Kingsestates Reviews 19

Worst rental agency I ever had. In the beginning they were all smiles but when it came real problems in the house, they often ignored the tenents. When I left the property, they kept my deposit because another tenant trashed the place after I moved out.

They never invited me to the inventory before or after moving in.

Emailed them with issues they missed out on their inventory like hole in walls and they said not to worry as it wouldn't affect my deposit.

Never missed rent and around three years later when I hand in my notice, they try to deduct money from my depost for the same holes I was told not to worry about. I had to prove it as I luckily saved the emails. So they came back to me and pivoted their angle and now charging me for other things that were pre existing.

Sent me photos of the property with no dates and not resembling anything near what the property looked like when I moved in.

Managed to get my deposit back through the scheme otherwise they would have got away with it.

Scammers beware renters!

Tenants and Landlords avoid this agency.

Absolutely terrible experience with this letting agency. Serious maintenance issues including leaks, mould, hot water problems, pest concerns and security key issues were repeatedly reported but ignored for a long time. Communication is poor and accountability is even worse. Instead of fixing basic problems affecting the property, they focus on sending rent demands and threats. Very unprofessional property management. I would strongly advise anyone to think twice before renting through this agency.

Had a good all round experience with Kings Estates, I thought I would go out the way to leave a good review as it seems people are only quick to leave bad reviews, nice honest staff and normal hard working people!

DON’T PARTNER WITH THIS AGENCY

THEY WILL STEAL YOUR DEPOSIT!!!!

It took me 6 months of fighting and putting a claim through to the holding deposit to get my deposit back after leaving. Kings completely ignored and lied to my face multiple times on calls that they will handle it.

DONT EXPECT YOUR DEPOSIT BACK WITHOUT A 6 MONTH FIGHT

They are very nasty to deal with for student rentals. You have to pay for the full 12 months of rent but they do not give you the property for the full 12 months, they short change you by up to a week. On checking in there was clearly mould on the shower tray sealant, the photos showed it, but they still tried to deduct from the deposit when vacating the property. The mould issues were reported within the first few weeks of moving in as there are no windows and the fan is very weak, however they did nothing. They also tried to falsly deduct other items from the deposit without even providing me a copy of the checkout report to review and sign. First I saw of it was during the dispute, with photos that did not seem like they were taken from my tenancy. If you can avoid this nasty company and look elsewhere, you will potentially save a lot of stress.

This review could easily be an essay but I’m going to keep it short and sweet. Kings estates have been a complete embarrassment of a letting agent, the lack of communication unless it was completely urgent was bewildering, for example I asked many times (at different stages of confirming the property for my second year of uni) whether I need to pay any deposits or sign/review documents to which I was told no. I would then be asked a matter of days later to pay/sign on documents. The disorganisation is quite frankly absurd and the employees at kings are no different, frequently putting me on hold/telling they would call back only for me to be left waiting/clueless as to what I should do. Further more, despite being told the property was professionally cleaned before I moved in, there were large areas of black mould in 2 of the 4 bedrooms and the kitchen. To add to this I had no bed when I originally moved in and there are mice living in the kitchen of the property. To conclude I persuade anyone who reads this, especially first time renters such as students, to steer clear of this car crash of a renting agency and save yourself a major headache.

Absolute doghouse.

Throughout the tenancy had problems for the whole year, and getting woken up when I’m sleeping to random contractors or viewings without notice which was bloody scared and weird tbh.

Took us 14 weeks to eventually get our deposit back, as they decided to just not respond to us for 10 of the weeks. ? If they lack basic comprehension skills as they would just not read our emails throughout the tenancy or deposit dispute and would respond with the most crazy things that were completely invalid.

Save your sanity, don’t go with kings x

My son and his friends have very unfortunately moved into slum housing managed by Kings Estates. Nobody came with them on moving in day and they were faced with a filthy, squalid house with broken furniture, not to mention vermin droppings all over. When I asked to have a meeting with Keira the lettings manager, and made a four hour round trip to do so, she wasn't in that day. Thankfully Tia spoke to me about my many concerns. However when Keira visited on Monday she told the group that it was mostly aesthetic - no numbers on the cooker, cigarette burns in the bedroom carpet etc. And threatened to make large deductions for the removal of the broken furniture I replaced with my own so my son had a set of drawers. And they actually want a mouse I think before they get pest control in. This company takes advantage of naïve young students who have never rented before. They could never rent the kind of slum housing they deal in to professionals. Please avoid if you want a decent standard of living and an agent who cares about the safety and wellbeing of their tenants.

