The Collective Old Oak, Old Oak Lane, London, NW10

Great for certain people

Moving in was a lot of fuss and they seemed surprised by the fact I was moving in. There is one large trolley (or at least there was) to help with moving in. The use of keycards for access to flats instead of keys or at least fobs has meant that they get lost or break very quickly and easily, but they are helpful by providing you a temporary one if you lock yourself out. Aesthetically it's a very pretty place externally and internally, although it could do with a bit less grey in some places and some spaces still need repairing, reorganising or clearing out. Practicality of shared space is in interesting one. Having your own space and communal ones is helpful, but can also be problematic as instead of negotiating just a few flatmates, at times you might be having to navigate 10-15 other people at any time. People do steal possessions and occasionally parcels from the parcel room (plus the notification system is a bit funny. They reception area is large and beautiful, plus the piano is a nice touch. The communal kitchen on the second floor needs fixing in multiple places and with a few appliances and clearing out as it becomes essentially a dumping ground for possessions. Our personal kitchenette has no oven or much space or storage, so using the communal kitchens is almost required. The shared kitchen dishwasher is helpful. The cinema is nice, but I was never able to get the projector to work. The library is nice. The games room looked really rough for most of my stay, but is now quite nice and the pool table is great. The spa is kinda just a room with beds and a sauna that I didn't trust. The gym is great, plus the private studio is helpful. The communal working spaces and private booking spaces are great. Cleaners attend to your flat twice a month, but how many of them work your floor and at what times, varies immensely whilst you are provided no notice. Also, as they provide the bed linen, the sheets are all white, which is great as they'll change them, but they are almost always stained and it's not the nicest to look at in your tiny room. Temperature is fine in the winter, but utterly ridiculous in the summer, especially as the windows don't open properly. Upkeep of spaces varies massively, but the higher you go the nicer everything is, especially since that is where the wealthier people are. Events are on almost everyday and they can be a lot of fun and are very varied, although they are very much centred around people who work 9 to 5 and the booking system is odd. The app is kind of useless as only other residents use it, when ideally so should an admin or staff member. Laundrette is ridiculous. It's nice to have, but it is ridiculous to be charged for laundry ontop of the extensively high rent, and the charges for laundry are rather high, with no benefits or offers for those with the app or use the service for longer. There is space for your own airer as the tumble dryers are not worth paying for, but there's no system, so people will just steal yours. There are no real green spaces around except for in the building where they have at least attempted to with secret garden (although it's all artificial) and the patio which is nice to have but not well kept. Safety is a mix as everything is secured by a keycard, but the later it is the less good security becomes. Post boxes should have their own keys and they finally will soon, but they haven't the entire time I've been living here which is problematic. Fire alarms go off basically daily and the fire alarm board has malfunctioned a few times up to the point that it is very much a boy who cried wolf scenario around fire. Staff are mostly all nice and understanding, but a few especially late in the evenings or who seem to be agency seem uncertain on a lot Accessibility/disability is a real let down here, the lifts do work most of the time, but that and a disabled toilet on the ground floor, with an almost always tied up emergency cord is it. Multiple spaces even on the ground floor required stairs, the two flats supposedly designed for disabled individuals are not accessible in the slightest, all they have done is essentially removed the kitchenette 'to make space', which ironically takes away some independence, especially since almost everything including the communal kitchen are behind very heavy fire doors. Alsoz the two access rooms share a bathroom (only ones that do), whereby you can lock the other person out, so that is dangerous and problematic for those who have urgency issues. Information is not accessible. There aren't any fire chairs. Space and storage is very finite, you essentially live in a corridor with a small bathroom. Without the underbed storage, the studio would be unliveable, but otherwise you can make it work. In general the notion of communal space is great and there are some nice parts/perks, but there are also some serious problems.

Experience living at collective

The development features a modern design and a well-thought-out aesthetic, with seasonal themes and decorations that help keep the environment feeling fresh and welcoming throughout the year. The building is generally clean and well-maintained, which adds to the overall living experience. Facilities such as the gym and working spaces are useful and enhance day-to-day convenience. Maintenance is responsive and usually addresses issues in a timely manner.

Pleasant, affordable and practical living, with good value for money.

The design is good and there are a lot of facilities, like a gym and outside garden. However, I would love a pool. Sometimes we have lots of fire alarms going off, as it is often faulty. For some reason, the small fridges we have in our rooms, are not cold enough and things go bad very quickly, especially milk and fresh vegetables. There are lots of lovely spaces to relax in the building, and they’ve made the entrance very comfortable and pretty.

Right balance between privacy and collective living

Although individual rooms are compact, they provide everything you need. Private bathroom and cooking facilities. There are communal kitchens on each floor for more adventurous cooking or entertaining. Housekeeping services your room every 2 weeks with clean linen. If you do have any maintenance issue either in your room or around the building, the on site maintenance team are on the ball. I’ve only ever had 2 issues (minor) and Pavel the maintenance manager personally sorted the issue within 24 hours. Amazing service - thank you ! The general management of the building is great. The General Manager is always available and takes on board any concerns if you have any. In nearly 4 years I think I ‘ve only had one which she sorted quickly and so professionally.

Improvement

They have cancelled the printing service which is very inconvenient. Sometimes hot water and sauna were out of service. It takes 1 - 3 days to fix it. People stealing from share big kitchen, better to leave everything inside the room in the private small kitchen area.