Mercer West & Madison East, LS2

The development is great. All very modern inside and out from the flats to the communal spaces and the facilities are always clean, tidy and seem to be available 24/7. The on-site gym and communal space/coworking make life easy. The staff are great! Katy and Grace have made applying for and managing my tenancy simple, Daniel Adil and Nyasha are always willing to help with day-to-day issues. Maintenance issues always dealt with quickly on the app out of hours and security staff are also brilliant always on hand. Overall a great modern building that is clean, tidy, full of welcoming staff and residents too, also cute dogs.

My experience at 518 Madison East has been wonderful. The apartment is clean, modern, and well-designed, offering both comfort and peace. The building management team is professional and always responsive—Grace,Adil and Danie in particular have been incredibly kind and helpful. The facilities are well maintained, and communication from the property management has been clear and supportive. Everything from move-in to early surrender of the lease has been handled smoothly. I wholeheartedly recommend this development to anyone looking for a quality residence in Leeds.

We lived in this apartment for a year and recently moved out. Overall, it was a mixed experience, there were definitely positives, but unfortunately, ongoing issues really took the shine off what could have been a great place to live. The good: - The apartment itself was beautiful, it had a sleek, modern look and felt really fresh. We were able to make it feel like home and personalise it a little, which we loved. - The location was hard to beat. Right in the city centre, incredibly well connected, and having a Sainsbury's Local literally opposite the entrance was unbelievably convenient. - We found the rent to be quite reasonable considering the size of the apartment, the location, and the building facilities. - A real standout for us was the resident advisors and the previous maintenance man (Andy), they were genuinely lovely people who went out of their way to help and made us feel welcome. Always friendly, always professional. - Our original city centre view was a huge highlight when we first moved in. - The apartments were generally very quiet when the windows were shut, which was impressive for a city centre location. - The onsite gym and co-working spaces were great to have, especially on days when they weren’t overcrowded. - Events organised in the building were a nice touch and offered a good opportunity to meet people, and most of the other residents we met were really friendly. - The 24/7 security presence was reassuring overall, though there were a few early incidents (including a security man being asleep at the desk). It seemed like the team might’ve changed since then, but it was hard to say for sure. - The WiFi was patchy at first, but we were given a booster which helped. It wasn’t perfect, but for the most part, it was fine for everyday use. The not-so-good: - The commercial utility provider that the building used caused us major issues throughout our tenancy, very stressful and disappointing that this wasn’t properly dealt with during the move-in process. To the point where it has ended up with the Ombudsman. - The senior management team were, unfortunately, the polar opposite of the resident advisors. They were rarely visible, impersonal, and their emails were AI-generated, completely lacking any warmth or care. It felt very corporate and detached. We received cold, automated responses to sensitive issues, which was really disheartening. - There was an ongoing issue with dust in the apartments. No matter how often we cleaned, it returned almost instantly in thick layers, something other residents also commented on. - Bathrooms always seemed to have a lingering smell. We weren’t sure if it was a drainage issue, but it was a constant across the building. - The furniture, while stylish, was poor quality. Our bed broke and it took a full month to be fixed, luckily we had a spare room. The maintenance team acted quickly where they could, but anything requiring approval from higher up took far too long. - One of the biggest frustrations was the construction work next door. We were originally told it wouldn’t begin until June 2025, which we factored into our decision to move in. However, work began three months early (March 2025), directly outside our window, blocking the view that had been one of the apartment’s main selling points. When we raised this with senior management, we were made to feel as if we’d imagined the timeline we were originally given, despite their own emails contradicting themselves. It felt like we were being gaslit, and that left a really sour taste. We genuinely wanted to love living here, and for the first few months, we almost did. The apartment, location, and resident support team were all great. But the combination of management issues, ongoing dust and furniture problems, plus the unexpected building work made it clear that it was time for us to move on.

