flat-mate Reviews 11

Do not go, no heated water for weeks, mold on walls, interntet doesnt work. told them about it, no one cares just empty promises! do not go

They deducted 75 euros from the security deposit for the plumber’s work. Originally, the plumber was supposed to come before my contract started, but one of the previous tenants missed his call, so they hired a private plumber who ended up coming at the start of my contract. I tried to message them to figure out it and they were ignoring me. On top of that, when I arrived, the room hadn't been cleaned—there was a lot of dust and hair under the bed, and the kitchen and bathroom were not really nice and didn't look anything like the photos.

Flat Mate gave me a key collection date on a public holiday. I moved from another country, booked my flight after I selected the key collection date and received a confirmation email. I was left stranded outside their building in a new country with no place to go to. When I complained I did not receive an apology. During the time I lived there all complaint email I had were completely unanswered. There rooms are over-priced. These people are a scam !!

They didn’t even prepare the right contract. I wanted to stay for 3 months but they wanted to tie me up for 6 months. They also have a clause which states that you cannot take legal actions against them. If you do though you will face a penalty up to 10.000€. That’s actually a clause in the contract. I’m really glad I didn’t sign it.

Typical predatory company, but atypically aggressive about it trying every possible way to get money out of tenants. Which they know full well are desperate, Berlin being Berlin.

Anecdote time~
The heat went out for all of December. The landlord took their time sending someone out. I honestly didn't notice it as I am made out of ice, but the others were literally getting sick because of the cold. It was I think -20 at one point. So the heat finally gets fixed, I again don't notice but everyone else does, and we all get an email. This company is graciously offering a 5% reduced rent because the heat was out.

The law is clear---during the winter months if the heat fails it constitutes a total deduction of rent. I tell them that, quote the law referenced, and withhold what was entitled. They email a few times threatening me with the contract, claiming that it was a different month that I didn't pay for and I was going to be evicted if I don't pay, but eventually that stopped and nothing else happened

As for the others, they paid the lowered amount (one withheld 15% to his slight credit), and in doing so were locked into konkludente Zustimmung-implied agreement-that the withholding would be 5%. This means that they can't withhold in later months and the company essentially just salvaged from them 95% of their rent which is legally forfeit. To be clear, the email didn't make it seem like it was optional and the others therefore did not seem to realize that it was.

A few months later we have an exodus because one of the roomates was essentially driving the rest of us out with his loud rude behaviour (which the company did nothing about despite dozens of complaints, but that's arguably more of a germany issue). So now there's a fresh round of negative reviews on google maps, and I distinctly remember the company having two stars on google maps. Which they diligently replied to trying to individually slander us (as if anyone reads replies). I check again just now because they forgot to return kaution and, magically, all of our reviews are gone (mine says violated terms of service aka mass reported by a bot net) with at least 50 other one star reviews and they suddenly have 4.9 stars on google maps. The one review from any of us that AREN'T taken down is more recent - 4 months so 3 months after the other ones - the one talking about them deducting about 350 euro from kaution (the security deposit). At the start of the tenancy they asked for pictures of the room to show the condition, and he presumably didn't do it in a way that shows the condition of the furniture so they decided to deduct their full value (and likely not replace the furniture given the state of ours)

I don't have any other information about the others' kautions but I have an entirely different problem with it. I haven't received a deduction, kaution, any correspondence, or any type of acknowledgement that they I or anything exists. Right when I moved out they sent an email asking for the iban to send kaution to, and they just ... didn't. It's now been 7 months and I am about to have to write a letter demanding kaution be returned. My guess is that they looked at the pictures of everything I took on the first day, and then looked at the fact that I quoted the exact law justifying the amount to withhold in winter after they tried to trick me into an implied agreement, and decided that it's more risky to try a deduction than to just forget to return kaution hoping I forget.

Which I did not---I noticed the negative reviews experienced a mass extinction on google so now I'm here. If they were going to pay for our reviews to be removed why couldn't it be us?

This was the worst experience I’ve ever had. The rent is outrageous for the size of the room. Whenever there’s a repair needed, they charge multiple times more than the actual cost. It feels like they are just ripping people off, and the conditions of the place are not any better.

They just want your money, if you have any issues they will try to fix it the vaguest way, so the problem will continue to be there.

Estube en un piso compartido con 6 PERSONAS en Berlin, en el que no pillé una enfermedad de suerte. No habian ventanas, nadie se encargaba de la limpieza y para colmo estubimos UN MES compartiendo baño entre las 6 personas porque se estropeó el otro y no nos dieron solución. Para colmo pagas 740 euros cada mes y tienes que dar casi mil euros de fianza los cuales te devuelven casi 8 semanas después de haberte mudado. Una total desgracia. Encima te amenazan diciendo con que si no limpias el piso el dia que llega un nuevo inquilino, tendrás que pagar 50 euros (todo y que cuando yo entré el piso estaba echo una basura) no lo recomiendo aún que sea vuestra última opción. Pésimo.

It was the most awful experience I've ever faced. The kitchen ceiling of the house I rented through the Spotahome website was dripping with water. I told them about it the day I moved in, but they did nothing. "If that's the case," they continued, "you should have left the house on the first day." By taking advantage of the difficult situation of a person who had recently come to Berlin and knew nobody, they essentially stole money every month. They destroyed my money and assessed me a fine despite the fact that I said I could no longer live in the house and that mildew was harming my health. Because I vacated the property prior to the contract. However, no one expressed regret or remorse for keeping me alive in such dangerous circumstances.
Even one star is a lot for Flat-mate.

Small rooms that cost way too much. Also, they will 100% use any pretense to charge you more money.
I highly advise you to go somewhere else.

Very bad management and money sucker company. Behind the rules, they are robbing people. Be aware.

They asked for "In case of leaving the room earlier than 6 month, you need to find someone to take over the room of the 1st or the 16th of a month. I would only need the ID of the new tenant."

I did find someone from 1st of a month to transfer my contract but they denied to person because they found someone before me for my room. It seems like they just gave me this task without reason. No one will do this extra work if he/she will not be getting money back. I was aware of rules and was collaborating with company to save my deposit.

It seems like very unprofessional and scamming techniques to make money. Wish you best whomever chooses this company still.

Cheers!