Harrington Housing Reviews 221

I rented with Harrington at the Hive at Red River. It was a horrible experience on all levels.

1)Their on-site person, Nate, does not care about you once you have moved in and is highly unreliable and never shows up on time.
2)I had been promised fresh bedsheets, but instead only found a clogged drain, dirty bedsheets, a broken cupboard, a broken bathtub, and a few dead roaches in my flat. It clearly has NOT been cleaned at all.
3)Harrington Housing kept demanding payments that I had already made. Even sending receipts did not work, and I only got automated replies until I threatened them with my lawyer.

There are also issue with the Hive itself, such as weed smell, noise, mold, dirt (also from pets), unstable internet and in early 2025, maintenance request swere ignored.

The reality is allot of people giving good reviews are probably fake and/or they send you links to give them good review at the initial stage when you're been deceived to thinking they are nice.
After that they'll show you their true color. This people have total disregard for you, attitude is just barbaric, break into your room, and so on. Avoid them if you want to live peacefully.

PLEASE PLEASE stay away from this LEGIT SCAMMERS , they threaten me ( and others) with legal action so that they think that immigrants are afraid from legal actions, i am still fighting for my refund, they trying to find a way to take it.

I have so much bad things to say about this bad company but i want to just say PLEASE PLEASE STAY AWAY FROM IT

I paid the placement fee and the key deposit, but never paid the "real" deposit, never provided the guarantor info and never signed anything.
I also moved out through the website, just in case, but never got a confirmation of the move. And after two months where, let me be clear, I HAD NEVER LIVED THERE, they sent me an email threatening me with legal action because of missed rent payments.
I have tried contacting them through every channel I can think of (email, whatsapp, and by phone) but their entire system is automated. This makes it impossible to actually get ahold of anyone and hold them to account.
Terrible experience would not even recommend to my worst enemy.

I’m very disappointed with how little they care about their clients. It’s been a month since I moved out, and they still haven’t returned my deposit. I keep emailing them, but they keep ignoring my messages. Don’t deal with Matt, Meri, or their whole team if you don’t want to lose your money. I’ll be taking this matter to court!

For the past three months, we have had an unresolved issue with Olga Pak. In 561 Sherbourne Street Toronto, she confirmed our conversation, but she still has not responded. I have looked for her everywhere, and she always avoids the issue...

Harrington Housing manages a property in Austin called the Hive Red River. While the maintenance staff is kind and hardworking, the building is too old for them to address all of the problems effectively. Expect AC outages, internet outages, pests, getting stuck in the garage, mold and peeling paint in the bathroom, and flooding inside the apartments during rainstorms. What makes this worse is the unprofessional and rude staff of Harrington Housing (Nathaniel Solomon) whose polite demeanor before you sign the lease takes a 180 degree turn after you do. Though their business model is all about providing co-living spaces they don't think about concerns a tenant might have in these kinds of apartments. The staff will enter the unit unannounced to give tours and provide no warning when new tenants will move in (this resulted in me getting locked out by a new tenant who didn't get any warning not use the deadbolt). The space I stayed in had no lock on the door and it took over two months of constant emailing and calling on my part before it was finally installed. Additionally, they rent out spaces in their units via airbnb and expect you to help travelers at any time of night. The portal that you make payments through often doesn't work and does not keep a record of your payments, which led on several occasions to the staff asking me for screenshots of my past payments. Why wouldn't the company keep a record of tenants' payments? Are they trying to trick people into overpaying? I would not recommend renting at the Hive Red River or through Harrington Housing which now goes by the name of Flatt.

Only giving 1 star because there is no zero-star option: I WAS LEFT HOMELESS ON MOVE-IN DAY

🚫 Homeless on Move-In Day – AVOID Harrington Housing Toronto

Review Body:
I was supposed to move into a Harrington Housing room on July 1st, 2025, per a booking arranged by their sales agent Sam, with move-in instructions confirmed over WhatsApp in a conversation that spanned June 12 to July 1 (move-in day). I arrived with all my belongings ready to move in—only to discover no room had been assigned to me.

Let me be clear: I was made homeless with zero notice, and had to scramble to find alternate accommodation for the entire month of July — all on a few hours' notice. Harrington had already taken my last month's rent and a $350 deposit, and as of mid-July, they’ve only returned $150 of that deposit. No apology. No urgency. No compensation.

I have since discovered that this was not an accident - this is how Harrington does business. They are deliberate scamsters.

If you’re considering renting from Harrington, well..... don't. Like, just don't.

:
✅ Their company is structured to get your money (deposits, first and last months' rent) into their bank account to begin to make money off it (the float) while not providing the service you think you're going to get
✅ They have paralegals on staff who are regularly in housing court to keep your money (they've structured their contracts so that you have no rights under Ontario housing law)
✅ Their customer service is nonexistent because of this business model

This company operates by renting units in regular rental buildings and subletting them by the room to students and young professionals who can't afford a whole apartment. They are not professional landlords — in fact, providing affordable accommodation is NOT their business model (although that sometimes happens). It's making money off interest from deposits.

Here’s a timeline for reference:

June 12: Began WhatsApp conversation with Sam confirming move-in for July 1

July 1: Showed up, no room assigned. No support. No solution.

