diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index a73c857..ca60a31 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -6,6 +6,7 @@
 - Add a enableGroupChatCreation boolean to the userstory configuration to enable or disable group chat creation
 - Change the ChatTranslations constructor to require all translations or use the ChatTranslations.empty constructor if you don't want to specify all translations
 - Remove the Divider between the users on the new chat screen
+- Add option to set a custom padding around the list of chats
 
 ## 1.4.3
 
diff --git a/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart b/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
index 54fb1fb..7b49173 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/config/chat_options.dart
@@ -19,6 +19,7 @@ class ChatOptions {
     this.groupAvatarBuilder = _createGroupAvatar,
     this.noChatsPlaceholderBuilder = _createNoChatsPlaceholder,
     this.noUsersPlaceholderBuilder = _createNoUsersPlaceholder,
+    this.paddingAroundChatList,
   });
 
   /// Builder function for the new chat button.
@@ -47,6 +48,9 @@ class ChatOptions {
 
   /// Builder function for the placeholder shown when no users are available.
   final NoUsersPlaceholderBuilder noUsersPlaceholderBuilder;
+
+  /// The padding around the chat list.
+  final EdgeInsets? paddingAroundChatList;
 }
 
 Widget _createNewChatButton(
diff --git a/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/screens/chat_screen.dart b/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/screens/chat_screen.dart
index baf76aa..1260af5 100644
--- a/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/screens/chat_screen.dart
+++ b/packages/flutter_chat_view/lib/src/screens/chat_screen.dart
@@ -119,7 +119,8 @@ class _ChatScreenState extends State<ChatScreen> {
             child: ListView(
               controller: controller,
               physics: const AlwaysScrollableScrollPhysics(),
-              padding: const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(28, 16, 28, 0),
+              padding: widget.options.paddingAroundChatList ??
+                  const EdgeInsets.fromLTRB(28, 16, 28, 0),
               children: [
                 StreamBuilder<List<ChatModel>>(
                   stream: widget.service.chatOverviewService.getChatsStream(),