Brand Vaughan Brighton reviews

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Very helpful and polite team

Very helpful and polite team. Always responded to any queries quickly. Thanks Declan and Lucy in particular

Charlie · 22 November 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Awful

Honestly, my experience with Brand Vaughan was terrible. The responsibility for this falls on them as the house I rented in my third year as a student was through their agency. The property on their website looked significantly better than it did in person; the pictures were misleading. Despite viewing the property in a terrible state, we were assured multiple times that the landlord and agency would clean it thoroughly for new tenants in September. We were encouraged to secure the property as “it would be gone by the end of the day” Feeling pressured, we signed contracts and paid deposits. The first day, However, upon moving in, the house was in an even worse state, filthy, with muck torn carpets, evidence of electrical fires, a flooded kitchen floor, and a toilet in a disgusting condition, most rooms thick with black mould. Every room had an unpleasant odor and the house was infested with mice, we would see multiple mice during the day and even more at night, on the second night we found dead mice under the countertops in the bedrooms and next to the fridges. During the contract we experienced countless issues. Despite numerous complaints, the agency refused responsibilities over maintenance, leaving us with major unresolved issues for 11 months. The house was pretty much uninhabitable and insecure, with doors and windows not locking or closing properly. The maintenance fell on the landlord, but the agency's failure to check the building after our complaints and their reluctance to help us contact the landlord exacerbated the situation. They could not get the landlord to carry out his responsibilities but if by mistake the rent was underpaid £0.32p then you would be harassed via phone and emails for days. Trying to move out, we discovered we couldn't terminate the contract without a fee or finding a replacement. Which proved difficult given the state of the house. Most of us had no choice but to endure this experience for 11 months. The rent was also ridiculous and for the amount of money they wanted the least they could have done was ensured the house was safe, and clean. Our landlord was useless sure, but the agency could have got onto him more to make these necessary changes. This agency should not advertise student lets in such a state, as it reflects poorly on their reputation. I strongly advise against renting any student houses not maintained by the agency themselves.

Marley · 4 March 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Georgia D has been a great help

Georgia from the Worthing branch has been a great help in the first week of my tenants moving in. Prompt and thoughtful responses leading to reassurance for both me and the tenants. Looking forward to a good working relationship from here on!

Billy · 1 June 2026

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Miss Kamila Malina

Miss Kamila Malina, was a delight to talk to. Very warm, excellent communication skills. Super efficient. Kamila was faultless. Really. Very happy with the service I received from Miss Kamila Malina today. Thank you very much. God bless. Best Wishes, Richard Greenfield.

Richard · 29 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

We bought our house through the…

We bought our house through the Portslade office.Damien and Holly were just brilliant.They always answered my calls and if not available would call me straight back which is so important when the stress of moving sets in.They were quick to sort out any problems and kept us updated at all times.Definitely the best Estate agent I have ever dealt with.

Chris · 2 April 2021

★★★★★ 2/5

Trustpilot

Leak in Bathroom that left us 2 nights…

Leak in Bathroom that left us 2 nights sharing a bathroom, not great. No options given by staff. However Suzanne was on her day off and I know this would have been dealt with differently had she been on duty.

Martin · 15 August 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

The agents are super Lovley, particularly Ruby who has been on multiple calls with me and booking my house viewings☺️Ollie wanted a cheeky mention sooo here it is 😂also super helpful and secured our future house that RUBY found for us!! …

Ola · 17 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Lucy was brilliant!

Lucy was brilliant. She showed excellent levels of professionalism and was also very personable. She is a massive asset to the company. I truly appreciate the level of service and support she provided.

James · 24 January 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Landlord focused at tenants' expense

I would echo all the comments made about BrandVaughn student letting service being totally landlord oriented at the expense of the tenants. My granddaughter (who was an international student very far from home) rented a room in one of the student properties that BV manage. From the start there were problems with the showers in the upper floors not working, and often there was no hot water throughout the building either. She was forced to used a shower on a different floor than that one on her own floor. She came to learn that there was a long history in this including leaks from bathrooms causing problems in both common areas and individual rooms. We were then shocked when the landlord tried to retain over 2/3rds of my granddaughter's deposit to cover repairs for damage he claimed she had caused from an overflow in a shower room (in a shower that was frequently blocked but never properly repaired), which was a minor leak, but he was claiming for major damage repairs. We took this into the formal deposit dispute process and the deposit was returned in full, on the basis the landlord had no evidence that the damage had been caused by anything my granddaughter had done. Throughout this difficult process BV gave my granddaughter no support or helpful advice whatsoever, their attitude at best was simply disinterest. We came to learn that previous tenants in the building have had similar experiences about their deposits and one has had to go months this winter with no heating in her room. Another sign that BV are not paying proper attention to legal commitments to maintain the building in ways that ensure all utilities are functioning as per the legal agreement in the lease. Students beware!UpdateI have recently been contacted by the new manager now responsible for this and other student properties. I was very encouraged by his response and attitude and on the basis of our conversation I am hopeful that the in future tenants will have a much better experience of dealing with this agency.

