Nowadays, the real estate market is saturated with scammers who use various techniques to take possession of the homes of gullible citizens.
Moreover, the above applies not only to purchase or sale transactions. Rental scams are also rampant.
In this publication, the portal’s experts will tell you what types of fraud exist when renting out an apartment, how to recognize a swindler, and what to do if a tenant gets scammed when renting an apartment.
Apartment rental scams: scammers and their tricks
On the Internet, newspapers and on television you can find information about many methods and schemes of fraud in the rental of residential real estate.
Its authors are not only the real and imaginary owner of the apartment, but also the tenant, who then illegally disposes of the housing. For example, property is being subleased on illegal grounds.
When scammers operate, renting apartments is extremely attractive to them. After all, it is often extremely difficult for the injured party to prove the illegality of actions. This especially happens when housing is rented for a short time.
Fraud schemes when renting out apartments are also practiced by some companies calling themselves real estate agencies.
For example, a client enters into an agreement and pays a certain amount. In return, he is given a set of addresses of “rental” apartments. But according to the coordinates provided, there can be no talk of any rental.
A distinctive feature of this scheme is that the contract is drawn up legally correctly. Therefore, it is almost impossible to return the money to the injured party through the court or law enforcement agencies.
Sublease initiated by a fraudster
When apartment rentals occur, scammers resort to several unscrupulous tactics.
The first of them is that housing is subleased without the knowledge of its owner. In this case, he will have to start evicting uninvited guests. And this takes a lot of time and nerves.
Another option is that the sublease is for a longer period than the main tenancy agreement. Then, sooner or later, the deceived guest will certainly face claims from the owner of the apartment.
Apartment for daily rent
Apartment rental fraud occurs regardless of the period for which the property is rented. When renting daily, scammers most often use the following method.
They rent a more or less decent apartment, and then place an advertisement for renting it out for a long term. You won’t envy a future employer in such a situation.
After all, literally in a matter of days the real owner of the property will come demanding to vacate the apartment. In addition, in this case, the scammers charge several months in advance and then disappear.
Fraud when renting an apartment consists of the following scheme. Scammers offer several apartment options for booking on the website (with minimal contact information).
After transferring a certain amount from clients, the attackers disappear and stop making contact.
Multiple rentals of apartments
This option is a classic scam in the rental market. The essence of the scheme is extremely simple. The fraudster rents an apartment and then rents it out to several different people. Naturally, a conflict arises over who should live in the housing.
It also happens that the attacker draws up contracts, takes money from citizens, and then changes all the locks on the doors. At the same time, the person remains without a roof over his head and without money.
False owner
Here, too, everything is more or less clear. The person handing over the property has forged documents regarding himself or the property. He takes money several months in advance and then suddenly disappears.
The tenant will sooner or later have to face the real owner of the property with all the ensuing consequences. At the same time, freeing up space cannot be avoided
Schemes to defraud tenants
Despite widespread coverage of the topic of housing rental fraud on the Internet and in the press, citizens continue to fall for well-known, sometimes primitive fraud schemes.
Tenants often become victims of scams, but the owners themselves are not immune from deception.
How to protect yourself when renting out an apartment and what to be wary of? Divorce schemes and types of fraud are described below.
A popular scheme for “divorcing” owners in big cities. Its victims are often landlords who rent out housing unofficially. The rental agreement is concluded verbally, and the owner is firmly convinced that he rents out housing only to the person with whom he agreed.
The tenant, in turn, rents out rooms or beds for daily rent - also, of course, without a contract. Thus, the property, from which the owner planned to make money for rent for many years, turns into a rooming house.
As a result, when the deception is revealed, the owner finds his property in a “destroyed” state, and there is no one to file a claim with - after all, the current tenants will be the same victims of deception.
Landlords often practice charging full or partial fees from tenants in the form of repairs.
In the case of fraud, the initiative to make repairs against payment comes from the residents themselves, often in an insistent form - they say, live in a house with such a condition of the bathroom, electrical wiring, etc. impossible.
