Fleming House, Hanover Buildings, Southampton, Hampshire, SO14

Chronic disrepair at luxury prices

Chronic disrepair. Luxury prices. No maintenance process. No audits. No routine checks. No internal quality control of any kind. The policy is to wait until something breaks, watch it get worse, then eventually spend money to repair it. Lifts, gym equipment, sewage pipes, bins, laundry machines — everything follows the same pattern. When challenged, management blame third-party contractors and say they are "waiting" for a part or a technician. It is London. If one contractor cannot do it, find another. There are thousands of engineers in this city. The fact that management hide behind third parties rather than taking ownership tells residents everything about accountability here. There is none. Zero sense of urgency. Zero agency. Zero capability to get the job done. DESIGN: The building looks good. That is the problem. Everything is designed to look impressive on a tour and on Instagram. Functionally, nothing works. The co-working monitors are propped up with library books because there are no ergonomic stands. Residents have complained about this for years. Nothing has been done. The co-working area has poor lighting. This is a professional co-living building marketed at young professionals who work from home. Books propping up monitors. It is embarrassing. The new cleaning provider supplies an expensive autonomous robotic floor cleaner. It is completely useless. But it looks good rolling around during a tour. That is the Folk essence — superficial over functional. The appearance of premium. The reality of neglect. FACILITIES: Gym equipment broken for 9 months. One machine previously took 9 months to repair. No equipment has been serviced or inspected in years. No preventative maintenance exists. Nothing is checked. Nothing is maintained. Everything is left until it breaks. Half the laundry machines were broken for 18 months. They eventually replaced them all with brand new machines. The new ones already do not work. You pay £3.80 per medium load on top of rent. £1.80 per 60-minute dry cycle. A week's washing regularly exceeds £15. Electricity and water are included in your rent but somehow laundry is not free. No discount was offered during 18 months of reduced capacity. Long-term residents say the laundry has never been fully functional. Not once since the building opened. The bar was closed for months. Staff on tours told prospective residents it had only been down a short time and would be back in weeks. That was a lie. It had already been out of service for 6 months at that point and took another 6 months to fix. It still does not fully work. They will say whatever it takes to get you to sign. Once you sign, the truth reveals itself. One of two kitchen dishwashers was broken for 9 months before finally being fixed. For 200 residents sharing limited dishwashers, losing one for that long made the mess inevitable. Dirty dishes piled across every surface because residents had nowhere to put them. That is not a resident behaviour problem. That is a management failure. The previous cleaner used to wash dishes by hand and load and unload the dishwasher twice a day. For 200 residents that made things manageable. The kitchen was clean. Then management cut corners, changed provider, and halved cleaning hours from 10 per day to 5. The cleaners have confirmed this. They removed the one thing that kept the kitchen functional and now blame residents for the result. Mould growing in fridges. A persistent putrid smell that has never been addressed. One of two sinks broken for weeks. The kitchen is disgusting. Games room. Every PlayStation controller broken or stick-drifting. Pool cue tips worn to nothing. Table tennis table broken. Bats destroyed. Balls cracked and unusable. Every single item in that room could be replaced for less than one resident's monthly rent. Nobody bothered. No routine checks on these prices of equipment, or regular replacements controllers to enhance the quality of experience. Whats the point having all these nice things but not being able to sue them due to tip-less pool cues, stick drift controllers, and cracked table tennis balls. Proactivity doesnt exist here. Both South Block lifts broken for 2 months. To get to your own flat you walk through North Block, up to Level 1, across a walkway, then take the stairs. Two months. Communal bins go weeks without being emptied. The bin lift broke and was left for over 4 weeks before being fixed. It worked for 1 week then broke again. Nobody locked the bin room either time. Nobody put up a sign. Nobody redirected residents to the outside bins. Management's response was "we sent an email." Residents who did not see the email kept using the room. Rubbish piled to the ceiling. Rotting, putrid, vile. A health hazard. This went on for 3 weeks before they finally locked the doors and put up a sign. Then came the flies. The infestation spread through the entire building — kitchens, bathrooms, sinks, everywhere. That was 2 months ago. The flies are still here. No professional pest control has been brought in. Their solution is household fly killer spray. If that worked, pest control would not be a profession. The infestation has rooted into the building and they are doing nothing about it. The entire situation was avoidable with a locked door and a poster on day one. But that would require urgency, and urgency does not exist here. It never has. Bird droppings left on the 7th floor corridor carpet for over 2 weeks. Not cleaned. Raw sewage flooded the basement. More than once. It took 6–8 weeks to resolve each time. Residents walked through contaminated water. People were ill. This is a category 1 health hazard. Belongings in storage were contaminated. Older residents say it has happened every year for three years running. Long-term residents confirm these issues have existed since the building opened. Either the infrastructure is chronic, or the mismanagement is chronic. Or both. WiFi was supposedly upgraded but speeds are worse than before. They downgrade services, present them as upgrades, and increase your rent. It is a pattern — cut costs, repackage it as an improvement, and hope nobody notices. Residents notice. SECURITY: Communal toilets are open to the public. Postal workers, delivery drivers, and strangers off the street are allowed deep inside the building every day — past the work-from-home area where residents leave laptops, phones, and personal belongings unattended. This still happens constantly. The Co-op 10 metres away is robbed on a near-weekly basis. These are the surroundings, and the front door is open to anyone. Reception is 15–20 metres from the entrance so anyone can tailgate a resident in without being seen. Security is like everything else here — superficial, not functional. There are young women living here. Intoxicated strangers from neighbouring restaurants combined with unsupervised access to a residential building at night is a safeguarding failure, and a recipe for disaster. Reception is often unstaffed or on tour. You can wait 30 minutes to report something or get a hoover. Sometimes longer — staff leave the mobile behind at the desk. You call the number and it rings right in front of you with nobody there to answer it. The toilets are left covered in urine — seats, floors, and walls. Faecal matter on the bowl and sometimes the walls. These are facilities residents pay £1,800+ a month to use. No standards. No urgency. No accountability. BUILDING MANAGEMENT: Reactive, not proactive. No preventative maintenance schedule for any equipment in the entire building. No routine servicing of gym equipment, laundry machines, dishwashers, or drainage. Everything is left until it fails then takes months to repair. Blame is constantly shifted to third-party contractors. The in-house maintenance person left and was not replaced. Maintenance is now outsourced. Repairs take weeks or months. Meanwhile, hotel guests on the short-stay floor reportedly get issues resolved within 48 hours. Long-term residents paying £2,000+ a month are told to wait. When you have signed and they have your money, the urgency vanishes. PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: Urban Bubble. No compensation has ever been offered for any issue — not the sewage, not the fly infestation, not the lifts, not the gym, not the laundry, not the cleaning degradation. Not a credit. Not a reduction. Not a goodwill gesture. Not even an acknowledgement that residents deserved one. Nothing. The rent increased £100+ during all of this. That tells you exactly what they think of you. Some positive reviews on Google are from short-term hotel guests who have a completely different experience. Some are from brand ambassadors who receive a rent discount. And some look plain fake, with generic sounding name "Stephen Smith" and a generic sounding review conveniently timed after 5 consecutive 1 star review.... Residents have also reported being offered free laundry in exchange for 5-star reviews. Context matters when reading any review of this building. £3–5 million a year in rent from 150–200 residents. They cannot fix a washing machine. They cannot provide monitor stands. They cannot maintain basic cleanliness. Cannot provide good wifi, or a standard of decent cleanliness. Piece of advice — Talk to residents without staff present. And if staff tell you something will be fixed soon, ask a resident who actually lives here how long it has really been broken. Not worth the price. Not even close. Glad to be moving out.

