Leaders - Cambridge Arvostelua 

I added this same review in other platforms, but decided to add the same one here, as my experience was really disappointing with Leaders Cambridge and wanted to share it broadly so no one goes through the same experience.

Throughout the tenancy, several issues — including fire damage, leaks, and delayed repairs — were left unresolved for months.
I lived for several months under a nightmare situation, with no support at all. The cracked window took more than 8 months to be replaced and was never cleaned. The smell of the fire lasted for weeks and the cleaning process took several weeks as well.

At the end of the tenancy, they attempted to impose excessive and unjustified charges that did not reflect the actual condition of the property or the evidence provided. Communication was slow, accountability was lacking, and the overall process felt more like a revenue‑generating exercise than a fair assessment.
I do not recommend Leaders Cambridge based on this experience.

Our two-year experience with Cambridge Leaders was extremely disappointing, and unfortunately we were left feeling seriously let down. When we first rented the property, instead of being allowed to pay monthly, we were required to pay one full year's rent upfront. We were told there were issues with our credit score and paperwork, and we had no real alternative at the time, so we agreed. Throughout the two years, the property was inspected almost every month. However, when we genuinely needed help with a serious maintenance issue, we did not receive the same level of attention. Our toilet broke and was unusable for approximately two months. We contacted Cambridge Leaders numerous times by email, but we could not get the issue resolved. We were told that we could show them during the inspection, but when the inspection took place the issue was not properly dealt with. In the end, we had no choice but to arrange the repair ourselves and pay £800. We provided the invoice and all relevant documents, but we were not reimbursed. On top of that, before leaving, we paid £300 for a professional deep clean and left the property clean, yet £400 was deducted from our £1,500 deposit for cleaning. After two years of paying our rent, cooperating with regular inspections, and trying to resolve problems through the proper channels, the way this tenancy ended left us extremely frustrated and financially out of pocket. The biggest disappointment was that there seemed to be plenty of time for regular inspections, but when we had a toilet unusable for around two months, getting a proper response and actual solution was incredibly difficult. We have kept the relevant emails, invoices, payment records, and other documentation relating to these issues. Based on our personal experience,

we would not recommend Cambridge Leaders to other tenants. If you are considering renting through them, I strongly suggest keeping detailed records of every email, repair request, invoice, and payment.

Poor communication and liaising with client(landlord), no proper inspections, poor contractor work and excessive charges, unnecessary extra charges not made by other agents I deal with, poor data protection

They are very efficient and helpful. Helps me to get my house within 10 days max

Appalling service. This agent pretends issues are a matter of urgency to cover up for lack of organisation, often giving you a day or two's notice - which is illegal - in order to pay for certain fees.

I decided to engage Leaders, Cambridge for the purpose of letting our property in November 2025. Unfortunately, and contrary to my initial expectations, the experience of dealing with this agency was generally very poor and disappointing.

I felt certain members of the Cambridge team handled this matter very unprofessionally. A senior letting agent also showed a lack of knowledge and understanding of the letting process requirements and the fundamental service level that clients require and are being invoiced for.

In no particular order of priority these unsatisfactory events happened to us while with Leaders:

