customer service of this agency. The staff were very polite and efficient - I could view the property the very next day. Unfortunately they still charge extra fees as they so call them admin fees which are £75 per person. Please be aware that this is illegal and if you have already paid this you can raise a small claims action in the sheriff court and get your money back. More information can be found here: http://www.reclaimyourfees.com/ read more

Miserable experiences all around with this company--I've noticed the negative reviews were all conveniently filtered out by yelp and the glowing one was front and centre--lots of issues with my girlfriend's old flat, too much to get into here, but suffice it to say in the end they wouldn't give her a verbal confirmation of her prompt and timely rent payments to our new letting agency without *charging 40 pounds to draft a letter to our new agent--* who didn't want it in writing and even called Alba, who then refused to 'clear us' verbally. Just a drop in the bucket of the evil that is this company. I've been told that charge is actually illegal now in Edinburgh. Also dinged all the flatmates around 80% of their downpayments in spite of the entire flat being scrubbed head to toe, no explanation for the charges. Avoid at all costs unless you're absolutely stuck. read more

Beware- if you are wanting to rent a property with Alba residential, make sure you have plenty of money to throw away!! When first signing up I must say they are very friendly and helpful (of course they want our money) they have ridiculous set up fees, as mentioned in a previous review...and when you want to leave they will find every fault possible to take your deposit. They charged us £75 to clean the outside windows...thats 4 windows!!!! we had our carpets/furnishings professionally cleaned since we had a pet......they told us we had maintained/looked after the flat extremely well, but there was a faint pet odour (I don't think so....that flat was freshened within an inch of its life!), but how can you argue about one persons opinion? We were charged £45 pounds per carpet per room.....what the hell?!! Over half our deposit was taken, plus the costs we had to clean ourselves (we shouldnt have even tried) On a side note: we had a modern flat which had poor ventilation, as a result it was prone to mould; we found out the lady next door had the same problem and she complained to Alba- they said it was her own fault- ie not their problem so she vacated......they took her entire deposit to clean it. This is awful- we had the same problem and we managed to srub and paint over it.....we didn't mention it to Alba. Just as well. Be aware. read more

I have never rented privately before but must stress that Alba have proved to be a great choice. The staff are most helpful and we have only had one issue in regards to washing machine breaking down and Alba notified the landlord and week later we have brand new washing machine installed. Nothing seems to be a problem for Alba, they take time to listen and are genuinely interested in what we have had to say - I would definately recommend Alba to anyone wishing to rent through an agency - they are first class. read more

Look at the majority of other reviews elsewhere and see guys are one of the worst rated in the UK. terrible company to deal with. They will get work done against your instructions then bill you and refuse refunds. Avoid avoid avoid. read more

I let a flat with Alba in November 2010 and have nothing but praise for them. I've rented with a few agencies in Edinburgh and elsewhere, and Alba have been the best by a long way. When I wanted to view one of their properties an appointment was arranged quickly, the letting procedure was straightforward and efficient, and every member of staff I've dealt with has been friendly, knowledgeable, and has gone beyond the call of duty in terms of helpfulness. On the two occasions when I reported problems with equipment, someone was in to deal with it within 24 hours, and it was fixed with minimum fuss. I would have happily continued with them had the property's owner not needed to sell, but Alba handled this extremely well, again going beyond what was required of them to be helpful and ensure we were all right. I'd happily recommend them to anyone, and would be happy to let with them again in the future. Definitely one to go for! read more

Had a terrible experience with Alba Residential. Was viewing a flat on behalf of a friend out of the country on business. They arranged a mass viewing for a very popular Simpson Loan flat. Really bad idea considering the property to let was a small flat. However, with 30 or so of us assembled, eager to get a peak of the in demand property... The agent did not have the right keys and the agent had failed to note residents were away on holiday. Slack service. Most of us were leaving at this point. My friend has viewed many other Simpson Loan flats so was keen to tie a deal up ASAP. I informed the letting agent of this and informed her I wished to proceed. I was told to wait and view the flat again. Another mass viewing. Stuck in rain and agent was 10 minutes late. Saw flat - nice, everyone likes it. What is the criteria for getting the flat? First person to put deposit down at 8am the next morning. Didn't bother with that morning rat race and told my friend to forget about it as Alba were utterly hopeless. Better to rent with a reputable firm with years of experience. Unfortunately, you can tell Alba aren't up to scratch. Most basic mistakes were made and crap business skills. Avoid! read more