• HousingAnywhere

HousingAnywhere

Overview

HousingAnywhere has a rating of 1.85 stars from 176 reviews, indicating that most customers are generally dissatisfied with their purchases. Reviewers complaining about HousingAnywhere most frequently mention customer service, bad experience, and month rent problems. HousingAnywhere ranks 6th among Student Travel sites.

  • Service
    46
  • Value
    43
  • Shipping
    26
  • Returns
    34
  • Quality
    40

This company responds to reviews on average within 7 days

Positive reviews (last 12 months): 0%
Positive
0
Neutral
0
Negative
17
154
See all photos

What reviewers want you to know

Positive highlights

  • A really handy platform for international and exchange students to find a room!

Critical highlights

  • I would advise to avoid renting a room using this platform, since they do not protect you from getting scammed.
  • Please be aware, they told us in 48 hours charge will be canceled but that never hapenned.
How would you rate HousingAnywhere?
Top Positive Review

“Reliable. So far so good”

Mohammad H.
2/9/22

So far so good. Found my flat using this platforms. The 48 hrs guarantee period is higher than what other websites offer.

Top Critical Review

“Robbed of €960 in 6 hours”

Stefanie V.
2/16/24

DO NOT USE. They are refusing to refund a €960 booking fee for a reservation that was canceled within 6 hours because the reasons are "not valid." This site is a far cry from AirBnb where the tenant is protected. Anyone who has been robbed by this company, we should find each other and launch a class-action lawsuit against them. I don't see how they aren't shut down by a European consumer protection agency.

Reviews (176)

Rating

Timeframe

Other

Reviews that mention popular keywords

room (57) exchange students (4) 48 hours (4)
Thumbnail of user stefaniev34
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 16th, 2024

DO NOT USE. They are refusing to refund a €960 booking fee for a reservation that was canceled within 6 hours because the reasons are "not valid." This site is a far cry from AirBnb where the tenant is protected. Anyone who has been robbed by this company, we should find each other and launch a class-action lawsuit against them. I don't see how they aren't shut down by a European consumer protection agency.

Service
Value
Returns
Thumbnail of user jeffreys81
Curtis B. – HousingAnywhere Rep

Dear Stefanie,
We appreciate you taking the time to share your feedback, and we're sorry to hear about your dissatisfaction with our service. Our terms and conditions are readily accessible to all users, outlining the guidelines for cancellations and refunds. While we understand your frustration regarding the cancellation of your reservation, our policies are in place to ensure fairness and consistency for all parties involved.
We strive to provide dedicated customer service to address any concerns or issues that may arise. We have thoroughly reviewed your case and have already offered compensation in accordance with our policies. However, we regret that this resolution did not meet your expectations.
We take customer feedback seriously and are continuously working to improve our services. We encourage you to reach out to our customer support team directly if you have any further questions or concerns. Thank you for bringing this matter to our attention, and we remain committed to resolving it to the best of our ability.
Best regards,
Curtis

Thumbnail of user magalim28
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 7th, 2024

