Leaders - Cambridge Reviews 280

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.

It is a little concerning that the Cambridge branch has changed property managers so many times and they are not clear on the development of the property. They are appalling at checking the property and claiming wear and tear when they only do a visit once a year not 1-6 Monthly as requested by landlord. It's a little disconcerting that communication is not set in stone and clear to landlords, the previous property manager I had was amazing but since they left it is devastating to the business. They don't offer the personal service or introduction of the property manager refuse to do a virtual meeting with landlord and just not organized the premier service is a joke..I will be looking out for a better service

One of the most unprofessional letting agencies I have ever interacted with, it is not acceptable to cancel a viewing a few minutes before its scheduled time because the flat was let yesterday, especially when people have to travel a long distance to do the viewing.

Letting Agent Darcey was extremely professional, friendly, knowledgeable and helpful in assisting us in our search for a property to rent. We would recommend using Leaders for your property search.

Thank you Darcy for your professionalism and support while searching for a place to stay. Your services were excellent and you followed through from the moment I inquired about the property and seeing each stage through professionally.

I would give Leaders 0 stars if I could. They messed up every aspect of starting my tenancy. The day before I was due to move in, they called and said they hadn't done the inventory yet, so my move-in date had to be delayed. I only got a fully signed agreement on the day I moved in. They didn't even have keys to the building to give me, leaving me reliant on neighbours to let me into the building. It took them over a week to sort a proper set of keys for me, and every time I called them, they behaved like I was being unreasonable. I only got a full set of keys after I threatened a rent reduction (I wasn't able to get into the building one night). All in all, Leaders are some of the most incompetent estate agents I have ever known. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

My experience was incredible. It is a good website, especially for payment, and everybody in the Leaders Team can solve your problem and clarify any doubts. Thank you!

I am a current tenant at one of the properties managed by Leaders at Cambridge. Today, I spoke with Polly about a long term problem I was facing in this property. She was so helpful and sorted my problem within a very short time. She also got back to me after contacting with city Council. I am really grateful & pleased with her support today. I really appreciate this.

I am delighted with the service I get from Leaders, especially Alfie Orvis, who is proactively offering advice. I feel reassured that Leaders will keep me up to date with the impact of the Renters’ Reform.