Kingstons Cardiff reviews in Cathays

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Booked a viewing for today at 4. Told to meet at front of property by phone the day i booked viewing.Went 3:50 outside main entrance as most normal people would do. 4:10 i call and say i have a viewing and im outside front entrance and nobody has turned up. Told agent has another viewing upstairs and i told her im at front entrance and she said he/she will be there. 4:35 i call again annoyed and i said its 4:35 no viewing takes 35 minutes. Same girl sais ohh agwnt is here you never turned up and he waited 15 mins.so i said to her sorry but if i didnt turn up why would i ring you twice to tell you im outside waiting?. Then shes sais oh he was waiting at the back parking entrance. So firsty i wasnt told to meet at back entrance which i never knew existed. Most people would assume to meet at front main entrance as i was told.I told her on the call im at front so she never bothered communicating to him where i was or to tell me meet him at back carpark. No apology nothing. Then try to say i never turned up. And if he was at the back waiting for me for 15 minutes would he have not called me if he was proffesional to check where i was or even himself to chec front entrance?. No apology and when i said thank you for wasting my time which is true the girl was ironic .so unprofessional no service no communication they dont seem to care and im glad it turned out this way because god knows if we rented from them what would happen.A big disappointment. These are my personal views after my short experience with themNegativeResponsiveness, Quality, Professionalism

Xenios · 25 August 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

This is the worst letting agency I ever had to deal with. My housemates and I were with them for 1 year, in which they were never able to achieve any problems we had with the house. When I first moved in, there was rubbish all over the place, with beds outside the rooms and the back door lock broken. During winter, we contacted the agency to sort out the damp and mould in 4/5 of our rooms, as well as the living room and bathroom. None of which got solved. The landlady came over to visit quite often, (though never gave us her contact details, just showed up whenever she wanted), and would always bring someone to have a look at the mould. However, these people never came back because she kept saying she was trying to look for someone else instead (but never ended up doing it). After leaving the house back in May, we have still not received any of our deposits and are now charging us for unnecessary damages and replacements. For instance, a damage in the living room table, which we provided OURSELVES as we never got a table in the living room. We have also contacted our agency frequently about sending an inventory, yet they still fail to respond.

Lizzie · 8 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Please please please do not use these guys. They put my house back up for rent when my contact wasn't due up for another 3 months because the month it was due up was when it was brought in that letting agents could no longer charge fees and I told them we couldn't get £150 within a few days. I found out from a neighbour!!! I rang them and they told me that they'd booked a viewing that day aswell! They will rob you of every penny you have. Deduct stuff from your bond that was already there before you moved in, they did ABSOLUTELY NOTHING about issues we had in the house such as the damp, broken front door due to warping it was so old and needed replacing. Their contractor is a bog standard handy man and made an absolute mess trying to patch up damage on the wall which was made by a curtain pole that was already up, shock horror they tried to charge me for it. They are the WORST company I have ever dealt with in my life. We are a young family with 2 kids under 4 years old and they made our time there miserable. They organise gas safety checks and inspections without notifying you, allow their contractors to go into the property without even bothering knocking. I saw some reviews and thought well they mainly deal with students maybe because we're a family it won't be so bad. I was so so wrong. Please trust your gut if you're not sure especially if it's your first home. We had nothing but trouble with them! Even tried to conduct viewings and checks during covid which were completely unnecessary.

Ellie · 8 June 2021

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst letting agent I've ever dealt with. Do not recommend at all. They never respond to emails, left our property with countless leaks for the entire year, which caused so much mould, we had a broken washing machine for well over a month, unsafe/unusable fire alarm, with water in the electrics, and sewage flooded our garden. Any issue will take months and months to fix if you're lucky, most likely not at all. When we signed the contract they tried to blackmail us into leaving a positive review in return for not paying a holding fee. They are found to break multiple laws and have unsafe properties, they have no care for tenants or owning habitable properties. Say goodbye to your deposit because they will never give it all back, ridiculous reductions with no evidence. You will have a year from hell if you sign with them...

Grace · 26 May 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Absolutely amazing experience with Kingston’s! As students, getting a house sorted can be very daunting but Lee made it so so easy for us. Great communication throughout the whole process, and helped us to negotiate with the landlord so that the house could be exactly what we needed and wanted for us. 10/10 from me!