Si vous avez la malchance de tomber sur un propriétaire malhonnête (dans notre cas Fabio e Barbara à Milan), Housing Anywhere ne fera rien pour vous aider. Pire encore, toutes les actions entreprises par Housing Anywhere le seront dans l'unique but de servir leur seul intérêt.
Pour un séjour de 6 mois à Milan, nous avions réservé un appartement de longue date, que nous pensions contrôlé par la plateforme Housing Anywhere. Hélas, nous avons atterri dans un taudis insalubre, misérable et mal tenu de 39 m² au lieu des 60 m² annoncés.
Nous avons bien sûr immédiatement alerté le gestionnaire de l'appartement qui n'a pas VOULU se rendre disponible pendant le délai légal d'annulation sous conditions de 48h, car celui-ci était en vacances. Ainsi, sans avoir pu le rencontrer, nous avons malgré tout fait valoir notre droit d'annulation dans les temps auprès de Housing Anywhere invoquant l'article 15.15 sur l'état d'insalubrité de l'appartement.
Dans un premier temps, nous avons reçu une fin de non recevoir de la part du site, le ménage ne rentrant pas dans les motifs d'annulation. Je tiens à préciser qu'il ne s'agissait en aucun cas d'un simple ménage mais d'auréoles de fluides corporels sur le matelas et la tête de lit en tissu, absolument tout le linge de maison et tous les tissus d'ameublement étaient souillés. Il y avait un mégot dans le lit, de la graisse coulait le long des murs de la cuisine et quasiment tout le mobilier était cassé et/ou inutilisable: par exemple, il n'y avait aucune chaise pour s'asseoir, la plaque de cuisson défectueuse était recouverte d'une autre plaque de cuisson d'appoint et le canapé coincé en mode lit au milieu du salon tenait sur 2 caisses en bois. La liste n'est pas exhaustive et toutes les preuves ont été envoyées à Housing Anywhere. A ce jour, au vu de tous ces éléments, nous ne savons toujours pas ce que Housing Anywhere entendait par appartement insalubre.
Scandalisés, nous avons fortement insisté auprès de Housing Anywhere, invoquant la seconde non conformité, soit la superficie de l'appartement que nous avions mesuré avant de partir. Grâce à la malhonnêteté du gestionnaire et de la propriétaire qui leur ont fourni un calcul fantaisiste de la superficie incluant la cave et la coursive, Housing Anywhere ne voulant probablement ne pas être plus inquiété, nous a finalement donné gain de cause, nous remboursant les frais d'agence et le premier mois de loyer et sommant la propriétaire de nous rembourser la caution s'élevant à 1 400 €. Encore une fois, pour des raisons fantaisistes et non justifiées, la propriétaire ne nous a remboursé que 940 €. Les événements se sont déroulés le 01 janvier et pour l'heure, ces personnes mal intentionnées nous sont toujours redevables de 460 €.
Si je comprends parfaitement que la caution devait nous être remboursée par la propriétaire, ce que je ne comprends pas en revanche, c'est l'absence de sanction de la part de Housing Anywhere envers la propriétaire. En effet, jusqu'à aujourd'hui, on peut encore trouver l'appartement sans aucune hygiène sur leur plateforme, affichant 46 m² alors que nous leur avons clairement prouvé qu'il n'en faisait que 39. Il y a plus grave encore, la propriétaire en question loue 13 autres appartements sur Housing Anywhere.Tout ça est incompréhensible, car étant donné les pratiques scandaleuses et le comportement agressif de ces personnes (gestionnaire et propriétaire que nous avons finalement eu l'occasion de rencontrer le 3ème jour), Housing Anywhere aurait dû prendre ses responsabilités.
En conclusion, nous laissons cet avis pour éviter à d'autres personnes de vivre la même fâcheuse expérience et espérons que les nombreuses critiques postées sur internet qui vont dans ce sens auront raison de cette plateforme qui manque de transparence, de sérieux, d'investissement, de prise de position, en un mot: malhonnête.

Thumbnail of user simon.kocurek
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 9th, 2024

They've charged 200 euros but did not provide absolutely any security.

- I was denied viewing of the apartment.
- I've had to transfer a deposit **before** move-in day to some bank account that was not refundable.
- I've had to transfer a fee **before** move-in day to some bank account (illegal in the country I was moving to) that was not refundable.
- I've had to pay first month's rent **before** move-in day without having any chance to see the apartment beforehand.
- I am asked to sign a contract stating that I am moving in on the 1st day of the month, despite specifying move-in date 1 week later.
- HousingAnywhere support was unsupportive, basically telling me that it's fine that I have to transfer over 1 thousand euros, without any protection.

They provided absolutely no service, except take 200 euros from me and then give me scammy conditions.

Service
Value
Returns
Thumbnail of user jeffreys81
Curtis B. – HousingAnywhere Rep

Good day Anonymous,
We sincerely appreciate you taking the time to provide feedback on your experience. We understand your concerns and would like to address them accordingly.

Firstly, we want to clarify that while physical viewings are not always necessary due to our 48-hour protection period, we understand the importance of feeling comfortable with your decision. We apologize if this process did not align with your expectations and will strive to better communicate this aspect in the future.

Regarding the deposit and fees, it's important to note that our platform operates across various jurisdictions, and deposit regulations may differ accordingly. However, it is our policy that deposits should be returned at the end of the rental period, provided there are no damages or outstanding payments.

We also want to assure you that requesting payment for the first month's rent and our service fee before move-in day is a standard practice to secure the accommodation and demonstrate reliability as a tenant. This process helps establish trust between tenants and landlords, especially considering that some of our landlords are esteemed partners who may require such measures.

