Every review we hold for the Belfast office, from every platform, shown as written. First names only.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThe grown adults that work at this agency behave like children. There is no respect for paying customers or prospective tenants. If you want to avoid a headache, I’d recommend renting from somewhere else.
Edit: To address their response, I haven’t attached my name or identifying information to this account because I don’t need people in your office ringing me up on the phone like you’ve allegedly done to other tenants (see previous reviewers). The deflection of blame and lack of accountability says it all really, you don’t even have to take my word for it when they exhibit the same behaviour in their own responses - grow up.
Ben · 26 March 2026
Agent replied · 16 April 2026
Mr Dover, having checked our records, you are not currently, and do not ever appear to have been a tenant of a property leased through this agency. This is very obviously a false account and therfore malicious.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThese people are some of the most unprofessional, and rudest people I have ever had the displeasure of interacting with.
First of all, half of them struggle to even do their job. We were explained that our first payment was a deposit to be able to rent a place, but it turns out it was the first months rent and then were blamed because it was allegedly “all explained to us” when it wasn’t. As first time renters, when we would question the agency about the deposit, the old man or the woman would talk down on us. Not to mention, the younger men working there literally act as if it’s their first shift.
Second of all, my sister dropped out of the tenancy 6 months before the tenancy period starts, and they gave us 4 business days to find a replacement tenant which was impossible as most people don’t wanna rent out a room in a house which they don’t have photos of. We weren’t allowed to take photos of the property during the viewing and the photos online weren’t accurate to what it actually looked like. Then we were told the landlord was being generous for even giving us “weeks to find someone” even though it was only 4 days.
Speaking of this lady, she is so rude and patronising. She said that most agencies in Belfast would’ve taken our money and the house, so we should be thankful that they’re being so “generous.” Yeah, so I don’t think that taking £600 off STUDENTS is very generous, seeing as you will be able to re let the property in maximum 2 weeks... My sister told her that she was dropping out and that we had another applicant and she said that it was fine, then when me and my friend went to them the next day she backtracked. This agency never told us any of the requirements for the application, and then this woman acted as if we were stupid for even suggesting to rent the place out to the applicant we provided. She also claimed that my sister didn’t sign the lease and that was the reason as to why the situation was complicated, then when my sister asked her to confirm that she had signed it she said “well you’re the one who signed it so you should know.” She told us multiple times that we had caused such a hassle, when we gave them 6 months of an advance that one of us was dropping out, so I don’t really see where she is coming from. We had only been seeing them for 3 weeks at this point, and they are the ones who prolonged this whole thing by rejecting 2 applicants.
Another honourable mention is the old man. He was patronising and if you ask him a question he will act as if you’re stupid for even asking it or taking time out of his day. He described my relationship with my sister as “weird” and he said that they were suspicious of us from the start. He said this because we were never in the agency at the same time. It’s almost like people have different schedules 🤯 Crazy concept, I know. He was also disrespectful towards the tenant who we were suggesting, just because he is a boy. He said that he doesn’t know what kind of “craic” he would be looking to get up to by living in a house with 2 girls. He said the same thing about our second applicant who was a girl. He said the reason she would get rejected is because she isn’t a student. Then I called out his contradictions for accepting my sister even though she wasn’t gonna be a student by the time the tenancy period started and he responded with “siblings are always welcome.” Not to mention, he was prying as to why my sister dropped out of the tenancy, and when I told him the reasonings, he said that I was “obvs lying” and that we “obvs had a fight and that’s the reason she’s dropping out.”
In summary, they must just sit in their office all day talking shit about the people, because that’s the vibes we’ve gotten. I’m glad that we got out of the situation way before the tenancy period started. You could find more professional people at a funeral.
Edit: Release the files if you’re so adamant that you didn’t reject due to gender. No outright denial to the fact that you described my relationship with my sister as ‘weird’ as you know it’s true.
Leanne · 9 April 2026
Agent replied · 16 April 2026
Ms Catherwood,
We are disappointed to read a number of inaccuracies in your review and would like to clarify the situation.
At no point was the payment you made described as a deposit. You were clearly advised both over the phone and again in our office that this payment represented the first month’s rent to secure the property. It was also explained that the deposit would be payable at the point of key collection. This information was outlined verbally, documented in your tenancy agreement, and included on the paperwork provided to all tenants at the time of signing.
The tenancy agreement was signed by all parties on 24/02/26. You were given seven days to return all required documentation, as clearly stated in your agreement. Failure to do so meant you were at risk of losing both the property and the first month’s rent.