July 2–15: Multiple follow-ups. Delayed communication. Still no full refund.

I’ve documented the WhatsApp exchange here (minus personal info):
I’ve stayed in coliving spaces, hostels, Airbnbs, and apartments across the city. And lived in 8 different cities since 1992, renting in each one. This is by far the worst experience I’ve had in my entire time renting accommodation of any kind in any city.

Do yourself a favor: Rent elsewhere.

They are the worst.
Alex, husyar, Yasemin
They all are scammers.

I am sorry They are all nice and welcoming until they rope you in, 110 location the laundry is out since March.

They charged my friend 2100 for a broken flex room

It was very easy to follow through the process of getting the appartement. Melodie was very nice and helpful. She took care of everything and handled it perfectly ! Alex was also very helpful !

lol these guys are a complete scam. Terrible living quarters and even worse customer service. That bobble head dude Nathaniel Solomon is ZERO help whatsoever and will say and do whatever it takes to make the booking happen. Harrington Housing’s terms are trash, they have a 28 day rent payment cycle so that means your rent is always due on a different day throughout the month. They do this payment cycle to get an extra $1000 dollars out of tenants per month. I highly advise people to take ask for their lease terms and run it through ChatGPT to find terms that are unethical, scammy and work against your favor and trust me, you will see alot. One other thing I find odd is that they now operate under the name “Fllat”, but still send me emails under the Harrington Housing name and also use the same Harrington Housing website as before 🤔. My guess is that they needed to rebrand due to terrible reviews/lawsuits, etc. Don’t waste your energy or time. These guys have been terrible.

Scam company. Preys on international students who need short term and easy accomodation but provide absolutely no communication or help on any matters while gouging as much money as possible. I’ve been waiting for 6 months to get my deposit back despite almost daily complaints and video proof of the apartments condition. Not worth it

We are still waiting for the deposit 98912 since 31st of January. They initially replied to the e mails and told us that it would be transferred soon. Now they do not even bother to reply to e mails.
It is a scam!!!!

Bed Bug Infestation and Inadequate Living

I am currently renting a room in the apartment located at toronto harrington shelbourne, for a monthly rent of 1500 CAD. I share the apartment with two other roommates.

I am writing to formally report the following issues that have made my living situation untenable:

1. Bed Bug Infestation:
My bed has become infested with bed bugs. As a result, I am unable to sleep in my own room. This is a serious health and hygiene issue, causing discomfort, stress, and sleep deprivation.

2. Delayed and Inadequate Response:
I contacted the management immediately regarding the infestation. Their only initial action was to apply powder, and they have stated that disinfection will occur a week later. This delay is unacceptable, especially given the severity of the issue.

3. No Alternative Sleeping Arrangements:
There is no couch or other sleeping surface available in the common areas of the apartment. Due to the infestation, I have been forced to sleep in my roommate's bed, which is neither appropriate nor sustainable.

4. Denied Room Change Despite Availability:
I requested a room change due to the current uninhabitable condition of mine. Management responded by stating that no other rooms were available. However, I have reason to believe this is false and that rooms are indeed available in the building.

This situation is unacceptable and violates my right to live in a clean and safe environment.

If you rent from FLATTS (Harrington Housing) they will steal your security deposit, even if you leave your room in a clean mint condition. If something goes wrong, they won't help you in a timely manner figure out solutions, they will just blame it on you, even if you have not done anything wrong. I stayed there for 7 months and the "residential coordinater" constantly came into my home to party with my roommates loudly and drunkenly. They give you so much inconsistent information and they do it on purpose to confuse you and get over on you, this company is corrupt and is actively stealing money from residents. PLEASE PLEASE BEWARE

They did my friend dirty.

(Return her deposit!!) (Toronto, location)

My experience with Harrington was an absolute disaster. We were left without heating during the winter, there were constant power outages, and dangerous electrical hazards, yet not a single technician was sent to fix the issues. Every tenant in the building had the same complaints, but management completely ignored us.

Even worse, instead of solving these issues, they constantly made false accusations and threats. They tried to pressure us with legal threats rather than taking responsibility for their failures.

Because of these ongoing issues, my belongings were damaged, my Xbox stopped working, and my food went bad. Multiple tenants have documented proof of the heating issues, yet Harrington still refuses to take responsibility.

Their customer service is beyond terrible. When you have a problem, they don’t listen, they don’t try to solve it, and instead, they blame you for everything. Their only goal is to cover up their mistakes.

Anyone considering staying here should think twice. If you value your money and well-being, STAY AWAY FROM THIS PLACE!

It’s a scam company they said they would give me my deposit in 45 days and it’s been more than that I’m still waiting….

I've been trying to get my $150 CAD key deposit back from Harrington Housing for almost two months, and at this point, they don't even bother responding to emails. They're nothing but scammers. The same thing is happening to all my friends who rented from them.

That being said, the apartment itself wasn't terrible, but the pictures they advertise are nowhere near reality. When we moved in, no one had even cleaned the place—it was absolutely disgusting. And the claim that the apartment is "fully equipped" is a complete lie. There was a single dirty plate and a broken spoon. My roommate and I had to buy an entire new set of dishes and even a frying pan.

But most importantly, the deposit situation is a scam. They are blatantly stealing our money, and it's unacceptable. Avoid them at all costs.