With renting becoming so tricky and prices rising daily, unfortunately, this creates a breeding ground for a few unscrupulous individuals to take advantage. It's not typical, and most landlords are not evil or corrupt and want to provide a great place to live. However, some people want to take advantage, and, according to Experian, the average victim is taken for £1,400. Knowledge is power, and your weapon to fight back.
1.) Inspect the rental listing
2.) Meet the landlord or letting agent in person
3.) See the property in person
They'll have a property to rent but can't arrange a viewing in person - most likely, they are "out of town, someone died", etc. and instead tell you that they've decided to Airbnb the property instead, but you can still rent it that way. They'll ask you to send them your mobile details to send you the Airbnb listing on WhatsApp. However, instead of sending you the real property, they will send you to a fake listing which will look incredibly similar to a real Airbnb listing, but instead, it comes with different instructions as to where to send the payment. Usually, this transfers to an international bank. You send the money, and they disappear.
This is a challenging one. The scam can often involve showing you an empty flat, but when the time comes to move in, the property is already occupied. It will most often be that the property was not theirs to rent out in the first place. You can double-check that someone is a property's legal owner by checking here: https://www.gov.uk/search-property-information-land-registry.
Again, if they push you too hard to pay a deposit and first month's rent, don't offer you an actual lease agreement or do any background checks, then this is a big red flag.
This scam relies on you either not being able or unavailable to see the property. They publish an ad on Gumtree and often flash that they work with organisations like the NLA (National Landlords Association) to make themselves look legitimate. They'll take your money, but the landlord is nowhere to be found when you attempt to get your keys.
Remember, always make sure you view a property first.
A group of scammers pretend to be a genuine lettings agency. They secure a property but disappear the moment they have your funds. They may even set up a website. Its always worth checking a smaller agency to see if they are legitimate. You can do that by checking the name of the business on Companies House and making sure the agency is registered with a Property Redress Scheme. We love a good startup, but only if they are operating correctly.
You'll go through the process, and they'll ask you to sign a contract that says if the references aren't accepted, the deposit will be returned minus a fee for reference checks. You sign, believing you have excellent references. Unfortunately, no matter how great your references are, they will be deemed unsatisfactory. They have yet to tell you how much the fee is to do the checks and only return a fraction of your initial deposit.
Only pay when you have everything in hand and agreed and you have clarity on options.
Bad landlords will add all sorts of hidden expenses and payments into the contract. Ensure you've read through the entire document and, if necessary, have someone review the document. Also, remember, you don't have to pay for something not included in the tenancy agreement.
The landlord will claim that there is no need for a security deposit. Sounds great! No, it isn't. Instead, they will ask you to provide a guarantor to cover any costs should anything go wrong. They will most likely not do an inventory. At the end of the tenancy, they will hit the guarantor with a whole list of things broken or repairs that need to be done, and you can't prove that they didn't exist when you moved in or the standard of the property. Make sure you take an inventory and take photos and video of the property on the day you move in at the latest.
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