We were first informed on 09/03/26 that circumstances had changed. At that point, guidance was provided on sourcing a suitable replacement tenant, which would be subject to landlord approval. You were given until 16/03/26 to provide an acceptable replacement. During this time, two applications were submitted but unfortunately neither met the landlord’s criteria.
It is important to note that this deadline was not four days, as stated in your review, but part of an extended timeline, over two weeks from signing and beyond the original seven-day requirement.
On 16/03/26, when you attended the office, you were advised that under the tenancy agreement the landlord was entitled to retain the full first month’s rent. However, as a gesture of goodwill, the landlord had agreed in advance to refund 50% if a replacement was not found by that date.
Following your request for further consideration, the landlord reviewed the matter again and reduced the retained amount to 40%. This was communicated to you, and the revised offer was accepted. Refunds were subsequently issued and collected on 19/03/26, with written confirmation that this represented full and final settlement.
We would also like to address a number of other claims made. At no stage were you limited to four days to find a replacement, and we did not receive any requests for additional marketing materials during this period. Additionally, we strongly refute any suggestion of unprofessional conduct by our staff. All interactions were handled appropriately, and we maintain records, including CCTV with audio, should clarification ever be required.
Finally, any suggestion that a prospective tenant was rejected on the basis of gender is entirely incorrect and taken very seriously. All applicants are assessed fairly based on suitability and criteria.
The key issue remains that a legally binding tenancy agreement was signed, and the decision to withdraw was made afterwards. As outlined in the agreement, this carries financial implications.
We wish you all the best moving forward.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleATTENTION ALL POTENTIAL RENTERS. Do not rent from this agency. House was missold, any emails sent to try and fix our house were met with insults. Grown working estate agents calling us stupid for picking this house when we turned up in September and found the house to be not secure. Were then further insulted and guilt tripped in further emails throughout the year like we were in a cult. If you really hate dealing with people so much, don’t do it for a job
Lucas · 10 July 2025
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleI rented a property through Laird during uni, and they were by far the best letting agent I’ve dealt with. They are very professional, and any issue I had was dealt with immediately. You can really tell they’re a family business, and they treat all customers with respect. Would highly recommend to anyone!
Ellen · 16 March 2026
Agent replied · 16 April 2026
Ellen, Thank you for your review.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAbsolute worst letting agency I have ever experienced. I would recommend any letting agency in Belfast over Lairds. Expect crappy accommodations, mold, and to be talked down to by the agency as soon as you sign a lease (See their replies to other reviews).
Using a throw away email so that's why you won't find a Michael Smith in your system.
Also it appears they are buying five star reviews. There are a lot of people with the same last name giving five star reviews and some left multiple.
Michael · 26 March 2026
★★★★★ 4/5
GoogleWas rented a good property for a reasonable price. Any time I reported a maintenance issue it was acknowledged quickly, however I feel like actual response times could be faster. Communications from this letting agency are always informative, however, they can sometimes come across as unnecessarily snappy.
Phoebe · 19 July 2025
Agent replied · 16 April 2026
Phoebe, Thank you for your review. We do always ask Landlords to try and have their contractors attend as quickly as possible, and in the majority of repairs reported, a contractor will attend within 1-2 working days. We are always trying to improve, and thank you for your comments.
★★★★★ 1/5
Googleworst agency in belfast ngl
Harry · 26 March 2026
Agent replied · 16 April 2026
Mr Styles, having checked our records, you are not currently, and do not ever appear to have been a tenant of a property leased through this agency. This is very obviously a false account and therfore malicious.
★★★★★ 2/5
GoogleMy tenancy was problem free, despite not having a dryer, not sure if this is the same at other properties but it was for mine. I would give a 4 star review for the accommodations provided. The landlord and his sons are lovely people. The agency for the most part is accommodating and responsive.
A cautionary tale however:
The deposit return procedure is not entirely clear. I was told to wait for the lead tenant to receive an email of the deposit proposal, but everything was liaised through me. This is not a problem however it did cause delay on the part of Lairds. I phoned them, and was told to once again to just wait for the lead tenant to receive the email, but upon explaining to them that the email was sent to me, and I had done my part updating my details, that it was left to them to respond, i was assured on the phone that they did so. However, nothing changed and the return of the deposit was delayed, for about another 10 days. This put me in a stressful situation as I was out of pocket £300. Hence, be wary of getting your deposit back on time during the peak periods of tenants moving in and out, getting in touch via phone as well would take a few tries. Hopefully this incident will help to ellucidate the deposit procedures.