Clara · 31 May 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

if i could give kingstons a zero-star review, i would (the only reason they have some good reviews is because they offer a reduced deposit for giving a five-star review). i got lucky with my house so didn’t have many issues, but when we did have issues they were never solved. for example, our toilet kept breaking so we just learnt how to fix it ourselves. they don’t have a maintenance phone number, just an email that they repeatedly ignore. definitely go with a different agency if u can

Molly · 27 March 2024

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Recently worked with Kingston's to secure a property and I could not recommend them enough! We were very open with our wants and needs in which the letting agents were very accomodating in finding our perfect place. Very happy to reccomend to students and professionals alike in Cardiff. Absolutely lovely team and so helpful!

Oscar · 31 May 2022

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Today I supposed to have a house viewing. Firstly my viewing has been booked for a wrong time. After I have called them they have told me that my appointment is on different time. I asked them for a full address of the property, they have said that I'll recieve it by text. Didn't received it till now. The worst came where I have arrived for the time that they have made the appointment. I have been waiting there for half an hour just to hear at the end that the person who should show me the property been there and as I was not been there on time, he has left. I have been there 5 minutes before the booked time and during that half an hour which I have been waiting for them, I have called them like 3-4 times, asking where they are. Every time they were saying that the person is on its way and at the end they have tald me that the person has left and I was not been there. I do not recomend this agancy as they make a jokes of people.

Smerfik · 8 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst letting agency I've come across in all the cities i've lived in. Consistently rude, abrupt and aggressive staff. Sent contractors round with no warning who let themselves in. All repairs took an age to get done and then were patched over. House wasn't cleaned at all when we moved in, piles of rubbish left in hallway and out front which I had to take to the dump myself. Tried to scam us out of all of our deposit claiming missing furniture etc, backed off when I sent them a video inventory I had taken which proved their claimes to be false. Just consistent lies, if it wasn't for the student trade they'd have folded as a business along time ago. They just survice by ripping people off who will only be in a house a year or two.

Marcy · 8 June 2020

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Awful awful. Don’t deal with this agent. Property was substandard, they did not deal with repairs throughout and then tried to claim deductions from deposit for fabricated reasons! If you’re a tenant find another property - we are now in dispute about deposit and they outright refuse to correspond to resolve!

Jill · 11 September 2022

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

In my personal experience, I think Kingston is a good agency. I have lived in the apartment for 2 years. They reply our email timely and also help us deal with something. Jade and Laura do the excellent and professional job.

Xinhe · 30 June 2023

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

No words to say this agency help me a lot especially their services after we taking a house it was awesome…… if anyone looking a good deal highly recommended

Eju · 15 December 2025

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

When we moved in the cleaning wasn't done and we found the landlord apologising and struggling to clean as he could. Later they finally sent a team to clean the house. We asked for some minimal work to be done, had to email many times, were told emails weren't received, staff went on leave without replying, called again and were ignored, then they finally sent a contractor at minimal notice and not at the time discussed. Now work is still not done as contractor wasn't told what to do and only came to take notes. No news since and we will have to chase them again. Everything in the attitude of the people we talked to gives the feeling that they don't care about the tenants or the property they are in charge with. Very disappointed An update: It has been now two months we are having issues. We first talked to Laura, then to Kayleigh. The first one just ignored us, the later seemed more efficient but still nothing is happening, missing call backs, saying she doesn't have our number and that their email is down. The same excuse was previously used weeks ago. Contractor came and did nothing. It is impossible to have a date when to wait for contractor, basically you need to be at home all the time. Really, the worst letting agency and staff I have been in contact with. Avoid like the plague

Vlad · 9 June 2019

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Worst agent. Would highly recommend never using them. The house I had with them was a health hazard and they didn't care. They also had the cheek to try and deduct from my deposit when I left for problems that were at the property before I even moved in. AVOID AVOID AVOID UPDATE We contacted the agency numerous times relating to all the issues we had the property including but limited to; old fuse box that kept tripping out and when we tried to switch it back on it sparked at us - we were meet with an angry landlord when we called to report this issue as it was around 7pm in the evening so not office hours. We had environmental health due to a leaking sewage pipe outside that took months to get repaired. the property was filthy when we moved it and it took numerous complaints to their cleaners round to fix this. The heating never worked properly and we could see our breath in the property throughout the winter which caused condensation issues as we couldn't heat the property fully. We had a new oven installed when we moved in but when a gas engineer came to check this he condemned it as it hadn't been fitted correctly and would have caused a major gas leak in the property. We were met with nothing but attitude problems whenever we had an issue in property everyone we dealt with at Kingstons and the landlord. They don't care about their tenants and they have not followed any rules of any regulatory body they are apparently members of. Stand by words as they are a terrible letting agent and pray on vulnerable students who may not know any better.

