Leaders - Chichester Reviews 

Just over a month ago, my partner and I viewed a rental property through the Chichester branch of Leaders.

From the outset, we were completely open about my partner’s circumstances and raised our concerns before proceeding. We explained everything in detail during the viewing and followed this up in writing by email. On both occasions, we were repeatedly reassured that my partner’s situation would not be an issue and that we had nothing to worry about.

Later that same day, we were told the landlord had accepted our application, so we moved on to the Goodlord referencing process. Unfortunately, you have to pay the upfront fee before the referencing can begin.

The very next day, our application was rejected because of the very issue we had raised from the beginning.

When we returned to the branch to question what had happened, the negotiator openly admitted that he had simply assumed the landlord would be happy with our circumstances, despite the fact we had made them crystal clear from the start. Had we been given accurate advice, we would never have proceeded or paid the referencing fee.

What shocked me even more was being told that I should rent the property on my own and that my partner could simply visit, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the tenancy agreement. We had been completely transparent from the outset that we were applying for the property to live there together, so I found this suggestion both inappropriate and astonishing.

To make matters worse, Leaders refused to issue a full refund. Their justification was that they had cancelled other viewings and had already carried out administrative work. Those were decisions made by Leaders after reassuring us that everything was fine. We acted honestly and transparently throughout, so it was incredibly disappointing to be left out of pocket because of their mistake.

We seriously considered taking the matter to The Property Ombudsman due to what we believe was misleading advice and the poor handling of our application. In the end, we accepted a partial refund simply because we did not want to spend months pursuing a complaint.

This experience left us feeling misled, unsupported and unfairly blamed for a situation that could have been avoided if accurate advice had been given from the beginning. Based on our experience, I cannot recommend Leaders.

My experience with Leaders Lettings has been nothing short of frustrating and costly. The team demonstrated a complete lack of understanding of even basic letting practices. I was incorrectly asked to pay fees upfront when a tenant was found—despite the fact that such fees are typically deducted from the first month’s rent.

When I questioned this, they failed to proceed with tenant referencing and repeatedly misled me by claiming the process had already started. Upon requesting proof or a tracking reference, I was met with excuses and no transparency.

Escalating the matter did not help. The branch manager chose to defend the staff rather than address the issue professionally. Even more concerning, when I raised a formal complaint with head office, the regional director responded to a two-month-old email with an irrelevant and careless reply—clearly unaware that the complaint was already being handled. Instead of providing guidance, I was simply told to raise another stage complaint without any explanation of the process.

This level of disorganisation, lack of accountability, and poor communication is unacceptable. As a direct result of their mishandling, I have incurred financial losses exceeding £10,000.

I am now pursuing this matter further through the ombudsman and, if necessary, the county court.

Avoid this agency if you value professionalism and transparency.

Team is just great, nothing is too much for them, rent with leaders since 2019 and the experience is just great. They are people's people.

Darcy helped us with the rental process a few months ago and she was amazing! So helpful and great energy every step of the way. A few months down the line and we still haven't had any issues and every enquiry we have had has been attended to in the same day. Brilliant service.

Good communication, friendly staff always willing to help. Professional outfit.

Very helpful and friendly approachable

Recently had to report a maintenance issue. Tino from Chichester Leaders guided me through the whole tech-heavy reporting process. She was brilliant. She liaised between me, the contractors & the maintenance team ensuring we all had the information we needed. Couldn't have managed this process without her. Massive "thank you" to Tino!

Darcy from Leaders was amazing during the move in process to my new flat. She was very quick to reply to all my emails, put so much effort into accommodating my requests, was always happy to answer any questions I had, and did all of this with such a warm & friendly demeanour. I'm really grateful that she was the estate agent leading my move in process, and because of the experience I had with her I would recommend Leaders to family and friends.

Tino has been very helpful regarding the ending of my tenancy(the property is being sold) and for arranging for my deposit to be refunded to me.

Previously she has assisted in getting maintenance issues resolved when the agreed work was taking longer than expected to be completed.

Max and Aaron from leader in Chichester and emsworth branches couldn’t of been more helpful in the process of moving in to my first flat couldn’t recommend them enough

I have been using Leaders for over 2 years and they have always been very helpful and efficient in renting my property out and managing it whilst I am in Australia - thank you!

Simply the prompt and highly professional service throughout, from first enquiry to final tenancy signing. Thank you Leaders. Alwyn

Utterly useless, stay far away. Only bad experiences as a tenant!

Please do not use this company, they tell you that you haven't paid your rent , even when you can prove you've never missed, now they are throwing me out, I'll never use leaders again, so please don't use leaders, my name is Michael Travers from selsey, the only reason I gave this 1 star is it wouldn't let me give no stars!

Letting: can’t even book a viewing, unless you want to do all the admin.. do your own searches and then submit the report to them. I’ve decided not to rent from them, if they can’t even do my credit search I have zero confidence that they will help if something goes wrong !

Reported our back doors had rotted with a 6x8cm hole in the bottom right where the wood had broken away along with a cracked window in our kitchen in March 2022. The landlady, sent out two contractors to quote and then we never heard a thing and it was one excuse after the other (landlord on holiday/weather not good enough) and we were patient. We started chasing it up again regularly with no update. It got to the point where rain was coming into the house through the gaps in the door where the wood had rotted and when we asked about it, they sent round the same two contractors for quotes as they did when we first reported it but then we were told that the land lady didn't like the quotes so nothing was done. The land lady had said that she would arrange her own contractor but still nothing. We have always paid rent and looked after the place, even fixed up the garden as it was terribly overgrown when we moved in and all they care about is getting their money. We are now 1 month shy of it being a year since we reported the structural damage and we are not any closer to having the issue resolved.

Property management hub based at Chichester , the HOC is Abysmal!!! She lies and misleads Landlords which they are paying for the service from the LRG group it’s no wonder most of the team have left and Landlord’s are leaving since she started managing end of 2021 . Senior management is terrible , the contractors you are forced to use are just terrible also . The service is just disgusting .

A great start and competitive fee quotation, however after the first few viewings we had to chase Leaders for updates. After 13 weeks and no viewings in the previous month we cancelled and went with another agent.

Nicola Frankland at Chichester Leaders has provided prompt, professional support and is always willing to pursue any concerns I have as Landlady. If she’s unable to help she will ensure that she can find the answer and get back to me.

Superb staff especially the manager there Sarah Cawley - keep it up guys - they have not and do not forget the immense power of customer service - highly recommended xxx