1 star review, for the agency itself because of taking such an offense at being rated as such initially, and going so far as to call me up what felt like a 'berating' for doing so. From the callers point of view it probably wasn't a berating, but it certainly wasn't calm and it was very defensive. Had I been called and talked to in a more conversational manner rather than making me feel like being scolded by a school principal, i would be more willing to retract my rating and give them a higher one. He was more ready to go on the offense, than first and foremost apologizing for the delay and respectfully asking why i gave the review, and whether I could change my mind. For that customer relations is severely lacking.
I have changed my rating from 1 to a 2, because I am not afraid to admit that my initial rating was impulsive and my overall experience with Lairds was good, up till this point. The customers are entitled to their opinion, and if you do not agree with it, there are better ways to go about it.
Meredith · 17 June 2019
★★★★★ 1/5
Googleawful money grabbing agents. students beware don't rent from these people.
unlikely you will be returned your deposit in full, they will manufacture a reason not to pay it back.
Lorraine · 29 April 2025
Agent replied · 24 May 2025
Lorraine - we have checked our database for the last 6 years and can confirm that we have not let any property to any person named Lorraine Foley so we have no idea who you are or what property you might be referring to For information purposes however we would confirm that ALL of our Tenants Deposits have since the introduction of the Tenancy Depost Scheme in NI in 2014 been forwarded upon receipt within the statutory 28 days permitted to TDS(NI) who hold all Deposits for the duration of the tenancy. TDS(NI) will only forward deductions from the Deposit at the end of the tenancy on to the Landlord or their Agent UPON EMAIL CONFIRMATION FROM THE LEAD TENANT. If you are a friend of one of our former tenant's and have not perhaps got the full story from them, then please arrrange for them to contact us and we will be able to confirm to them which of their former co-tenants agreed to the deductions and indeed also forward out photographs taken during the final check out inspection.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleWorst rental agents I’ve ever had the displeasure of dealing with. Required a solicitor to sign-off on guarantor (both of which were ridiculous requirements given my employer/salary), tried to pressure me into a contract renewal 5 months into a year-long tenancy (with threat of viewings if I delayed), required me to update them on my location over Christmas period (with threat of entering the property and charging me for the privilege) as if it was any of their business, and were generally rude and patronising. They also managed to breach data protection rules by emailing their entire tenant database with email addresses in cc rather than blind copy. Clearly set up to deal with students rather than professionals. I left the flat because of them - I would have been happy to renew tenancy otherwise.
Keith · 17 June 2019
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Mr Ruffles, Many thanks for you review. We are dissapointed that you felt that the service you received at the time fell short of what you expected. As you tenancy however ended 5 years ago and you waited until now to leave a review, please be assured that we have improved in many areas and we continue to do so today, Im sure you would be very please with improvements made. Kind Regards, Lairds
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleUnless there is absolutely no other option, please avoid using RS Laird as your letting agents. One of their staff members is professional, but the bald guy and the woman have really poor attitudes. Once they have you signed up they simply don't care anymore. They tried to charge us £240 for cleaning a house, claiming that things were dirty when they weren't. It may have been the landlord's fault, but any problems we had took forever to get fixed, such as a shower that was broken for almost a month and an extractor fan that wasn't fixed until 2 weeks before we left the property. It didn't help that they never responded to emails either. They also charged one of the tenants who moved out of the property early £50 to repaint the walls in their room and then never did the job.
If you find yourself desperate and have no other option i recommend the following:
Take photographs of all rooms and appliances (extractor fan, washing machine, oven etc.) as soon as you move in. Also, take photographs of the property after you move out because they will try to charge you for things that you have cleaned, such as lampshades.
Remove all possessions from the property when you leave. They tried to charge us for leaving behind things that were useful to the next tenants (a mop and bucket, cleaning products, plates, glasses etc.)
Finally, do not be afraid to dispute their charges through TDS NI in order to get as much of your deposit back as you can. Lairds rely on people either being too scared or too desperate to get their deposits back so they don't challenge their fees. By using TDS you have a better chance of getting your money back, even if the process is drawn out by Lairds waiting til the day before the deadline is due to respond.
Tom · 17 June 2018
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Mr Gibson
Having received your disappointing and somewhat surprising review of just 1 star, we would respond to the various points you have raised
1. Your advice to others that our company should be avoided at all costs has left us a little confused. Given that you have been a tenant with ourselves in the same property for the last 3 years, choosing to renew your tenancy not once but twice is somewhat of a contradiction on your claims that ”once you’ve signed up, they simply don’t care” and that you should only rent from our company “if you find yourself desperate and with no other option”. After being invited to renew you tenancy for a 2nd term after your first 12 months in the property, we would suggest that this was clearly the time for you to make your escape from this terrible choice you obviously made when there was “no other option open to you”.
