Leaders - Southampton Avis 

My experience with Leaders has been consistently poor.

Communication is slow, unhelpful and dismissive. Genuine concerns are met with generic responses, while maintenance appears to be handled only when absolutely unavoidable. There is little sense of ownership, accountability or proactive management.

The standard of property management by the staff has been ineffective from day one and yet has somehow steadily declined over time. Communal areas and facilities are allowed to deteriorate, requests are frequently brushed aside, and there seems to be far more enthusiasm for enforcing rules on tenants than ensuring the landlord's own obligations are met.

For a national letting agency, I expected professionalism, transparency and a commitment to maintaining the properties they manage. Instead, the service has felt impersonal, reactive and frustrating throughout.

After years of dealing with Leaders, I have very little confidence in their ability to manage rental properties effectively or put tenants' interests alongside those of landlords. Based on my experience, I would not recommend them.

Terrible service as a letting agent Slow to respond, slow to chase late or unpaid rent, consistently made mistakes. Totally unreliable, unhelpful and would not use them again if it was free!

Really helpful and clear advice

Nice response, fast viewing, good explanation and flexible timing for homing

Lucy from the Leaders team, she gave full support during our rental process.

Sophie is really helpful and helped us with a TDS dispute. Would recommend

Smooth and professional

Great company. Been a tenant with them for 8 years. Quick to respond to emails and calls. Quick to resolve issues within the home. Would recommend

A big thank you to Will for finding me the perfect tenant. You have been a dream to work with, professional, open, and charming. You took on board exactly what I was expecting in a tenant, and you delivered. I wish you every success in the future.

A reliable and prompt service. Assistance is usually swift and thorough with easy communication methods.

I rarely write public reviews, but my experience with Leaders estate agents (Southampton Branch) regarding the sale of my property has been extremely disappointing.

From the beginning, communication was poor and updates were inconsistent. I repeatedly had to chase the sales team for basic information about marketing activity and progress. The level of engagement I expected from a professional sales agency simply was not there.

What concerned me most was the way responsibility was shifted onto the tenants. I was told that viewings could not proceed because the tenants were refusing access. However, after speaking directly with the tenants myself, they confirmed that they had not refused or declined any viewing requests. Blaming tenants without evidence raises serious questions about transparency and professionalism.

There was also a major oversight where the property was not reinstated on Rightmove when it should have been, which delayed the marketing process further. This was later acknowledged as an internal mistake.

As a landlord and client, you expect clear communication, accurate information and proactive marketing. Unfortunately that was not my experience.

I have now escalated the matter to the Property Ombudsman for independent review.

If you are considering selling your property, I would strongly advise doing careful research before instructing an agent. Based on my experience, I would not recommend using Leaders for property sales.

It has been great experience. Quick to resolve problems.

Renting through Leaders has been a smooth process and a really quick progression from first viewing to my move in date. There are some lovely colleagues who really try to support with any questions asked.

I’ve received lots of calls from 4 different people within Leaders and associated Romans Winchester. Appalling!!! 1st agent Jas belittling re the housing process, querying whether I knew I had to sell my house in order to buy one?!! And pushing me to get the house valued with them and on the market.
2nd member of staff called to book me in for this coming Friday and apologised for their rude colleague prior to them.
I then randomly get a call from a man in Romans Winchester without introducing who they are asking me who previously valued my house and whether I want them to do it- no I’d never heard of them!!!
4th member of staff Darrell called stating that there is no availability on the date that I had been booked in for just 30 minutes prior! And rudely stated that he had tried to call me numerous times and that I had not called him back - which is not true. Also please do recognise that I work full time, we did not have an appointment booked and again undue pressure! What a joke. An inept company. I do not want any contact with either branch!

I had a really positive experience renting through Sophie at Leaders. She was always professional, responsive, and very helpful throughout the tenancy. She made the process smooth and stress-free, and I truly appreciated her support and guidance. Highly recommend working with Sophie!

they are quick to take money but do not return overcharged money. it is taking months to get our money back

We’ve had the best experience with leaders. Which has been all down to having Daryl for support, great advice and great communication. Always there by email or call. Josh sold our home on the first viewing couldn’t have asked for anyone better. Both so friendly and helpful, Would highly recommend.

Leaders Southampton have been nothing but amazing. They’re always very quick to respond and very helpful. I would like to specifically thank Sophie Stevens, the property manager. She is extremely kind, attentive and supportive with any queries or reports. I have nothing but positive feedback for Sophie and cannot thank her enough.

Our experience with Leaders Southampton was extremely disappointing from start to finish. We were given countless assurances that turned out to be completely false.

When we moved in, we were promised that the flat would be professionally cleaned. Instead, we found mould in the bathroom and filthy markings all over the walls. It was clear no proper cleaning had been done despite repeated promises.

The contract also stated that the flat would come with a washing machine, but when we arrived, there was nothing there.

We were told we could apply for a parking permit, but after contacting the council, we discovered the property isn’t even eligible. It’s outside the permit zone and was built after the council’s cut-off for permits.

Communication throughout our tenancy was abysmal. Every time we tried to get an answer, staff seemed completely unaware of what was going on. When we moved out, they didn’t even know whether we still had the keys or that we were leaving, we had to go into the office to tell them in person.

To make matters worse, they charged us £100 for a toilet seat that became cracked due to smoke coming from another flat through the extractor fan. I had stood on it trying to block the cigarette smoke, and accepted full responsibility for the damage and offered to pay for a replacement. However, Leaders insisted on charging £100, which was absolutely ludicrous for such a cheap, flimsy seat.

Overall, the entire experience was chaotic, unprofessional, and stressful. Leaders Southampton repeatedly broke promises, mismanaged the tenancy, and unfairly charged tenants. I would strongly recommend avoiding them, there are far more reliable and transparent letting agents in the area.

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