County Rooms is the foremost management agency for Houses of Multiple Occupancy (HMOs). They cover Berkshire, Hampshire, Surrey and a substantial portfolio in Bristol. They constantly require multiple trades in any area so when there is an issue with a property and they receive a call from a tenant, they can send a rapid response.

“I met Tony Millard and Carl Lockheart from T&C Plumbing and Heating through networking and have been working with them for over two years and they have been exceptional. We needed someone to cover Berkshire and Hampshire, and they can do that due to their location. It works so well for us.

“The main thing is their commitment, for example, we had a boiler that they needed to condemn, which does happen as it was leaking carbon monoxide which means you must shut it down by law. This leaves tenants without heating and hot water and T&C arrived the next day at 4pm and worked though until 10pm to get the boiler up and running for the tenants and that was within 24 hours of it being condemned.

“They have this professionalism and if they say they’re going to be there on a day, they will, even if something else goes wrong, they keep in touch, and it means we can assure our tenants that they will be there

“They’ve done all our gas works and all of our plumbing work. All the different boiler makes, shower systems, electric water heating systems (as gas is not as common in flats) they have been brilliant with. If they can change a valve and make something work they will! They don’t say you need a new one straight away they will see if they can fix it, they will always look at the cost and advise how long a workaround would last and whether it's worth doing the workaround or if the issue should be addressed immediately. Tony and Carl are always there to advise.

“Landlords have had a tough time recently, especially in HMOs as they pay all the bills and keep up the maintenance so being able to schedule work helps. A workaround can help give a landlord enough time to get the funds together.

“The reason I like Carl and Tony is because we have tenants from all over the world all different ages and I can trust them to be gentlemanly. They are polite, they are clean, tidy, and presentable. They will explain what they’re doing in a very nice way, and they are very good at what they do.

“For me they are approachable, they do what they say they will and turn up as soon as possible and as mentioned before presentable and good people to do business with. My husband and I who is in County Rooms with me, always said we would only do business with nice people, and they are nice people. They’re on our team

“What I like about Tony and Carl is that I can trust what Tony and Carl are saying, because some other plumbers will not do the job after promising to do so. I once had an issue with a property’s boiler and this particular HMO had five people living in it and I said to Tony and Carl we can’t leave everyone without hot water and heating. However, due to the dangers of the boiler Tony and Carl were adamant it must be turn it off for the safety of the tenants. They came back with a solution, and they are problem solvers.

“Carl is very deliberate in the way he speaks, very calm and collected. When dealing with a shower issue, he not only fixed the shower but traced another issue all the way back to a valve that was causing the problem in the first place. It takes a little bit of thought and going that extra mile, he could have just said he’ll fit a new shower.

‘They’re not the cheapest but equally not the most expensive and most of the landlords will accept the prices because they are reasonable. For me I have HMO inspectors who come around every five years and if something isn’t done properly, we have to re do it all. The HMO inspectors like the work T&C do every time. It’s so important to have the right people to do the right thing.”