We bought our apartment at 8 HaLiving at 8 Harbord Square, Canary Wharf - a beautiful package with a few surprises insiderbord…
We bought our apartment at 8 Harbord Square in summer 2025, and it’s now been more than six months since we moved in. Overall, our experience has been mixed: there are many things to love about Canary Wharf, but also several issues that we didn’t expect.
On the positive side, it’s clear that a lot of care goes into the public spaces. The outdoor areas, parks, events, exhibitions, and general atmosphere are very well maintained. The whole district feels extremely safe, with visible security across the area. Infrastructure is also excellent: there are plenty of restaurants, sports facilities, gyms, and entertainment options within walking distance.
However, the experience inside the building has not fully matched the image presented before the purchase. We pay more than £11,000 per year in service charges, yet amenities like a gym or swimming pool are not included. The fee mainly covers basic services such as cleaning and waste management. Before buying, everything was described as a near-perfect living environment, but the reality has been more complicated.
For example, when we moved in, we discovered that our bathtub was damaged and leaking. It took about six weeks just for the management to identify the issue. Later, we suggested buying a new bathtub ourselves and simply paying the difference, but again we waited more than a month just to receive an answer.
There are also ongoing issues with basic infrastructure. The intercom system doesn’t work reliably. An engineer told us this is a known problem affecting multiple apartments, and the suggested solution was simply to restart the system whenever it fails. Unfortunately, this happens about twice a week, which doesn’t feel like an acceptable long-term solution.
Another concern is a persistent sewage smell in the bathroom. Our neighbours have confirmed they’re experiencing the same issue. In addition, a Malaysian cafe recently opened on the ground floor. The cooking smells spread throughout the building - into the lifts, hallways, apartments, and even the nearby park. Despite numerous complaints from residents, management has been sending the same responses for months, saying they are still “investigating the issue,” with no visible progress.
In general, everything tends to move very slowly. The management seems efficient when dealing with small, simple issues, but when it comes to more complex problems, the process becomes drawn out and unclear, often with long waiting times and little communication.
So overall, living in Canary Wharf feels a bit like a not-quite-perfect product wrapped in a very beautiful package. The area itself is impressive, safe, and well designed, but the building management and service experience have not met our expectations. Knowing what we know now, we’re not sure we would have made the same purchase decision.