-The property failed to appear as a listing on Leaders' own website for several weeks during November and December 2025. Despite repeated assurances given to me, the listing error did not get fixed by the IT department for many more weeks. This meant the property was not receiving viewings or potential interest from new tenants.
-Other inaccuracies in the listings on the RightMove and OnTheMarket sites needed correction too and were not amended without further follow ups.
-The property was valued at an assessed and expected market rental by the letting agent and then advertised. Immediately, I then received several messages to reduce the rental price to a lower amount. I was totally annoyed by this. This would have both undervalued the property and been detrimental to us in achieving the correct market rental.
-Prospective tenants were also sent to view the property who clearly could not afford to rent the property and then made unacceptably low offers. A total waste of everyone's times.
-Other prospective tenants had unsatisfied County Court judgment debts!
- It really seemed that Leaders was only interested in the Let Only Fee amount it would receive and had no interest in obtaining the correct market rental or the most suitable applicants for leasing our property.
-Repeated attempts and pressures were put on us to lower the advertised rental amount. This was not acceptable to us and was duly refused.
-Five months after advertising the property, suitable tenants were finally obtained for the property and at the advertised rental amount. However, instead of preparing the AST for signature by the parties 72 hours ahead of the lease start date (as is Leaders' stated policy and process), certain issues had not and were not addressed by the letting agent assigned to our property. The day before the lease began and in a lengthy telephone discussion with me, no mention of any issues was raised with me. On 29 April, the new letting almost fell through. Both the owners/landlords and the tenants were extremely unhappy as to how the assigned Leaders' letting agent had not dealt with a fundamental issue about the property until the very last hour. This event was totally unprofessional, it showed a lack of basic knowledge and understanding of the legal and letting processes and was distressing to all parties involved. It absolutely should not have occurred and this agent would certainly benefit from and requires further training and supervision of his practice.
-Four weeks after the new lease had commenced at the property and despite receiving many false emails that the collection had been requested, the To Let Board had still not been collected from our property. In the end, the only way to have the board removed was to directly contact Countrywide Signs myself. Once I did this, the board was removed the very next day. It should not have been necessary to require so many follow ups and to deal with this in a personal capacity.
-On account of the history of so many unsatisfactory occurrences with Leaders Cambridge, I requested a reduction to the Let Only Fee invoice which was duly approved as the criticisms I had raised were totally valid.
-It did take several attempts by the accounts department to transfer the corrected amount of funds to my bank account, but eventually with various explanations provided by me, this did resolve satisfactorily.

Overall, our letting experience with Leaders fell very short of our expectations when engaging the Cambridge office of a national and long established organisation.

On a positive note, a Lettings Manager repeatedly apologised and had no excuses for the unsatisfactory series of events that had occurred particularly at the final stages of letting our property. Her genuine attempts to address and try to unpick all the errors that had occurred were very appreciated.

I note many similar reviews are posted by dissatisfied clients of Leaders, Cambridge.

In summary, I do not recommend the letting service offered by Leaders, Cambridge to prospective landlords or tenants.

The Cambridge office team needs to review and improve its levels of service and expertise.

Unfortunately, my experience with Leaders Cambridge was very disappointing.

As an overseas applicant, I was encouraged to pay a holding deposit quickly due to the high level of interest in the property. At that stage, I had only seen an old video of the property and was unable to view it in person.

Although the original tenancy start date was 15 May, I was not able to view the property virtually until after that date. When I finally viewed it, I noticed signs of damp and water damage and asked for confirmation that these issues had been resolved. Unfortunately, I did not receive clear updates regarding these concerns.

Communication throughout the process was poor. Many emails went unanswered for extended periods, making it very difficult to plan an international move for my family. We had already begun making arrangements, including school registrations for our two daughters, based on the expectation that the tenancy would proceed.

The prolonged uncertainty, lack of communication, and unresolved concerns about the property ultimately resulted in a complete loss of confidence in the process. After several months of waiting, the tenancy did not proceed.

I appreciate the efforts of individual staff members who tried to help, but overall the experience was stressful, disappointing, and far below the level of service I expected from a professional letting agency.