I was in a spacious 1 BHK, and it was an absolute dream having so much space to live in. The interiors of the apartment are also minimal, modern, and very pleasing to the eye. The appliances, fixtures, and all the things provided are high quality. The management team was the sweetest when they helped me get through the process of moving in here, and continued to show the same amount of care and enthusiasm while I stayed here. Truly making the living atmosphere very homely. They are also fast responders to any issues raised, especially maintenance-related issues. The gym and the common area make it a good place to socialise with people living in this building along with the monthly events hosted by the team.

The apartments are aesthetically really nice and the furniture is really comfortable and good quality, but the contractors definitely cut costs during construction and this shows. There have been a number of issues with the apartment which are purely down to ‘cowboy builders’ (e.g pipes not being properly connected, leaks, marks and scratches on surfaces from building materials). The water pipes are also super small, so they block easily and the smell is awful. I think that if the contractor had invested a little more money then things would be so much better. The amenities are good; the gym is great! It’s clean and usually not too busy. The communal areas are comfortable and clean, although the communal toilet is almost always broken. The roof terrace is also unfurnished which I know a lot of residents are disappointed by; I think marketing-wise there should be a rethink as a lot of us do feel misled having been advertised a roof terrace when in reality it’s just a glamourized smoking area. The building is pet friendly which is fabulous! Pets are also housed at no extra cost which is super. However, people’s dogs have been peeing in the corridors and down the walls (at least they have in the Madison East building). I was walking the other week and urine was dripping down one of the walls and pooling on the floor. This has happened before in that spot and I can see the paint starting to erode from the acid. The puddle was there for DAYS and just dried down to be sticky, I’m not sure why this wasn’t cleaned. The other times it’s happened it wasn’t cleaned either. I think that the cleaning really needs to be improved in this instance as having so many urine stains when I’m paying this much for rent isn’t just disgusting but unacceptable. There was one instance when I was coming home from work and there was a dog poo in the corridor. I know that falls more on the resident who owns the animal but it’s just revolting. Please hire a carpet cleaner!! Maintenance are friendly and efficient once they’re in your apartment but it takes weeks for someone to actually come and fix something. I’m not sure if this is down to poor triage, lack of staff, or problems with the app but it’s not ideal. They do have a new maintenance person starting though, and I know that management are intending to fix the issues with slow responses. The team are a bit of a mixed bag. They’re usually helpful but they lack warmth and honestly most of them seem really depressed to be here. They’re all lovely people but it’s a bit of an odd vibe sometimes. Particularly from *Name Removed*, who is so slow and never seems to know what is going on. I’ve seen him stood smoking with residents down by the music college, and once I saw him getting into a car with a resident, I think he's here for mates rather than to do a job. He seems to be a member of a resident clique where they all stand around and smoke. I’m not sure that it’s really appropriate. I just think the staff might need a little more training? Most of this does fall to ineffectual management; I’ve never met the manager but she seems like a nice enough lady. However, I know someone who lived at one of her previous buildings and apparently there were a lot of similar complaints about her and her team. I think she just lacks an eye for detail. The urine in the corridors, extremely slow maintenance, slow team. The bin store is DISGUSTING, it stinks and is always overflowing. I avoid going down there because it’s so horrible. The other thing I wanted to mention was security. The security guards are mostly super friendly and I’ve never felt unsafe living here! However, there was once instance where a homeless man had got in and was sleeping at the end of a corridor. I’m sure he was harmless and just looking for a place to sleep but people here have children so it really can’t happen again. We do pay to live in a secure building. Overall, I’d give this place 3/5. The team are fairly friendly but lack warmth and management definitely needs improving. Cleanliness leaves something to be desired due to the animal urine and although the location is convenient there are a LOT of homeless. I’ve seen drug deals, fistfights, and arson from my window. I’ve never felt unsafe as the homeless community in Leeds are generally friendly and keep to themselves but it’s something to bear in mind, especially if you are a young woman. The apartments are aesthetically really lovely and although they are quite expensive I have been mostly happy here.