Regarding the contractual agreement, we apologize for any confusion regarding the move-in date discrepancy. We will work to ensure that all contractual terms are clear and accurately reflect the agreed-upon move-in date.

In terms of support, we regret to hear that you found our assistance unsatisfactory. Our team is dedicated to providing helpful and responsive support to all users, and we apologize if this was not your experience. We take your feedback seriously and will use it to improve our services moving forward.

We value your feedback and are committed to continuously improving our platform to better serve our users. If you have any further concerns or questions, please don't hesitate to reach out to us directly. Thank you for bringing these issues to our attention.
Best regards,
Curtis

Thumbnail of user a.a.azzouzz
1 review
0 helpful votes
February 23rd, 2024

Das ist ein Albtraum für mich. Ich habe ein Zimmer in Hamburg bei eine Frau heißt Sandra gebucht. Nach der Buchung hat Sandra drei Tagen nicht auf meine Nachrichten reagiert. Nix.
Nach drei Tagen und nach viel Gesprächen mit dem Kundenservice hat sich endlich Sandra gemeldet und mir weitere Informationen geschickt. Überraschung! Sie hat mir einen Mietvertrag geschickt, was für ein anders Zimmer ist also kleine äs Zimmer und billiger auch aber ich sollte für das teiers Zimmer bezahlen. Außerdem soll ich extra für das Internet bezahlen aber Online war das Internet Inbegriff. Deswegen habe ich die Kundenservice um Hilfe gebeten. Und mir wurde gesagt, dass ich die Buchung stornieren kann. Nach der Stornierung habe ich ein Email bekommen dass ich gar nix zurückbekommen... total schlecht Service. Ich empfehle niemanden. Leute Vorkasse Miete ist sehr sehr doof

Thumbnail of user robertav50
1 review
18 helpful votes
February 16th, 2023

If I only knew for this review site before, I would save 700€ which is not even one salary in my country. Nobody will return this to me. They do not give tenants to visit place before moving-in, that's why this thing hapens. They do not even know in which conditions are apartments they advertise. Never again! Very bad experience. Waiting for weeks for theis reply and accusing me to lie...be carefull!
One of their 'most valuable' landlord has accomodation in pictures:

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Thumbnail of user maryk3668
1 review
14 helpful votes
May 22nd, 2023

I have a crucial warning for you, and I want to convey it in the most authentic way possible. Please, I implore you, steer clear of this particular service I had a disastrous encounter with. It may seem similar to AirBNB, but let me assure you, it's far from it. Here's my cautionary tale:

Picture this: You transfer your hard-earned money to the service, thinking you're all set after signing their contract. But hold on tight, because here comes the plot twist. Suddenly, they spring another contract on you, demanding even more money to be sent to some unknown company. Can you believe the audacity? Naturally, I refused, and you won't believe what happened next. They had the nerve to cancel my booking and make off with a staggering 1090 euros from my pocket!

Now, let me tell you, I'm in complete distress. That money was meant to cover my accommodation expenses for the entire upcoming month, and now it's all gone. I'm at a loss for what to do, and I can only imagine the endless struggle ahead to try and recover it. It seems like Anna (or perhaps a bot named Anna) finds it perfectly acceptable to leave customers high and dry, robbing them of their funds for an entire month. This kind of attitude towards clients is simply disgraceful, and this woeful brand seems to be okay with it.

Believe me when I say that I am under tremendous stress right now, and I'm begging you from the bottom of my heart, learn from my mistake. Never, and I mean never, make the mistake of booking with this service. If everything goes smoothly, you might be safe, but the moment any issue arises, mark my words, they'll treat you as if you're worthless, an insignificant individual.

I beseech you, spare yourself the agony and avoid this service at all costs. Please take my warning seriously and protect yourself from this nightmarish experience.

Service
Value
Quality
Thumbnail of user johnv1746
1 review
11 helpful votes
July 21st, 2022

Initial booking turned out to be with a landlord which has numerous public complains regarding the return of the deposit. As I tried to cancel the booking (providing both evidence of customer complaints and additional requirement to pay the deposit without signed contract), Housinganywhere refused to return the fee on the basis that this is not a scam, as apartment really exists. De facto, the site that purports to protect tenants from scam is a scam itself, charging fees irrespective of the quality of listings.

Tip for consumers:
No scam protection. Just smaller scam.