The owner, realizing the prospect of his losses (dissatisfied tenants will move out, and it will be difficult to find new ones for an apartment that requires urgent repairs), agrees to such conditions.
The process drags on for many months, as a result the owner sees neither money for rent nor the actual repairs. In the end, the landlord has no choice but to evict the cheaters and accept the loss.
The purpose of the scam is much larger than that of subletting or renovation scams: to take over the rental property. The victims in these cases are most often elderly landlords, who are easier to deceive.
The tenant, under any pretext, lures title documents from the owner (for example, he invents that at work they require proof of the rental to reimburse expenses, or offers to show these documents to a lawyer he knows for verification - of course, for free).
The next stage of the fraudulent scheme is the urgent sale of housing, in which a fake deed of gift or other document is drawn up to transfer the property to the fraudster. It is this type of divorce that is classified as fraud committed by an organized group of persons.
Often, scammers demand payment in advance not for one, but for several months.
The landlord is silent about the fact that the sale process is underway.
The tenant lives quietly for a week or two, until new owners appear on the doorstep with all the documentation.
Explaining his inability to provide title documents for housing, the landlord reports that it is registered in the name of his elderly mother/father/relative abroad.
The owner convinces the residents that there will be no problems with their accommodation, until that same “foreign” relative suddenly appears and demands to urgently vacate the living space.
A similar “divorce” scheme is the landlord’s silence about the right to live in the apartment for renting out to other persons registered in it. One fine day, the tenant discovers an unfamiliar person at the door, who, as it turns out, is registered here and has the right to use the living space on an equal basis with the owner.
After receiving payment two or more months in advance, the owner begins to make far-fetched claims against the residents: complaints from neighbors, damage to property, etc., and in the end he demands to vacate the premises.
The funds paid in advance, of course, go as compensation for allegedly damaged property.
Replacing locks
In this case, the tenants do not have time to live in the new place for a single day.
After receiving payment, the tenant gives the keys, but persuades the tenants not to move in for another day or two, supposedly during this time he will restore order.
Upon arrival at the new place of residence, the tenant discovers that the key does not match, and the owner pretends that he is seeing this person for the first time and, naturally, did not take any money from him.
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The actual methods of fraud when renting out an apartment are somewhat more varied than the above risks for landlords. Moreover, there are both well-known methods and less popular options. In addition, the list of schemes is constantly updated. But in any case, it is worth knowing about the already recorded methods.
While it's usually the homeowners who suffer when renting out a home, the tenant can also get into trouble if the landlord is not the original owner. This is due to the fact that if the corresponding agreement is not signed by the true owner of the apartment, then it is considered invalid.
There are several schemes here:
- Delivery of rented housing. In this case, the real owner can request to vacate the premises at any time. The tenants will have no choice but to comply with the requirement, because according to the law, the owner of the property did not rent it out.
- Multiple rentals of housing. A fraudster who has rented an apartment rents it out to several citizens at the same time. As a result, a conflict arises, because none of the tenants have the right to live in the premises.
The essence of the listed options is the same - the fraudster signs an agreement with a potential tenant, takes payment (often several months in advance) and disappears safely. But the tenants and real owners can only figure out what happened.
Here we are talking about extremely dishonest actions of the landlords themselves. For the purpose of material gain, such entities, some time after the next tenant moves in, begin to present various kinds of claims to him. There is only one goal - to evict a person before the deadline specified in the agreement.
Most often, owners justify such a requirement by saying that the tenant is allegedly disturbing the neighbors or causing them some damage. If the tenant agrees, then, of course, neither the advance payment nor the deposit will be returned to him.
In such a situation, you should not react to unfounded claims and succumb to persuasion. Proof of the fact that the house rules have been violated in some way should be required.
Usually, when renting an apartment for a long term, its owner requests payment 1-2 months in advance. The tenant pays the required amount, and a few days later a new owner of the apartment appears.
