Estuary Housing Association - Southend-on-Sea

Adeola A.

I moved into one of the flats on avontar road (73) exactly 9 months ago - i havent had peace of mind in this building since i moved in; 1) they left me without a fridge in summer for over 2 months till they could finally send a replacement & build the new unit for it to stand on 2) they only replaced the cooker/oven 25th feb 2025 so i wasn't able to cook for the first 7 months (i'm on the 9th month now) 3) this flat is INFESTED with MICE! i live on the 1st floor in a open plan by the way.

when they came to replace the fridge at the end of sept 24, the builders mentioned they had to move a mice glue trap as they got saw dust on it this was my first sign as it was under the fridge and not visible.
in January when the colder months began i saw a mice run through the open skirting in the living room which they didn't close up till last month march 25 by the way - i contacted estuary. and guess what they tried to tell me mice is the tenants responsibility? i had only lived here 5 months then i hadn't even cooked due to them taking time to change the cooker my flat was cleannnn i was not the least bit dirty, after inspection i found a hole under the kitchen floor boards so i bought steel wool to block the hole and sealed all the gaps in the kitchen with self adhesive sealant strips (see attached pictures/videos below) because i had just moved in they sent me pest control to throw poison behind the kitchen cabinet so now they mice started DYING in my flat with noone or noway to be able to get them out because the floorboards aren't removable - since January 5 have died under the kitchen floor board probably within a week of each other the house STINKSSS i had to leave the windows open in winter months due to the smell wasnt bearable i always have to leave this stupid house which i pay for because i cant breathe dead mice fumes and rotting body & i suffer with asthma

Fastforward to the 24th February 2025, they came to replace the cooker so the engineer took the old cooker out i decided to just look at what was under and to my surprise i could see they had set glue traps under the floorboards from previous years and it had 2 dead mice stuck on it ( now it made sense as the fridge replacement people said they had to move glue traps in sept 24 ) this flats beeen infected and they tried to say its the tenants responsibility now 5 had died under the floorboard since ive been here the 1st one i saw was caught with a trap i had to get my friend to come and take it out as im terrified making 6 (dont worry carry on reading)

under the sink where i keep cleaning products and water doesn't have a backboard so the pipes are out and visible as its a low cut, guess what my instinct told me to leave a trap behind the cleaning products and 2 days ago (april 4th) one climbed over and was caught under my sink inside the cupboard which i open on a daily and was caught all i heard was squeaking around 3pm in the afternoon i couldn't even open the cupboard - had to call a friend to come and take it out whilst i ran out, (see pictures below of their droppings) then i cleaned the droppings and replaced ANOTHER trap on that day
and then TODAY 6th april i heard squeaking under the sink because another had been caught

ive spent sooo much money on peppermint oils, plug in ultrasonic repellents, steel wool, self adhesive sealants, traps, sprays and everything none has worked and i KNOW im not the problem its evidently been an on going one!

ive now written to the MP, contacted the council, and checked with my neighbours who have told me they had similar/same/different issue and now seeking legal advice since estuary are trying to push it on the tenants

i have now also started house viewings to 9 months into being in this flat. Absolutely ridiculous association.

p.s my pictures aren't attaching but ill keep trying

Paulo J. R. (.

Defenitely they do a very important, needed and nessessary to help modern societies...
... but in my personal opinion, as such an important company... should look more to quality, than to save money...

Cathleen S.

Been provided a new build property from Estuary. Really nice and straightforward when it came to signing the tenancy, lovely home. Rent is affordable, kitchen is a very nice space.

Alison W.

After fighting with them since February, they have finally agreed I didn't damage or cause criminal damage to neighbours door, however, only because I heard the contacter talking about it, and it was INSIDE the house, not outside. So I definitely wasn't lying, and they have paid compensation. Estuary however, their staff, housing manager, and 'senior complaint investigator' all stood by the housing officer and swore up and down until I have been justified, that criminal damage had been done. This housing association are a bunch of amateurs, the housing officer is a former youth worker, who thought she might like to try something different!! You can't talk to people with lives, jobs, families like you can a youth!! I have absolutely no respect for this company who, as I said continued this charade instead of owning up to their substantial errors in dealing with this and other issues, when in the past they have identified me and not kept me safe, but have made it known who I am. Lucky the neighbour knows me and knows the situation otherwise, this could all hav been very different if I had been attacked, because of something the housing officer did!!

Marcus S.

If I don't work I don't get paid! Estuary contractors, Axis & Purdy arrange appointments for residents where the residents are required to stay at home for several hours of the day as they are unable to give you hour before call and there have been times when they don't turn up at all and then appoint another day to put you under house arrest. Each time is another days wage lost. Estuary will still insist on there full rent and state they will not compensate for any wages lost. Whenever I have raised a complaint they respond with someone will contact you in 7 days and then you never hear from them again. They wanted me to take 5 days off so they could put in a new bathroom but I said if I did that I would be behind in rent that may lead to eviction, for a new bathroom that would benefit the next tenant at my expense.

Furthermore, on the 19/10/22 Purdy electrical contractors for Estuary Housing Association arrange an appointment for the 19/10/22 to rewire but unsurprisingly failed to turn up, another days wage lost, I complained to Estuary on the following day. I received a letter from Estuary's Senior M & E Engineer which upheld my complaint stating that a "conversation" with Purdy contract manager had taken place on the process following raising an order to proceed with works required to the property and a missed appointment voucher to be issued for the 19/10/22.

I have yet to receive this voucher though I chased it up on the 8/12/22, 26/1/23 and the 3/2/23. Now I know it is only for £10 and doesn't by a long shot compensate for the loss of a days wage but a least it demonstrates some acknowledgement of consideration so when they say they are sorry for their failures it makes it obvious this isn't genuine.

Top S.

They're really good at ignoring the phone and leaving you on hold. They also blatantly lie about call volumes, if you're always experiencing a higher number of calls than average all the time then it's not higher than average. Just employ enough people to answer the phone. It's an utter joke that a vulnerable person is completely disregarded and ignored.

Mimi O.

I have not had any awful experience with Estuary so far, my only issue is with the parking allocation. They should have parking available for all tenants , not give some and leave others without. To my surprise, people without cars and with no intention to drive have parking bays over others that drive and have kids.

On a brighter note, one of the cleaners called Del was extremely helpful to help me when our lift was out of service for weeks. He saw me struggling and went out of his way to help. Very courteous and kind. Thank you Del!

Nicholas E.

We have lived at my address for 12 years waiting for a new kitchen. What an absolute shambles they didn’t want to fill cracks below the cupboard line because new cupboards are going there even the floor through the house subsiding. They finally put resins on the floor left cracks at the back we had mice come in the house from out side through the cracks. I had to fill the cracks in my self. And the work that has been done is very poor. But get told it’s cosmetic even the tiles are different lengths. But because a window shelf is going over it. Get told it’s cosmetic. Now as the jobs finishing we’re a cupboard missing doors and handles. Wished i would have put a new kitchen in myself axis obviously ain’t Upto the job they’ve been paid for. Highly recommend not having it done.