Service
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Thumbnail of user jk933
1 review
3 helpful votes
March 7th, 2023

Horrible experience - Took 5 weeks to contact me after they assured me 2 - 5 business days to process a refund for a booking cancellation request
Was emailed once by the so-called financial team and then told they had given my 1800€ away to the advertiser despite never staying there. Beware: they do not care one bit about contract terms and will scam you
AVOID and save your money

Tip for consumers:
SCAM COMPANY

Thumbnail of user hezretalyo
1 review
4 helpful votes
January 15th, 2023

In the beginning everything was fine, I rented a bed in a hostel via their website for 500 eur and 150 eur adminstration fee of housinganywhere. But in fact it turned out not to be as advertised. I emailed to support, where I described the reasons and attached photos to request for refund of room renting.
After a day I got a reply that my request was being processed and it would take a maximum of 2 working days. Half a month passed, I have got neither my money nor house!

Thumbnail of user vinchm
1 review
8 helpful votes
August 22nd, 2022
Verified purchase

I booked a room a while ago and I am moving in in a few days, however the landlord just suddenly cancelled my booking. How am I supposed to find a new place in a few days and they are not taking any responsibility. I already wasted 52 euros on the subscription and all I get are troubles. Many places on the website said room available but are actually not available. Scam your subscription fee money and not helpful at all.

Tip for consumers:
Always have a back up plan because they take no responsibility if they cancel last minute and expect to waste your subscription money.

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user hvivian379
1 review
2 helpful votes
August 22nd, 2023

Booked a room without lock and the team refuse to give a refund for the service fee despite giving them all the proof. Beware everyone it seems like they will try their best to scam the service fee. Spoke to curtis from the account team and he told me that "i have enough of your nonsense" in the phone. What kind of service is this? Bad customer service. Should really train their staff. WILL NOT RECOMMEND! IT IS A SCAM!

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Thumbnail of user amirf46
1 review
1 helpful vote
March 16th, 2023

After a my reservation confirmed with landlord I paid first month in advance to make it robots (site policies) after 5 days 21st Feb the landlord said that they want a February rent I have to pay it since my reservation was on 1st of March. If don't they will cancel. I said it is not fare to pay for a month that already has a week left to move in. They cancel the reservation and didn't pay for any damages and funny part is that it took 24 days to refund my money not to mention more than 10 times that I called for the answer.
Overall I strongly suggest not to get involved with this site.

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Thumbnail of user xdedownik15
1 review
1 helpful vote
September 8th, 2023

Little protection to tenants, gives better terms and conditions for landlords, also the banking transfer is extremely slow (4th day and landlord still hasn't received my money...) I recommend to not touch this site if you're far away and hoping for easy booking, since July 2023 housing agreement MUST be on paper in Netherlands so if you're looking for housing there, stay away from this site. If you have paid the deposit and first month they can take your money and the landlord can "kindly" return it to you but can also take it for "damage", damage for not showing up on appointment (doesn't matter if you had a seizure and woke up on floor or didn't wake up, it's the same for them) can cost you even 3k euro. Stay away.

Tip for consumers:
Stay away from this site.

Products used:
Booking housing

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user mcmontesb84
1 review
6 helpful votes
July 24th, 2023

I just had the worst experiencie on my life buying on internet, this website will make you pay fees in two diferents websites and when you notice you are paying extra taxes in a new website and want to cancel the booking they keep the first stage fees so now im talking directly with my bank to cancel the whole transactions on this scam website.

Thumbnail of user kaim77
1 review
4 helpful votes
October 12th, 2022

After my stay there has been an issue of the deposit refund. Housing Anywhere states that this is not their concern and they can do nothing to aid me. More so they do not make reviews of the landlord visible on their page making it impossible to truly know if there have been prior issues with a landlord making my review and many others meaningless as well as attempting to mitigate these issues impossible

Tip for consumers:
try and request the reviews of landlords before making a booking

Products used:
service that connects tenants and landlords

Service
Value
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Thumbnail of user sushmitha.ramakrishnan13
1 review
1 helpful vote
May 17th, 2023

Do not trust this website. They accept your booking and then cancel on you and do not offer refund. I am planning on going to the police, do not trust them.