In such a situation, tenants are also left with one option - searching for new housing, and as quickly as possible. You usually shouldn't expect a refund either.
The method is common among scammers who place ads on Internet sites. In this case, the information about the apartment differs from the real ones, just as the photos do not correspond to reality. But the rental price is extremely low, which usually attracts potential tenants.
According to the scheme, the victim is required to make an advance payment, which the scammers immediately cash out and then disappear from sight. Accordingly, the person is left without money and without housing.
When the apartment owner is a scammer
It is not only employers who are unscrupulous. When renting a home, fraud on the part of the owner is not excluded.
For example, he can unilaterally raise rents sharply. Few employers try to argue with this, especially if there were no written agreements.
Here are some other types of such abuses.
Collusion between the owner and the real estate agency
The scheme is as follows. A person rents an apartment with the help of a real estate agency, paying rent and a deposit. However, after a few days, the owner suddenly insists that he needs the housing himself and asks to vacate it.
In this case, only part of the money is returned to the employer. The remaining amount is divided between the home owner and realtors.
Renting without the consent of the other owners
If several people own real estate, then one of them may suddenly become against renting out the apartment. In this case, the citizen is forced to leave the premises, losing part of his money.
Therefore, when concluding an agreement, emphasis should be placed on the presence of other owners of the premises and their consent to move in.
Repairs at the expense of the tenant
Here the deception scheme is as follows. The owner rents out to the tenant an apartment that needs repairs. The contract stipulates a symbolic rent, but with the condition that all work must be carried out by the tenant.
Then the following happens. As soon as the renovation is completed, the owner of the apartment suddenly insists on terminating the contract and eviction.
As a result, the owner received the renovated premises for free, and the tenant lost a tidy sum. After all, renovating an apartment, even if inexpensive finishing materials are used, is not a cheap pleasure.
Risks of the apartment owner (landlord)
Any landlord who decides to transfer his own property for use to a third party must be aware of the degree of existing risks. In this case, we are talking not only about possible damage to property, but also about more serious problems, because apartment tenants also do not hesitate to use all sorts of fraudulent tricks.
The following schemes are considered the most common:
- Sublease. The method involves renting an apartment and then renting it out to third parties without notifying the original landlord. For example, the owner transfers an object for use to a certain person, who subsequently rents it out for long-term or, even worse, daily rent. The result is a waste of nerves when evicting people, serious damage to property, while the fraudster makes a considerable profit. Typically, this scheme works if the real owner lives in another city, travels, or simply does not check the condition of the home, trusting the tenant. The owner usually receives information about what is happening from neighbors, who are disturbed by constant noise.
- Repairs against rent. This method is used by many unscrupulous tenants. The tenant insists on carrying out repair work, citing the fact that the existing living conditions do not meet his requirements. In this case, a condition is put forward - the costs of reconstruction are covered by the rent. The owner of the residential property agrees, but as a result, the tenant does not carry out repairs and does not pay fees for the use of the premises. And then he moves out completely without notifying the landlord.
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Another option for fraud is renting a home and requesting documentation for it from the owner. Moreover, the tenant not only asks to present the title papers for review, but, under any pretext, insists on handing them over for a while. This is where the essence lies.
The swindler, having acquired the necessary document, carries out illegal actions with the property. For example, he draws up a fake deed of gift on behalf of the owner of the apartment for the purpose of further sale of the latter.
In this case, we are talking about deprivation of the right to own property, therefore, lost property can be returned only after bringing the criminal to criminal responsibility. In short, the process will take a lot of time and require enormous patience.
Fraud by unscrupulous real estate agencies
Many believe that renting real estate through realtors will guarantee the safety of the upcoming operation. However, in reality this is far from the case. Among real estate agencies, there are often those that use dubious schemes.
A lot is written about such companies on the Internet and social networks. And if the subject is apartment rentals, the types of fraud on the part of realtors are well known.