Hannah · 9 June 2019

★★★★★ 5/5

Google

Kingston property. Extremely satisfying. Their customer service was also appreciable. Am very happy with my property. Also highly recommend.

Ghani · 26 February 2026

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Really bad experience with Kingstons, I would advise University students like myself at the time to look around before committing to an agency. This was what happened with me and a selection of friends who had given a deposit for a house, only for it to be given to another group of students. This meant that we had to find a house within a period of time, otherwise we would lose our deposit. We found one, looked okay and a few problems that they had promised to fix and clean. However, when we arrived at the property, it was a shambles and the garden was overgrown and the wall was knocked down (which they tried to charge us for later in the year, with a neighbour supporting us with evidence). Where else do I start, the fact that the radiators' paint was flaking off from poor management and paint work, with my wall often accumulating mould. Other problems included leaking pipes under bath, broken outlet pipe (which the neighbours complained about for a few years) & collapsed rubber from ceiling (despite promise from Agency of this not happening). To sum it up, we never even saw our landlord to discuss issues. Be careful when using agencies if you are a student and I would advise you to go through your Student Portal or to someone specialising in housing in the Uni.

Scott · 9 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

One year tenancy with Kingstons was terrible, these landlords just don't care. The property is in a disgusting condition meaning Issues this year have ranged from no fridge freezer for a month to long periods of time without heating and hot water! They don't care and even laugh at us when pointing out that we haven't had hot water for a week as they're just waiting for us to move out. Unfriendly, unhelpful and uncaring landlords and a property in terrible condition.

Vicky · 9 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

What an awful agency!!! Avoid at all costs. When we first moved into our house in September each room was dirty/dusty/disgusting and had not been cleaned atall. Builders had left dust and tools in our rooms even though Kingstons had promised all would be sorted by the time we moved in, bearing in mind we paid rent throughout the summer! Over and over again we were promised a clean, tidy house to move into but it was awful when we moved in and still we were ignored even after complaining! Throughout our tenancy with Kingstons, for even the smallest of requests (a new lightbulb etc.) we have been ignored and even when we go into the shop in Cathays to sort a problem (like when we had mould and our oven broke) they just replied with "we'll email the landlord and if he doesn't reply within a few hours/days we'll phone him" useless! We had to do most of the chasing up the landlord ourselves and even then they did not bother to check if problems were sorted. They did not look after us as tenants atall, we were not demanding in anyway we just wanted a clean house to move into which any person would want! Kingstons are full of empty promises, even when we discovered a rat in our house they did not help, they did not seem to care in the slightest that we had vermin in our house and we were living with it. Now at the end of our tenancy, they are refusing to give back our deposits due to items we "broke" (they were already broke when we got there) and for mould (which we can't get rid of, their responsibility????). Kingstons are useless, unhelpful and downright rude most of the time which was really disappointing to spend our last year in university having to bother with this letting agency!

Lucy · 9 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The amount of positive reviews are definitely suspicious and raise a lot of questions in terms of how anonymous people (typically accounts created and used by an organisation themselves) can use Google reviews to improve an otherwise horrendous rating. Avoid this company. Question my credibility in this statement? Ask any student at Cardiff university as to the malpractice and total disregard this company has for standard practice. Still not convinced? Knock on the door of any property which is holding a Kingstons board and speak to the landlord for feedback. This letting agency is known for its unscrupulous and inconsistent connivance. It vehemently opposes the notion of customer service and fair practice. £30 to change a light bulb is a typical cost billed to a landlord and tenants find themselves subjected to a plethora of miscellaneous charges; you really couldn’t make this stuff up. Landlords: If you want to constantly keep on telephoning and emailing for rent, bond deposits, requests for litter removal and inspections, and if you like frequent migraines and debating 'x charges', this is a highly recommended letting agent. Let's just hope that they can find you on their "database", as from all the negative reviews already left, it seems as if Kingstons like the idea of swinging around this filler justification. Their game is to claim you are not their customer, so any liability doesn't stick. Teflon! Students: If you don't like the idea of safeguarding your bond deposit, if you admire the logical and numerical skills of mythological sea creatures, you are in luck. This company really should be in the trade of fleecing in the literal sense; skinning people alive to make money, to cover their own bodies. Yes, they do have a lot of smiley faces and a happy-go attitude, but that’s just to bring the lamb to the slaughter. Avoid. You have been warned. REPLY TO RESPONSE FROM OWNER: You have had your chance to prove yourself to me and hundreds of other landlords and tenants who you have disappointed. Call it incompetence or ineptitude, you are seething in it.

