Leaders - Southampton Reviews 

Claims of active buyers proved false from Daryl and Josh; even within the cooling-off period, fees were still charged.

If I could give it zero stars I would.
From start to finish its been appalling. Lucy never responds to my emails - even in the early days of simple questions about viewings and questions about properties. I would always have to chase with several calls which should of been a warning sign then.
I finally found a place and signed the contract after a virtual viewing - due to living the other side of the country and not being able to view the property before moving down. I told them about my health conditions with allergies and particularly to mould and asked for the property to be deep cleaned before I arrived.
On my move in date I collected the keys and headed to the property excited with everything I had packed in a van that had come from the other side of the country. As soon as I walked into the property I started coughing due to the smell of black mould throughout the property.
I walked in and walked straight out again. I took photos of the black mould everywhere.
Within this time I was sent an email from Lucy at Leaders sending me a survey of the property containing bad damp and mould problems - Why was I not made aware of this before I signed the contract?

I drove back to the office as no one seems to be able to answer a phone when you call the branch.
I went in there shocked but calm, explained the situation that because I am allergic to black mould I can't live there and not only that but it isn't safe for anyone to live there. I asked for my money back and for them to find me somewhere else to live. As I am now homeless, have a van full of all of my belongings on street parking, I start my new job at the hospital Monday morning. Lucy said she would investigate this further and then get back to me. This was all in the morning.
Half an hour before they closed still heard nothing and no answer on the phone - shock horror. I heistantly walked back into the branch for an update on what was happening as I had no where to live. I was told they had sent over the photos I had taken and sent them to the landlord and was waiting for a response. Confused, upset and completely distressed I booked a hotel for the night. The following day I went in at lunchtime for an update. Lucy had no updates and clearly not chased anything.
As I continued to tell her I am homeless and start my new job on Monday a man starts speaking loudly at us from behind his computer screen in the background - doesn't stand up, introduce himself or anything like.
Saying he is waiting to hear back from the Landlord regarding the matter... and I quote 'The contract is between you and the landlord I cannot release you from it.' Fair enough.
We explained the conditions of the property and they said they had no idea about the mould... however that wasn't true because they sent us a survey on it, they told us when we confronted them about the mould issue that they thought they had cleaned it up, also they had put down 6-7 moisture absorber boxes around the property. None of this was mentioned to me before I signed, on the video tour, none of that was highlighted even though I told them about my severe allergy problems. We explained we needed the deposit money back so we can secure another property to move into.
After saying this the man said - and I quote.
'You are not our client, the Landlord is our client.'
Okay so if we are not your client can we have our deposit back and first months rent? Why am I paying you?
Can I have the Landlords details if I am not your client so I can deal with them directly?
After not getting anywhere we excepted defeated and went back to the hotel to start looking at what legal action we could take - which turns out we had a few options. The sheer lack of empathy, support, and consciousness from one human being to another was disgusting.
On Monday 7th July towards the end of the day I finally had an update from Lucy - To tell me the Landlord has released me from the contract and agreed to a full refund of my deposit and first months rent. She asked if I would like a refund or for them to hold on to the money to use on another property with them. I requested a refund straight away and gave her my bank details.
We are now the 22nd July. I have had no response from Lucy since, numerous emails have been sent with no response, numerous calls to the branch that haven't been answered. I have finally gotten through today to someone and they have told me they are not sure why Lucy hasn't responded and they aren't sure what has happened with my refund as she is on annual leave. Why am I not surprised.

Not only have I lost money on hiring a van for longer, hotel costs, losing a weeks wages due to being homeless, cancelled patients appointments, been left completely distressed, I still have had no luck getting my refund.

If I don't get my money back in my account in the next 24 hours. Not only will I be going to the papers but I will be taking legal action.

Avoid at all costs.

We dealt with Josh Rahman, he was very good. Very prompt and responsive with queries. He went above and beyond and great advisor.

Moved into an apartment at the end of 2024.
The apartment was dirty after "two cleans had been done"
The landlords contractor told me that leaders gave them 24 hours to sort the apartment out before i moved in so i got shoddy painting and no repairs.
everything that i logged with leaders didnt get back to the landlord and i had to wait months for my first fix or replacement this was after i got the number and contacted the contractor myself.
The contractor then told me that they would be moving from Leaders to a new estate angency company and that they should have let me know about it two weeks prior, i didnt get any communications about this until a few days later.
Basically just shoved me into an apartment and told me to do one for 3 months before giving us to the new estate agent.
They also told us that we would have a garden,we dont!
every month we paid our dues and every month they said we hadnt.

I've had an absolute nightmare experience with Leaders Estate Agency Southampton. The property is in dreadful condition, with mould growing in whole house and the temperature inside being unbearably cold. They have installed a heater after 3 months of waiting which set on fire due to moisture in the wall. This is a serious health concern that I have raised multiple times to the agency, starting in November, but no significant actions have been taken. They have sent a painter to paint on top of mould which he has obviously refused.

Despite my continuous complaints and detailed reports, Leaders Agency and Katie to property manager has shown a complete lack of urgency and responsibility. The constant mold poses a severe risk to our health, yet the agency seems indifferent to these serious issues. It's incredibly frustrating to deal with their unresponsive and negligent behavior. I expected professional and quick resolutions to such critical matters, but unfortunately, I've received none.

I strongly advise potential tenants to be cautious and consider other options rather than dealing with this letting agency, as their lack of care and failure to address fundamental living issues have made my renting experience absolutely terrible.