You however made the decision to re-sign for another year in the same property under our management, at which time you signed the new agreement, presumably signed up by our 2 members of staff with the bad attitude. Having spent a further 12 months in the property you were again invited to renew your tenancy at which time you once again ignored your own advice and you decided to remain in the property under our management for the 3rd year in a row.
2. In regards to repairs taking “forever”, we hold our hands up and accept your criticism. Whilst every effort is made to attend to repairs as promptly as possible, there are instances where landlords and/or their own contractors attend to items themselves and some repairs can take longer than we would like. This is of course unfortunate and we continue to work closely with our clients/landlords to ensure that all repairs are completed as soon as possible to cause as little inconvenience to tenants as possible.
3. The charge deducted for the repainting of the room was agreed with the tenant who vacated that the room at the time. As advised in your review, the room was not painted at the time, you have however neglected to mention that the painter did in fact call to the property to repaint the room and was actually refused access to the room as the occupant was on that day conducting a series of conference call interviews in the room.
4. Your last paragraph outlining advise to prospective tenants is all correct and quite sound helpful advice. We assume you got all this helpful information from the email that we actually sent to you in the weeks leading up to your tenancy ending. You will of course be aware that we emailed all tenants with our detailed guide and instructions on what is expected of them when they are vacating, to ensure that they know exactly what they need to do to ensure that they get their deposit back.
5. The delay in this instance in dealing with your deposit was also due to the fact that you proposed to receive the full refund of the deposit despite being aware that rent was in fact still outstanding by 2 of the tenants including yourself. You will of course already be aware of this as you have just completed the process.
6. It is also worth noting that the only deduction that was made from you deposit was in respect of the outstanding rent and a contribution towards the cleaning costs which were agreed without any intervention or adjudication required by TDS(NI).
7. Finally we would ask that you pass on our thanks to your co-tenants, as one of them contacted us recently to advise that they did not share the opinions expressed by you in the email that you forwarded to our office in connection with the landlords return deposit proposal.
Whilst we have identified the woman and bald guy mentioned in your review, the remaining staff continue to argue as to who can best lay claim to being the “professional one”.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleFollowing a dispute with tenants, they sent a letter to both Queen's and Jordanstown University in a petty attempt at intimidation
**EDIT**
After posting the above review, a reply was posted stating that I had never been a tenant of theirs. This is false as I was indeed a tenant last year at one of their residences, and, for over a month, we had no hot water or a working cooker. Despite contacting Laird about this multiple times, these issues were only resolved after we threatened to withhold that month's rent. I wasn't going to mention this but since the reply felt the need to mention that I had never been a tenant multiple times it be only fair I correct them.
James · 17 June 2017
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Mr Granleese, you are not a tenant of ours, and have never been a tenant of ours. It is indeed unfortunate that QUB made a mistake and contacted you, instead of contacting our tenant, who has a similar surname to yourself, however in this particular instance the tenants were given several opportunities to clean and tidy their property, and failed to do so. The landlord subsequently instructed us to appraise the Universities of the condition of the property requesting them not to take any action in the matter until we would contact them again further. As the tenants then did at the 4th time of asking clean and tidy the property we then emailed QUB to confirm to them that no action was required on their behalf and therefore the matter was at a close. This was clearly explained to you during our telephone conversation when it was also confirmed that no tenants names had been mentioned in our email to the University, however you had already decided prior to telephoning us that you were not prepared to raise the error directly with QUB, opting to post a vague, incorrect and negative review on the internet instead , when as we have already stated , you are not and have never been a tenant of ours
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleHorrible to deal with. They enter your rental property without your knowledge and take pictures whilst you aren’t there. Basically they break in and enter your home. Would give a lower rating if I could.
Missy · 27 June 2024
Agent replied · 24 October 2024
Dear Sir/Madam, If you could confirm your name or which property you reside in or previous resided in, we will happily check our reccords to see when correspondance was sent to you and your co tenants, as anytime an inspection is due to take place, all tenants are emailed the day prior and advised if any issues are present photographs would be taken. Thank you.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAvoid at all costs. Worst agency ever. Looking at past reviews, you can see the defensiveness instead of actually finding the problem. Look in the mirror and do something.
Joanne · 10 July 2025
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleRented with RS Laird in the Botanic area of Belfast for two years with my partner, and everyone at the office was patient, friendly and professional throughout the experience. Great communication, and they were quick to sort out any problems. Would definitely recommend them to renters, students or otherwise.
Alexander · 16 April 2022
Agent replied · 24 October 2024
Thank you for your review.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAwful service, treat people like dirt if they bother to answer the phone and the majority of the student rental properties aren't fit for dogs let alone students. Poor service, poorer attitude and bad people skills all round.