Fellow renters - AVOID, AVOID, AVOID AT ALL COST.
I rented a studio through Leaders for 1 year. I was forced into the non-refundable "no deposit" scheme, even though I was very happy to send them a regular security deposit. This is basically extra rent / Christmas bonus for the estate agent. (They also push for you to buy their insurance and other scammy add ons). As I was 2 weeks away from moving to Cambridge for a new job, unfortunately I was stuck with this scheme.
I noticed the property didn't go through a professional clean at all. I also immediately started to have issues with the boiler (leaks, no hot water, zero water pressure in the shower). It took ages for them to send someone, just to change the boiler to one that seemed even more ancient. The radiator was so inefficient I had to buy a standing heater from Amazon for winter...
At the end of this horrific 1 year, they tried to charge me something like £340, of which 140 to fill in two nail holes in the wall - a photo of which figured in the inventory I received on my first day lol.
They are very pushy and aggressive, threatening tenants with legal action if you don't comply. I pushed back, threatened them with court too, and they eventually backed off. I contacted the previous tenant who said she was too scared of them and ended up paying an extra £800 for nothing.
If you're in this situation, stay strong and don't let these criminals get to you. I got some good advice and support from the ACORN Rental union.

AVOID AT ALL COSTS. My entire tenancy with Leaders in Cambridge was a complete nightmare. Their business practices are highly deceptive, predatory, and seemingly designed to trap tenants. I had to consult Citizens Advice just to protect my legal rights.

Here is the reality of renting with them:

1. Move-In Extortion: They ignored my emails regarding the payment process, only to send a link on the exact day of move-in. They demanded 8 months of rent in advance (£10,000) immediately, threatening to withhold the keys if I didn't pay that same day.
2. The NDO Scam & Inventory Trap: I was forced to sign up for their "No Deposit Option" (NDO) under a 1-hour ultimatum. They deliberately withheld the move-in inventory report. Under their contract, if you don't dispute the report within 5 days, it's deemed accepted. Combined with the NDO—which avoids the government-approved TDS and uses a private company (HF Resolution Ltd) that charges tenants £222 just to raise a dispute—this is a deliberate trap to make you pay for pre-existing damages.
3. Severe Safety Hazards: Upon moving in, 5 out of 7 radiators were broken, and the oven was unusable. Worse, a gas engineer later discovered a socket with "cross polarity" (a severe fire hazard) that Leaders had completely missed in their checks.
4. Illegal Gas Safety Management: On July 1st, they suddenly emailed me to stop using gas because they negligently let the Gas Safety Record expire. I was left with cold showers and no way to cook, and they completely ignored my requests for compensation.
5. Horrendous Move-Out Process: After moving out in January 2026 and paying for professional cleaning, they completely ignored my emails and failed to provide a check-out report. Fortunately, I had realized their NDO trap in advance and forced a switch to a standard TDS-protected deposit during my tenancy. Because of this, I was saved from their extortionate dispute fees and was able to safely file a formal dispute with the Tenancy Deposit Scheme to get my money back.

Do not trust this agency. If you have no choice, document every single interaction, outright refuse the NDO, demand a TDS-protected deposit, and be prepared to contact Citizens Advice.

Very disappointing experience with Leaders Cambridge branch and the property management team.

We had an extremely stressful and frustrating experience during our tenancy process. A 12-month tenancy was initially agreed, but this was later changed to a 4-month fixed term very close to the tenancy start date. This caused major inconvenience and uncertainty at a critical time.

There were also delays and administrative errors around the tenancy start date and key collection. Instead of a smooth and professional process, we were left dealing with confusion, poor coordination, and unnecessary stress. For a company handling people’s housing arrangements, this level of disorganisation is unacceptable.

What made the experience worse was the lack of proper ownership and accountability. Even after raising the issue formally, the matter has still not been handled in a satisfactory way. Customer care acknowledged the problems and apologised, but that has not translated into a proper resolution. It felt like nobody was truly taking responsibility.
One month no deposit payment charged for 3 days of staying.

The Cambridge branch staff and property management team were disappointing to deal with. Communication was poor, expectations were changed late, and the overall service fell well below what any tenant should reasonably expect.

I hope this doesn't happen to others.