I am extremely happy to mention the excellent customer service provided by Adriana Darczuk recently. Once again her handling of a sensitive situation with diplomacy and understanding was exemplary but not surprising as I have experienced her particular ability in this area before numerous times. It is refreshing to know that person to person communication skills can still be found!

Money grabbers. As soon as they got your money they stop being nice and ignore your messages and refuse to help. Don't be fooled by the 5* reviews on Google Maps: they ask everyone to do that right after the tenancy is signed, when they're still nice to you. Once it's done the tone changes drastically. Avoid at all costs

As a tenant, an extremely poor experience. Dragged their feet on reported issues with the property, or never fixed them at all. Tried to take unjustified money from the deposit (protection scheme did not award them what they wanted in the end). Incompetent and rude staff. Try to make you buy contents insurance through them and pretend it's a legal requirement (it's not) and try to pressure you to use the zero deposit scheme (again, legally as a tenant you have a choice of standard deposit or zero deposit, but they like to pretend you HAVE to use zero deposit).

Awful, awful company, and I hope I never have to deal with them again.

Leaders left us without hot water and heating for 3 months and only sorted the problem when we contacted the council. The flat also had major leaks which they refused to fix during the tenancy which resulted in mould and damp. They also hid that the property had no phone line which meant you couldn't get internet in the property after telling them I was looking for a property which would be suitable to work from home at. When moving out they took money from our deposit to change lightbulbs even though they were all working when we left. Leaders stop caring as soon as they get you into the property, there is no 'property management' after that. Watch them respond to this with the same generic copy and pasted response that they use for every other negative review.

Exercise caution with this lot. Great at taking money, terrible at responding to anything that requires something to be done. They’ll promise the earth to get your business then deliver very little. Watch out for their notice periods too, check the terms. They only count if you give notice only the exact day you started your tenancy, otherwise they’ll drag another month out of you. You will also wait forever for your deposit to be returned, even though they promise one week. So far I’ve waited 5 weeks and counting!

Spend your money elsewhere. Poor communication and awful customer service.

DONT WASTE YOURE TIME! MADE AN ABSOLUTE LUDICROUS MESS WITH COMPASS POINT! TAKES WEEKS TO REPLY AND EVEN THEN INCOMPETENT AND USELESS! DONT BOTHER! GO SOMEWHERE ELSE!

Leaders have been managing my rental property in Southampton for more than 20 years. It’s been effectively managed from the word go and professional tenants have always been placed. Thank you Abigail Fluin, you have always been professional, effective and responsive.

We are really pleased with the service we have recieved from Sophie S In property management department. We have built a great relationship with her over the past year. Sophie is always so responsive and gets maintenance issues rectified as soon as possible!

Southampton branch. Complete waste of time, unprofessional, immature and rude staff. Late to viewings.
Unresponsive, don't reply to emails, customer service non existent.

Don't waste your energy.

Avoid at all costs. Leaders Southampton, however I suspect every branch. Zero communication, manned by robots, with no communication skills whatsoever. Probably staffed by people with zero intelligence, hence they secured the position. Actually a very sad company, unable to have a conversation. If you look at the response they leave for a review even then they cannot communicate and robotic response's. I would not recommend them either to sell, rent out my property or rent a property from them. You would get a more intelligent interaction from a five year old.

Reply below exactly as expected!!!

I have been living in Southampton for 2 months now and my experience with Leaders has been very frustrating. They manage the property I live in, which means all maintenance reports must go through them to reach the landlord. Since moving in our hob has not turned on. We have looked everywhere for a switch, checked our fuse box and didn't receive an instruction manual since living in a brand new flat and no one having used it before. I have reported this issue through the Leaders maintenance app and contacted the property manager directly on multiple occasions, but nothing has been done. Even though they have said they're following this up, we have been left without a working hob for two months. The lack of urgency is unacceptable and when it comes to getting these basic maintenance issues addressed, it is failed to follow through.

We had bad leakages in the house and it took them over 5 months to fix anything. They barely helped out just gave us many excuses nor helped us out to get any sort of compensation for the landlord's failure to comply with their landlord duties. Horrible management. The house was advertised with white goods which weren't there when we moved in, asking us to buy our own. They love to provide missleading communication and it's absurd how they work. Scammers is the first work that comes to my head, specially with this branch.

Stressful moving in experience!
An overdue bill was left for us to deal with on behalf of the LANDLORD and until the account is sorted, we are unable to set up utilities.
Incredibly slow responses and lack of care or sense of responsibility from any of the staff, little communication about the property and what it entails. I guarantee there will be a copy paste reply to this complaint and nothing will be actioned - honestly stay well clear if you want to have your blood pressure remain within it's normal limits!

If you like lazy landlords who don't fix things for 2 years and act surprised when things get surprised when things deteriorate and then come for money, Incompetent workers who can't be bothered to do their jobs and misreport things and are an all-round greedy company then Leaders are right for you.

Absolute god awful company, no wonder why last 4 out of 5 reviews on trust pilot are all 1 star and all speak honestly about the company and all met with the same copy and paste responses. Wouldn't ever go with them again and would never recommend them to anyone and will actively deter people from them and suggest more support companies based on personal experience or reviews going forward. Avoid at all costs and make sure you go with someone who's more reputable. Their workers probably don't care about the 1 star review, they don't care when you report issues as they never respond to them within adequate time frames or might not even respond at all and when you call all you get is "they're not in the office at the moment", "they're not in today" and "we will pass that on to them and make sure they contact you within this certain time frame", never heard so many untruths be told.

In conclusion , I'm sure to never go with them and I'd recommend you look elsewhere as they're not worth the hassle even some of our neighbours in the time we were there that have come and gone would concur to that statement.