I appreciate that they could provide a 6-month contract for me as an academic visitor to Southampton. However, bad experiences lead to this review of no recommendation and even avoiding them as possible as you can.
First, when my friend looked for apartments and contacted them, they changed their mind all the times. Once a while they said you have a discount, and at another time they said no, you don't. My friend had a so bad experience with them, and finally ignore them even though she already paid the reservation fee and couldn't get them back. I didn't have this horrible experience when I took a look at the apartment, maybe because I signed the contract immediately after the look.
Second, after six months, I evacuated the studio I lived in, and clean as much as I can. I think I have made it look as clean as when I just moved in. However, after their inspection ( I was not present in the inspection), they claimed the studio had strong smoke smell, and deep clean for this requires 250 pounds. That is wired! I am a non-smoking person and never let any smoking person enter the studio during my occupation. I asked them to provide any evidence. They just gave me a invoice indicates cleaning the smell takes 135 pounds, and for the rest 115 pounds, they just claimed, with no evidence, that it was for whitewash the wall because of the smell. The invoice did not say anything about the smoke smell. I know I should have been there when they conducted the inspection. And this is not the end, since I don't want to argue with them anymore, I just said okay and please return the rest deposit to me. However, when the deposit was returned, I found I got 365 pounds deducted from the deposit. Why is there another 115 pounds deducted? They never claimed this amount to me.
In a word, this company is like a scam. They give you a deposit protection scheme in the beginning, but they can still deduct the money from your deposit for something you didn't do. Just never try this company if possible.

James from the sales team is the epitome of professionalism. From arranging the initial viewing through to receiving the keys he has absolutely exceeded expectations. He provides a very friendly, easy to get on with yet entirely professional service that I honestly did not expect.

James manages to walk the tight line between his clients (the sellers) interest and my (the buyers) interest very well. If an update from the sellers side was required he would get back to me with an answer within half an hour. A five minute delay in response from James is honestly a cause for concern he is that good! Thank you for everything.

What a great agency for student accommodation. I was recommended this team of talented young individuals by a community member of Spanish people in Portsmouth in search of a place for September. Cameron was so informative and made the process so smooth for us when tieing everything together. We are now in the process of getting our place this September, can’t wait!

I have had a great experience with Kings Estates for renting and moving into one of their managed blocks in Southampton. Khalsa, the main negotiator, had helped me throughout the process as well as the rest of the team. I would highly recommend the agency.

Helpful, friendly and honest! The lettings team work late to make sure we could move in when the landlord did not have certificates in place they sorted it.

Would highly recommend.

I have been dealing with a long and complex probate situation which involved sale of a property in Tunbridge Wells. During the period, which involved several actions and enquiries, Gemma, Tom and all the staff at Kings have been a pillar of support and reassurance. They have constantly kept in contact, and updated me on progress. I would unhesitatingly recommend this committed family firm to anyone wishing to deal with a property sale

On 28th March 2023 I had a viewing booked for the property in Southampton, through Kings Estate Agency.

On 27th March an agent from Kings Estates Agency, Southampton called me, I answered the lettings enquiry questions and I've got an appointment on 28th March at 12:45 pm. Right after this call, I booked bus tickets from London to Southampton. One hour later or so the agent who appoint the date and time earlier called me again and asked me if we could rearrange the viewing for a later time. My answer was NO, as I already booked the bus tickets and I was going to do a long trip the next day, so I had no wish to come back home late. That agent said it's fine, no problem, just checking.
On the next day I was within walking distance from the property (on 8 Belmont Road, Southampton) when I got a call from Kings (probably same agent who booked the viewing). The agent was checking if I am coming and if there are no delays and so. I confirmed I was on my way. This call was at 12:24 pm, so 20 min before viewing. And 4 minutes later I got another call from the same number, another agent is telling me they just got a call from the landlord and the landlord will allow just a single occupier on his property, while I was intending to move in with my wife. Very interesting! But quite unbelievable, As the listening of this property was added on market on 09/03/2023. The information as how many tenants the landlord will allow in this property should be provided from beginning.

I've lost an entire day on this journey, I lost money for this trip, and the only thing I got was disappointment. However, all this happen because of the unprofessional attitude of the Kings Estate agents.

Be aware!

Great agency - I would highly recommend to anyone looking to rent in the Southsea area.

I have had excellent service from this company, they are efficient and professional and nothing is too much trouble. I recommend that you make them your first choice of agent, as I rate them the best I have found.