Barbara Ellis Leasing

I wish I had taken more time to read the negative reviews as it seems not much has changed in 8 years, hopefully my experience will serve as a cautionary tale anyone doing business with Barbara Ellis Leasing. I rented a property on Holburn Street from May 2024 to October 2025 and my experience with Barbara Ellis Leasing has been nothing short of a nightmare. It was my first time renting privately after leaving student accommodation and, in hindsight, my patience was completely taken advantage of. Before I even moved in, I was given printed payment instructions with the incorrect bank details, the agreed key handover date and time was forgotten about due to an email getting "lost", and my deposit was lodged with a typo'd version of my email which meant I never received the required confirmation from the deposit scheme until rectifying this myself recently. On 28 August, a significant leak from the upstairs flat soaked and warped the entire living room wall. Even after photos and visiting in person, Barbara Ellis Leasing dismissed it as “water being spilled on the floor” and told me to investigate it myself by speaking to the neighbours and tracking down their landlord. No repairs were arranged. On 6 October, another major leak from upstairs flooded my bathroom and destroyed the flooring and cupboard. The agent showed no urgency and, to be honest, I do not believe anything would have happened without me making it clear I would be moving out otherwise. Thankfully the landlord stepped in, arranged all the repairs both rooms and even offered half a month of rent the inconvenience. Despite that, I was still left living in what was essentially a construction site over a month, with multiple industrial dehumidifiers running constantly, no flooring and barely any access to my bathroom until the cupboard was finally rebuilt on 12 November and everything was painted over the following week. There were other issues as well. I reported mould during an inspection which was completely ignored and even suggested to be my fault. And when I invertedly locked myself out after taking the rubbish out, I discovered the agent had no spare keys and could not account where they were, only suggesting a contractor “might” have them. They had to contact the landlord, who yet again resolved the situation quickly. After moving out on 17 October, I received no final inventory or even an acknowledgement until I chased halfway into the following week. I then had to send no less than EIGHT emails chasing my deposit going round in circles with Barbara. Even after the landlord confirmed on 24 October that the flat was left in good condition, none of my deposit was released until today; 15 November. I observed that tenants had already moved in by the time my deposit was returned, and there was no apology or explanation from the agent, only an automated message from the scheme. I now eagerly await the scheme to deposit it into my bank account. It genuinely felt like they assumed a student would not question any of this. The sad thing is that Barbara herself is lovely in person, but the organisation, communication and basic professionalism are simply not there. The only positive throughout was the landlord, who was consistently helpful and proactive. I wish the tenants luck, because they will need it. If you're a prospecting tenant or decent landlord I highly suggest looking elsewhere.