Jenny · 13 February 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Thank for the professional and quick…

Thank for the professional and quick response to my inquiries about your letting services. Thumb up and big thanks to Connor for his helpful assistance.

Anew · 25 June 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Most helpful estate agent in Brighton!

Most helpful estate agent in Brighton! Everywhere else extremely difficult to get a response from. Plenty of property suggestions, great communication and kind staff. Special big thank you to Kamila Malina who managed to find us the perfect flat after nearly losing hope of finding anywhere at all in Brighton.

Annie · 23 August 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I’ve had an amazing service with Brand…

I’ve had an amazing service with Brand Vaughan from the brilliant letting agent, to helpful and frequent phone calls and speedy email replies. Also, a beautiful property! Thanks :)

Ella · 17 December 2025

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Read through these 5* reviews…

Read through these 5* reviews carefully.For landlords: you'll probably be well looked after, issues held at arm's length and charges all pushed towards tenants.For tenants: see above.The Brand Vaughan lettings team seem to be pretty slick. But that changes when you get passed to the maintenance side for the period of the tenancy. We had really shoddy service - treated like they were doing us a favour each time - from various team members until the manager took control after we complained. I think the fact we were in direct communication with the landlord (and she was a neighbour) helped with that.Main reason for 1* was the check out situation. 2 x bogus charges to try to keep part of deposit. It was a small enough amount of total that I suspect they expect tenants to just dismiss it. Went to tribunal and got our money back. Don't let them do it to you.I've seen a lot of similar situations on their reviews here. If enough people make use of the ombudsman, maybe they'll change their business practices.If you're a landlord who cares about their tenants, don't use Brand Vaughan.

LA · 15 January 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Horrible letting agency

I never write reviews, but renting with Brand Vaughan has been a terrible experience since we started our tenancy in October. Before we moved in, we were told that the bathroom had a leak, and that the move in date might be pushed so that it could be fixed - we were fine with that. Then we were told that the leak was fixed and the original move in date of Oct. 31 was kept as they wanted that month's rent. The day we moved in, we found a hole in the bathroom ceiling, with a bucket full of water under it and a wet sheet on the floor - the leak clearly was not fixed. We immediately reported the issue, and it STILL has not been fixed. We have also since discovered a leak in one of the bedrooms. Every time it rains, a significant amount of water leaks in both rooms - onto the bathroom floor, onto a bed. At some point they sent a man to come look at the issue, but all he did was come and look at the hole in the bathroom ceiling, and left. He said it was probably an issue with the roof and said he'd come back to look at the roof, but he never did. We have waited two and a half months and no action has been taken, even though we have called many times and sent reports on their online maintenance site. We have also experienced seriously bad customer service when we've had other smaller issues (doorknob fell off, etc.). They've previously told us that they're understaffed, which I understand, but this is ridiculous. They're managing people's homes, and the issue with the roof has massively inconvenienced us and will eventually lead to property damage. I am also extremely angry and disappointed that they knew the issue had not been fixed but let us move in anyways so they could take our money sooner.We also met a man in the pub the other day that started renting with them around the same time as us, and he has had a similarly terrible experience. Basically, if you're considering renting from this agency, look at other options. The agents that helped us view and secure the property were great, but everything since then has been awful.

Customer · 15 January 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Have been using BV for a number of…

Have been using BV for a number of years and have no complaints. The lettings team are all very competent. Have mainly dealt with Ollie and Lizzy and have enjoyed a good working relationship. Would recommend them for no hassle management of properties.

Rob · 30 March 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Trustpilot

Poor student letting experience.