Lovely development, conveniently located with fantastic staff

I absolutely love living here. It’s so quiet and peaceful. The onsite staff are so, so friendly, genuinely cannot fault them. Any minor issues we have had have been dealt with very quickly. The events hosted are great fun - Kourtney is an absolute star! It’s great to be able to meet other residents. The apartment itself is flawless, modern and has everything we need. There are many communal areas which are all pristinely clean and great for working from home if you need a change of scenery. The only issue we’ve had has been with the actual management, we had a nightmare getting the paperwork signed before we actually moved in and the process was really badly organised. Since we moved in though we have had absolutely no issues and the onsite team were supportive and helpful throughout the issues we had. We definitely made the right choice living here, it’s a lovely place and I can definitely recommend.

A Well‑Designed and Pleasant Residential Neighbourhood

I believe the area is excellent as it stands. In terms of design, the layout thoughtfully balances residential privacy with easy access to local amenities. Buildings are well spaced, which brings plenty of natural light and creates a comfortable open feel, while public areas are laid out for pedestrians, with safe footpaths and attractive landscaping. Facilities are well-equipped and conveniently located. Local shops, cafes and restaurants offer a good variety of quality services within walking distance, and nearby public green spaces are maintained nicely for residents to unwind. Public transport connections are reliable, with frequent bus links and simple access to rail services, making commuting straightforward. Building management and property maintenance are carried out to a high standard. The property team responds promptly to routine issues and keeps communal areas clean and tidy. Waste collection is consistent, and shared facilities are regularly inspected. On the street, resident parking is generally available. Anti‑social behaviour is rare, and traffic noise is kept low. Overall, the neighbourhood works very well. I think it is in great shape at present.

Superb Team from maintenance to front of house make a critical difference

The building itself is solid and attractively laid out. I am very seldom aware of noise from other resident or Ther dogs which I was concerned about before moving in. It’s so lovely to have a sky Terrace to easily be able to enjoy despite my Mobility challenges. It’s great for clearing my head when necessary on a busy workday.

Good experience but can be much better after new management. We pay a lot for rent and services

We have all we need. However, Lifts are not always working nor the airconditioning or doors around the building leading to unwanted visitors to enter the building causing worry and nuisances. I hope this gets resolved soon. The iPhone scan access to buildings have not been a smooth experience.