My experience with Leaders Cambridge has been one of the most unprofessional and chaotic encounters I have ever had with a letting agency. I wish there was a 'NO' star option.
I was initially told by two of their agents, Kori O’Neil and Amy Rutherford, that the garage advertised with the property could not be handed over, and that it had been incorrectly advertised. This was a major part of the listing and a key reason I applied for the property.
When I requested a refund of my £321.29 holding deposit, stating clearly that I did not wish to proceed with a property that was misrepresented, another agent, Jake, suddenly emailed me claiming it was all a “confusion” and that the garage could now be included. By this point, the inconsistency and lack of transparency were obvious red flags, and I no longer felt safe entering a tenancy with such disorganised management.
Instead of acknowledging their mistakes, their CEO, Michael, called me and tried to frame the situation as if I was backing out of the agreement despite the fact that I have written emails from Kori, Amy, and Jake confirming the garage was refused and the advertisement was incorrect. He insisted the holding deposit could not be refunded, even though the withdrawal was entirely due to their mismanagement and contradictory information.
Because of their errors, I was forced to extend my hotel stay, paying an additional £612, completely outside my budget and planning. I was left without a property, out of pocket, and having to start the search all over again including paying another holding deposit elsewhere.
This entire experience has shown a lack of professionalism, poor internal communication, misleading advertising, and no accountability for the financial and emotional impact on prospective tenants. I would strongly advise others to be cautious when dealing with L|Leaders Cambridge branch 140 Hills Rd, CB2 8PB. I hope this review encourages better transparency and respect for future tenants.

They are always willing to help when needed, and respond to you quickly. I have never had an issue with how they work and would 100% recommend to anyone, especially students, when looking to rent or buy a property. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I dealt withPaul Ford. I needed some information as landlord for a tax return. He gave all I requested, promptly and courteously. I really appreciated that. Thanks! It was much appreciated.

Andrew Tierney from Leaders is selling a property of mine in Cambridge and he has been very professional and extreamly helpful and follws up all requests diligently. I would highly reccomend him.

I honestly don't know where to start! But here's the TLDR summary
- they didn't tell me the property was unmortgagable
- They have no idea if the property is tenanted or not
- when I showed up, the agent wasn't there. It took two calls from me to find out the viewing wouldn't be going ahead.

I enquired about a property, went through initial questions and booked a viewing. Turned up at the given address and the door was answered by a tenant (I had been told the property was vacant). I checked the address was correct and called the number that had texted me twice to confirm the viewing. Andrew answered and I was told that Sam would "come find me". 10 minutes later, nothing so I called again and only at this point was I told the viewing wouldn't be happening. They claimed they tried to contact me but I have no voicemail and they had texted me this morning to confirm the viewing?

They were completely unable to explain why there was a tenant in the property and it was only in passing that I was told that the property couldn't be mortgaged. They'd somehow managed to miss that out of the rightmove listing and our 10 minute conversation when I requested the viewing...

I have been living in my property for quite some time and I must say the way they handle house letting is sound and honest ..

I would not recommend anyone rent with Leaders Cambridge. We received a careless and unprofessional experience from the start (when they lost our house keys in their office when we arrived to collect them) through the middle (when they repeatedly left maintenance requests unanswered for over six months) to the end (when we received non-committal and conflicting information about whether we could stay in the property).

TLDR- horrific company do not recommend.

Terrible service- I would not recommend Leaders as a tenant or landlord. From our first contact with the agency, when we were not told the property had been taken the day before, before our arrival after driving for 1.5 hours. Then to our first viewing of the properly we let, where the agent turned up late and with the wrong keys. We had 4 property managers over the 1.5 years, all as incompetent as eachother. Extremely poor communication. On one occasion I phoned to speak to them directly and heard them say to the person on the phone “tell them I’m not here” as they had no fulfilled our request yet again.

Finally, to returning our deposit. They were 3 weeks over the legal deadline they had to return our agreed deposit. I strongly believe if we had not chased this and threatened legal action they would have stolen our deposit.

Extremely poor service and communication all round.