With regret, I am leaving Brand Vaughan a 1-star review to reflect my experience with them.This is not a reflection of all staff at the company, as I did indeed have some positive, professional experiences during my tenancy.It appears to me that from reviews online, Brand Vaughan seem to earn a good amount of praise from those wishing to buy & sell property. However, like many other fellow student tenants, I have had a poor experience renting with this agent.I rented a one-bedroom student flat with BV last year with my then-partner. The property was in a good location, was modern, and of just the right size for us.Regretfully, we noticed a few issues after moving-in.The ceiling was leaking and a large part of the ceiling therefore had to be removed. The downstairs smoke alarm was damaged by said leak and never replaced. We had to evacuate one night due to the remaining smoke alarms sounding, with the lights indicating a 'gas leak'. On arrival of the emergency gas engineer, they found no fault, but informed us that they were surprised that the property didn't have a carbon monoxide alarm and that we didn't have the correct number of smoke detectors in the flat. Due to the leak, the hallway walls became covered in mould, damp and condensation, which looked bad and smelled worse. This affected my partner's asthma. Despite regular cleaning, use of dehumidifiers and a re-paint, the issue persisted. The bathroom drain was poorly-fitted and leaked. The bedroom curtains came down a week after move-in. One of the windows in the bedroom didn't open. An upstairs window didn't open. Most of the wall edges suffered from paint-cracking. The bed frame was weak. The inventory on check-in missed several issues which I then added. Ironically, on check-out the inventory was very detailed and didn't take into consideration the issues we had logged during the tenancy, which suggests a failure of communication. The check-out inventory also suggested a need for professional cleaning... I had cleaned and redecorated the entire flat and then paid for a professional cleaner to service the flat before moving out... so this seemed unfair. We only had one set of keys throughout the tenancy as this was all we were given. On check-out it took several emails to clarify that we were only given one set and should not be liable to pay for a replacement.The above issues could have been rectified more quickly, in part, if there was a clearer process for reporting and resolving maintenance issues. Although FixFlo appears to be a very handy online system, ultimately all of my maintenance requests were then sent back to the landlord to deal with. So, in the end, I had to log via FixFlo and email the landlord directly, in the hope of passing the information to them before what would have been 5 working days if left solely with the agent.These issues aside, the most significant problem we encountered was after our tenancy ended. We paid rent inclusive of the electric bill. Afterward, due to what was framed to be our 'high usage' (more likely caused by the recent increase in energy costs and the need for heating due to poor window insulation) we were made to pay the difference between what the agent calculated to be total usage minus rent contribution. We were therefore left with almost £1.3k to pay. Despite challenging this, we paid the charge after the threat of legal action. The way this charge was raised to us by Tony Sparrowhawk and the subsequent communications showed minimal understanding, simply demanding the payment in full asap. The agent evidently needs to decide if they wish to offer a property fully inclusive of bills, or offer a property where the tenants are liable for the full bill. Instead, they appear to sell the dream and hide behind a 'fair usage' clause. This appears to lie with the agent, not the landlord, as ultimately it is the agent who 'sells' the property and deals with the tenants.If you are a local student, I would recommend using an alternative letting agent or renting from a university directly.

Jack · 7 January 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Sale of property

During the final weeks of the sale of my property Jamie was so helpful,proactive & supportive what was a difficult journey.The first offer fell through but Kieran & George were worked hard to get a 2nd offer with excellent communication.Excellent service from the sales team at Brand Vaughan.Thank you

Carolyn · 10 August 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Highly recommend using Brand Vaughan when looking for a new place to Rent!

The team at Brand Vaughan were friendly, helpful with enquiries, as flexible as they could be with viewings and above all else extremely helpful and efficient in their responses, especially Kamila. Big thank you to the whole team for helping me find a new rental property!

Michael · 5 December 2022

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Review

Lucy was really nice during the viewings, keep up the good work. I like the fact that I get email of new apartment; so I can get info about new apartment for rent; great work.

Abdul-Hakeem · 16 October 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

I had a fantastic experience with Brand…

I had a fantastic experience with Brand Vaughan. Their service was exemplary from start to finish. The staff were extremely professional, attentive, and responsive to all my needs. They made the entire process seamless and stress-free. The communication was clear and timely, and they went above and beyond to ensure that I was well-informed and comfortable at every step. I highly recommend Brand Vaughan for their exceptional service and dedication to customer satisfaction

Samane · 16 May 2024

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Avoid if possible, there is a clear lack of care for tenants welfare from the highest level of this company.

Ryan · 17 February 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Moved into our student house in September, the amount of issues we’ve already had are astonishing, Mould in bathroom and all bedrooms, MICE which was clearly a past problem which we was not informed of, the shower leaking through the ceiling into the front bedroom which still had no fire alarm or light due to this issue. The biggest problem of all is the estate agents themselves. I’m not sure what our property manager Matt does all day but i can tell you what he doesn't do which is answer the phone or respond to emails.

Georgia · 19 December 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Trustpilot

Brilliant service

Alexandra and the team at the Kemp Town office were fantastic during my house sale. Very professional, good at keeping me informed, and even came up with a way to rescue the deal when it looked like it might fall through because a problem with the buyers' finance.I'd certainly recommend this service to anyone looking to sell a house in the Brighton area.

Jackie · 18 February 2019

★★★★★ 4/5

Trustpilot

Efficient service

Lucy was very friendly at the viewings for the properties The team are quick to reply to emails and sort issues

Izzy · 17 July 2024