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Thumbnail of user gs626
1 review
4 helpful votes
March 30th, 2022

This extremely unreliable and breach of contract person has now been written to for the 6th time by HousingAnywhere. Nothing happens on the part of the defaulting tenant.
Now HousingAnywhere (HA) has contacted me with the statement that I have the contract with the tenant and not with them. Therefore, they can do nothing further. However, I have the contract with the platform and now feel left alone. Unfortunately HA is so cheeky and takes their fee right away in full with the first month's rent. If a problem then arises, they are fine. I will never book or rent anything through HousingAnywhere again.

Thumbnail of user lukasg28
1 review
8 helpful votes
June 22nd, 2022
Verified purchase

Be careful! There are people *******@housinganywhere offering apartments that are not even available! You pay 26€/2 weeks or 34€/1month just to contact the landlord for an apartment that has never been available. I asked customer service for a refund. All I got was an information on how to cancel my subscription. So I paid twice the subscription fee (total 60€) to contact fraudulent landlords that do not even have the apartment available and HousingAnywhere does nothing to protect customers! What a shame!

Thumbnail of user kadenmckayc
1 review
0 helpful votes
September 10th, 2023

I had a contract in Iceland, I shortened my contract by a substantial amount a month and a half before my move in date. I called upwards of 10 times to housing anywhere trying to get refunded for those extra days that I would not be staying there. It should have been a simple process because the land lord said that it was completely fine on his end.

Every time I called it was always the same story. They always said "we are working on it please call back again in a few days" which I continued to do for a literal month, and then three days after my contract started I got a message from them explaining how it was too late to do anything at this point.

The worst housing site I have ever used. Especially the financial department was horrendous.

I have a long list of names of the people that made this likely my worst customer support experience I have ever had. There is not point in writing them down though, the damage is already done and I will never use housing anywhere again.

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Thumbnail of user hh219
1 review
1 helpful vote
July 14th, 2023

They make you pay a subscription to use the webpage. Once you start contacting landlords and asking to rent, they never respond. They have the same house ads for very long period of time and nobody is renting them. They just appear there so that you think there are actual houses available, but in reality once you pay all of them are unavailable or they're literally lying.

Products used:
I stopped paying for their subscription since there are many ads that are a lie. Those houses they advertise don't exist and the landlords never respond.

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Thumbnail of user nicholusm
2 reviews
2 helpful votes
May 17th, 2023
Verified purchase

These guys are the worst. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, DO NOT USE THIS SERVICE, the listings are really edited or don't represent the current state of the place, and in any case, they use any excuse to not refund your money in favor of the landlord. I just lost 800 Euros in just a day. The 48-hour protection is BS, to be honest. If you happen to read this before you book, for your own good, stop.

Just to make sure, I think they have multiple employees responding to you calling themselves Anna or it may be a bot, rendering no help at all whatsoever.

Forewarned forearmed. STAY SAFE PEOPLE, DONT GET ROBBED.

Tip for consumers:
Take your money elsewhere otherwise good service is luck with them.

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Thumbnail of user oliveru8
1 review
6 helpful votes
September 6th, 2022

Was charged additional fees by the landlord that weren't shown on housing anywhere. They refused to lift a finger to help. There are also no reviews that you can leave of the place itself

Thumbnail of user heleno741
1 review
3 helpful votes
May 31st, 2023

I paid a deposit of 700 euro when booking a property. The landlord subsequently cancelled the booking without prior warning and I was not refunded. I have had many communications with customer service who are unwilling to refund me.

Thumbnail of user georgep1301
1 review
4 helpful votes
May 30th, 2022
Verified purchase

Please avoid paying this silly 26 EUR. Basically you get only few unavailable properties and there is no guarantee that someone will take responsibility. They don't have support. Maybe only good for students. Strongly non recommended.

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Thumbnail of user wolfgangj4
1 review
1 helpful vote
February 13th, 2021

Das System von housinganywhere.com ist unseriös und sehr ungünstig für die Kunden. Ich finde, es ist völlig unakzeptabel, dass meinem zukünftigen Untermieter nicht erlaubt wird, vorher zu einer Besichtigung des Zimmers und der gesamten Örtlichkeit zu mir zu kommen. Außerdem würde auch ich gern die Person vorher einmal persönlich kennengelernt haben, welche künftig mit mir zum Beispiel meine Küche und mein Bad teilen wird. Ich bereue es, dass ich meine Zeit mit housinganywhere vorgeudet habe, das es sich für mich als unbrauchbar herausgestellt hat.

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Thumbnail of user jeffreys81
Curtis B.
Typically responds within 7 days

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