We’re Realstar Group, a Canadian real estate investment and property management business with more than 40 years’ experience in the industry. Our founder is Ryan Prince, and we came to the UK in 2002. We soon realised how broken the renting market is, but instead of moaning about it, we decided to change it for good. Good eh?

Here’s what’s included:

• All the service from our teams – from sorting out repairs to looking after any deliveries when you’re out.
• Free use of the communal areas. Every property is different so do check (no one wants to go to the Sky Lounge at midnight and find it shut now do they?).
• Free bike storage

Here’s what’s not:

• Secure parking – this is extra, as not everyone is going to use them, so it’s fair that if you do, you pay for it.
• Your day-to-day bills such as council tax, gas, electricity and water are not included, but you only pay for what you use, and we’re not making a profit off that. Fair?
• Superfast internet – we’ve partnered with top-notch providers who can provide up to 1GB of speed over fibre optic cable.

Don’t worry we’ll make it all crystal clear from the start – nothing is hidden from you…”

Here goes:

1. Go to the building or apartment page you want to view and click the ‘book a viewing’ button on the top right-hand corner of the page. Then just complete the 5-step booking process.

We’ll be ready to show you around at whatever time you want and answer any questions.
Feel free to bring a friend (or two), and you can see whichever apartments are available to view on the day – however many you like!

2. If you want to move in, we’ll ask you to fill out an application form to secure your apartment or studio.

3. You will also need to bring in some ID (passport/visa) for us to satisfy Right to Rent checks. That’s something we have to do – you can read more about it here.

4. We will also need the last 3 months of your bank statements.

5. Once that’s all sorted we start your reference check. We do the usual credit, ID, landlord and employer reference checks.

6. If your reference check is successful, we’ll email you an electronic Tenancy Agreement for you to e-sign and return. You will also need to pay the balance of move-in monies which includes the security deposit and rent in advance (equal to 4 – 5 weeks rent). (These costs will vary by building and by the time of year, so please make sure you ask and get clarity from your UNCLE team before you start the application process.)

Again, deposits are returned if no problems, and rent in advance is just rent – nothing extra, nothing sneaky.

7. Once all of this is complete, we will give you your keys, you move in and start to enjoy your new home.

Even better – if you don’t like it when you move in, you’ve two weeks to change your mind and move out, and we’ll just rip up your contract.

To make the move happen as quickly as possible, please make sure you send in with your application:

Your last three months of payslips and bank statements.

A passport of visa for ID so we can satisfy Right to Rent checks.

We look at all applicants’ individual circumstances and sometimes tailor our reference requirements to suit. Again, we’ll be clear and open about what we’re doing and why.

Our pet-friendly buildings include UNCLE Colindale, UNCLE Wembley, UNCLE Elephant & Castle, UNCLE New Cross, UNCLE Manchester, and UNCLE Southall… Otherwise, no animals allowed. We know, it’s ruff. (Sorry.) We’re not purrfect. (Stop it.).

We’re known for our lustworthy design from BoConcept sofas to Bosch appliances, but we offer both furnished and unfurnished.

Stockwell and Manchester apartments all come fully furnished.

New Cross apartments are all unfurnished.

Elephant & Castle is furnished or unfurnished. You can choose from a range of MADE.com or BoConcept partnership packages at UNCLE Elephant & Castle – ask when you go for a viewing.

Wembley apartments are available furnished or unfurnished and you can choose from a range of packages featuring BoConcept designed furniture.

Southall apartments are available furnished or unfurnished.

Colindale apartments are available furnished or unfurnished.

Leeds apartments are all furnished.

It’s worth remembering that we don’t part-furnish; it’s all or nothing!

Yes, sorry about that. Not to us though, obviously.

Legal and financial bits:
The end of tenancy security deposit is up to 5 weeks rent.

Interest on arrears = 3% over the daily base rate of Bank of England.

Boring-if-you’re-forgetful bits:
If you lose your keys (or fobs) during the tenancy, we will need to charge you the replacement costs. You’ll also be charged if a locksmith or key holding service is needed to let you back into the apartment.

Life-changing bits:
If you’re in the middle of your lease but want a change of apartment or change of UNCLE location, we’ll only charge for the additional paint and decoration £250 + VAT (if applicable). T&Cs do apply to this move, do chat to our site teams about it.

If you want to change the person you share an apartment with, we will charge £50 per replacement resident if your request is accepted.

Don’t smash the place up bits:
Our contracts state which items in the flat are your responsibility to maintain. If we end up arranging a third party contractor to fix one of these items, we may need to charge you for the call-out fees or broken parts. Basically, be nice.

Absolutely not. This is the fun stuff to enjoy whenever you fancy.

We’re at the mercy of the providers, but we make sure that we offer the highest internet speeds that we possibly can at each of our locations. In most cases we can get 100MB and in some we can now reach 1GB. Speak to your UNCLE team.

6 months is our minimum up to a maximum of 3 years.

We offer longer contracts because it’s nice to nest. Simple. This may change a little per building, so do check with your UNCLE team.

Renter’s remorse. We’ve all been there and it sucks. That’s why you’ve got 14 days after moving in to decide. And if you don’t like your UNCLE apartment, we’ll tear up the contract. Yup. Everyone moves on. No strings attached. No drama.

Well, that kind of depends on you. Could be a couple of days, could be a week. Once we have your fully completed application, monies have been cleared, checks all ticked, you can move in pretty quickly.

Yes, you do. We don’t make the rules (well…we don’t make this particular rule).

UNCLE Colindale – Yes, disabled access is available with lift access to all floors

UNCLE Wembley – Yes, disabled access is available with lift access to all floors

UNCLE New Cross – Yes, disabled access is available with lift access to all floors

UNCLE Elephant & Castle – Yes, disabled access is available with lift access to all floors

UNCLE Southall – Yes, disabled access is available with lift access to all floors

UNCLE Stockwell – No, unfortunately not. This Is because UNCLE Stockwell is an older building and stairs are required to enter the property.

UNCLE Manchester – No, unfortunately not. This Is because UNCLE Manchester is a Grade II listed building and has stairs we can’t alter to access the property.

100%. To book a women-only viewing, just make your booking as usual. When you’re done, you’ll receive an email confirming your booking. Just reply to this email and let them know you’d like a women-only viewing. If you have any questions around this, please email us at hello@uncle.co.uk.

We believe in first come, first served. So the first person to submit all of their required information gets the flat. No messing around.

When life gives us lemons, we’ll always try to listen and help where we can. Your AST states that you must pay your monthly rent for the whole length of contract and we’ll try to be flexible about your lease, but this usually means we’ll need someone to replace you as the tenant under your lease at your current rent (or the market rent, circumstances depending). Unfortunately, we have to pay our bills the same as you, so we can’t leave apartments empty.