Daddo127 · 25 March 2023
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Mr Cunningham, We have thousands of enquiries coming through at this time of the year, both by telephone and email. We endeavour to answer all of our calls, however it is not always possible when there is queue of people waiting outside the office to sign tenancy agreements. Whilst we are disappointed with your review, please contact us and confirm which property it was you have an issue with. Please be advsied over the last 3 weeks, we have let over 300 properties to over 1300 students, who very obviously would not have leased the properties or dealt with our agency, if they were in agreement with your comments.
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleRented student housing with Lairds for 4 years and couldn't recommend them more. Always very professional to deal with and any problem we had with the house was always sorted quickly. They are very fair and after keeping the house in good …
Daniel · 16 April 2021
Agent replied · 15 June 2024
Many Thanks for the review Daniel, glad you enjoyed your time with our company in the property. Best of Luck for the Future.
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleAvoid at all costs. Honestly. I have been with many letting agencies and these are the worst of the bunch by a country mile. They will try and take every penny of your deposit for the most ridiculous and unexplained reasons. Please challenge everything through TDS because nine times out of ten you will get your deposit back as I have a feeling TDS themselves have began to recognize Laird as crooks. Thanks for the tenancy guys.
Conor · 16 June 2020
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleI rented a property just off Malone Road from this agency for 2 years and it was a great experience - repairs sorted the same week, and any questions or problems answered in a friendly and professional manner. Re-letting the property was also pain-free with a small charge, and deposit etc handled fairly. After hearing horror stories from friends renting in Belfast (particularly concerning a Certain Particular Service provider) I thought many times how my dealings with Laird's seemed a lot more simple and straightforward.
This was of course helped by a great landlord who responded to repair requests quickly, and periodically repainted and maintained the building free of charge. The service on the landlord's end might vary from landlord to landlord, but Lairds always made sure to follow up with any requests or let me know when redecorating was going on, when inspections were happening etc.
Kate · 17 June 2018
★★★★★ 4/5
GoogleRented from Lairds for 3 years in a row, 2 years in same property and in the final year we moved to a different property they looked after also. I was one of 5 students in the property and I have to say that we always found them to be very helpful and accommodating when we ever had any problems or repairs in the house. After 2 years in our first property we got our deposit back less a small charge for cleaning which was probably fair enough and at the end of our final year in the other property got our full deposit back. I find some of the comments on here a bit surprising and we'd be more than happy to deal with Lairds again.
Joe · 17 June 2017
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleSeriously do not understand how they manage to keep going. I have only ever heard and read bad things about them, and I can tell you from my own experiences of letting a property from them that ALL of the warnings are true. Me and my flatmate only ever had horrible, stressful, pain-staking experiences with them and I would advise anyone to find a different letting agent. They need to be investigated. If you don't believe me, read the other reviews!
I cant write down all the problems we had, as there are far too many! But here are a few:
Do not give you the notice that they are supposed to when coming to view the property (people just turn up)
Took longer than they said it would to get our deposit back to us (and only after numerous phone calls)
Staff are rude, not helpful, do not understand your predicaments
Took months to repair a huge gaping hole in the floor of our bathroom despite consistent complaints
Amy · 18 June 2015
★★★★★ 2/5
GoogleOur boiler broke down in november and continued to do so throughout the winter months and landlord refusing to replace it. When it finally was replaced the good weather started to turn. Realized throughout the year that the house wasn't up to scratch as serious damp started to appear. Worst of all they took a sizable amount off our deposit despite us cleaning it days before and for items effected by the damp. Even after leaving sizable sum off gas money they charged us for electricity. Very disappointed and would recommend you stay away.
EditDelete
NI · 18 June 2014
★★★★★ 5/5
GoogleBeen with Lairds for the last two years in university and they've been much better than property people! We didn't have any problems with the house, even got a new fridge freezer fitted when we moved in. We received our full deposit back after we left the first house which was brilliant and unheard-of with other student property owners. Would recommend them to any student looking to rent in the queens area.
Órfhlaith · 17 June 2017
★★★★★ 1/5
GoogleThe most exploitative, untrustworthy, money hungry estate agents in Belfast., with a speciality in exploiting the fact that new students at queens tend to be unaware of their rights as tenants.
They will impose arbitrary fines for non existent issues, organise viewings without consultation, and strongarm you into renewing leases well before any reasonable human being would expect to.
Unless the other choice is homelessness, do not rent a house with these people.
Michael · 18 June 2015
Where the same review appears twice we show it once. We leave out reviews that name another agent or another of the brand's offices.