Michael · 9 June 2018

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely useless estate agents, by far the worst I've dealt with. Broken furniture on arrival, still here after 4 months and multiple emails. Since had to by our own furniture. Tried ringing up to complain and had a very rude employee answer. Had random maintenance people arrive and let themselves in with no notice either. On top of that we keep having notifications for people coming to the property to view it with nobody ever turning up. Absolute joke of an estate agents, would avoid.

Finn · 21 November 2023

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Absolutely shocking! AVOID AT ALL COSTS. Rude staff who don't get back to you when there is a problem with your property. Failure to complete the correct fixtures to your property and when they do, they don't finish the job and then try to charge you for it breaking again. If you don't want to be charged through the roof for their errors and want to be spoken to like an actual human being - avoid avoid. Worst agency I've ever had to deal with in my life.

Rosie · 9 June 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

The worst letting agency I have ever came across. I am still their client only because I am legally bind to pay them a rent. The house I rent was dirty, full with mice, the fridge was not working, the washing machine was not working and there was ( and it is still there) a huge hole in the bathroom wall and apparently the agency didn't really knew for all this problems. Its been 3 months since I moved in and the hole is still not fixed and the wall is almost fallen down, they provided us with a 'new' fridge which was full with rotten food when we opened it and it is so small that it is impossible to be used by 6 people, only the washing machine was fixed with again a 'new' one. We have complain to them many times about this problems and they have not taken our complains seriously. We have reported them to the council and we are considering legal majors against them. Please don't ever do my mistake and DO NOT RENT properties from them. By far the worst letting agency with the worst costumer service. Even their responses on reviews here are just the same answer copy and pasted again and again, that speaks enough for them.

Petar · 9 June 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Unfortunately the worst lettings agency I have ever had the misfortune to experience. Terribly organised staff who do not communicate between each other. The state of the house we rented was disgusting and we had to clean the carpets and put the cupboard doors back on ourselves. The house was also not cleaned before we moved in. We were refunded some money from our agency fees for this but it is still unacceptable. The 'handyman' was incompetent screwing a shower head in place rather than fixing the fitting, painting wallpaper back onto a wall rather than actually sorting the peeling wallpaper out properly, making huge amounts of mess in the bedroom during this process and managing to put a new bedroom door on incorrectly meaning it wouldn't close. Staff were quick to blame tenants for issues and tried and failed to reduce our deposit due to issues predating our tenancy. They have also lost all post to this address since we moved even though they had contact details for us claiming there was nothing for me when my father definitely sent post through and a redirection has been issued. I would not recommend that anyone go with this company. You will have poor service and more than likely a poor standard of living. The only time anything was ever done was by contacting Laura from Kingstons directly. If it was possible I would honestly have given them 0/5 stars.

__Jessica · 9 June 2017

★★★★★ 1/5

Google

Honestly not even worth 1 star. I was meant to look round a property with Kingston today at 4:30. At 4:35 a Kingston car pulled up, dropped someone off (another tenant) who walked past me and into the house. The car barely stopped long enough for the boy to get out. When I gave up waiting at 4:45, I went down to their office. I was greeted by an agent who insisted that he had been waiting for me, and described dropping off the other tenant and then waiting for 5 minutes. He insisted that e didn't see me despite the fact that I was standing right in front of the property, and made no attempt to apologise despite the fact that this was blatantly false. I am completely unimpressed and have no intention of viewing any other properties with Kingston, much less renting from them.

Freddie · 9 June 2016