How do realtors cheat when renting an apartment? Here are just some of the ways to deceive gullible citizens.
Databases: SMS fraud
The scheme is as follows. The client is invited to gain access to an exclusive database of apartments for rent. He is assured that options will be selected only at his request.
To gain access, scammers offer to send a paid SMS message to a specific number. Then nothing happens and they disappear.
Fictitious addresses or a pig in a poke
A popular method used by scammers who disguise themselves as a real estate agency is to provide so-called “information services.” The client is provided with a set of addresses of “rented” apartments for a fee.
As a rule, their housing is either not for rent or is already rented. In this case, the contract is drawn up legally correctly. Therefore, it is almost impossible for the injured party to get their money back.
Prepayment for renting an apartment
Some real estate agencies ask for prepayment for rent. This is not provided for by law. In addition, after receiving the money, the office may simply disappear.
Therefore, you should carefully read the contract with the realtor down to every point. Otherwise, you may end up with serious problems in the future.
And again Avito
Within the Russian Federation, mass goods and services are purchased through the Avito portal. Therefore, it is not surprising that fraud in renting apartments on Avito has become widespread.
There are several signs that may indicate that an ad is suspicious.
- Almost always a photo of an apartment is displayed that has nothing to do with reality. Typically, the image is taken from numerous third-party resources.
- The advertisement contains prices that are significantly lower than market prices. Fraudsters do this specifically in order to select more potential victims.
When scammers work for Avito, hiring may involve making an advance payment for rent, which is then easily cashed out by the scammers.
Criminals also offer their services for remote housing search. For this, a monthly subscription fee is established. And it is far from a fact that the desired option will be selected.
Selling a rented apartment using fake documents
This scheme is quite common in Russia. Its essence is as follows.
First, suitable housing is rented. To do this, the owner of the apartment is presented with a false passport. Accordingly, the lease agreement is issued to a third party.
Then all the necessary documents for the sale of real estate are promptly prepared. At the same time, the housing is made available for viewing to potential buyers. After the transaction is closed, the scammers with the money disappear.
In the described situation, both the original owner and the buyer of the apartment suffer. And if the owner often manages to return his property after a number of trials and criminal proceedings, then the deceived buyer is left with nothing, namely without money and housing.
Memo to a potential tenant: how to avoid fraud when renting an apartment
How to rent an apartment without getting scammed? We found out what are the tricks and types of scams when renting housing.
To avoid becoming a victim of an attacker, experts provide several simple recommendations. Following them allows you to protect yourself from serious problems.
When you are renting an apartment, a lawyer can tell you how to avoid falling for scammers during your consultation. However, our advice will also be useful.
The contract is a guarantee of security
All relations between the owner of the apartment and the future tenant should be formalized in writing. It is definitely worth providing a description of the apartment and details of the title documents for it.
The agreement specifies the amount of rent, the procedure for compensation of repair costs and utilities. It is imperative to specify the conditions under which the tenant can be evicted from the apartment ahead of schedule.
Specify the composition of the property
Fraud from the owner may consist of demanding the tenant to compensate for damages for the theft of an item that actually was not in the apartment.
Therefore, the contract should include an inventory of furniture and household appliances, as well as other things, if they are in the apartment.
This inventory should be verified at the time of termination of the contract. This way the tenant will protect himself from one of the types of fraud.
What documents to check and what to pay attention to
First of all, you need to study the passport of the apartment owner. The photo pasted into it must correspond to the real appearance of the citizen.
Be sure to check all title documents for the apartment:
- extract from the real estate register;
- privatization agreement;
- certificate of the number of registered
It would be useful to look at the technical or cadastral passport.
If the apartment has several owners, and this is evident from the title documents, then they are asked to provide their consent to transfer the housing for rent.
How to check a person
If an apartment scammer is, as they say, an experienced scammer, then information about him may be available on the Internet. After all, the victims of scammers will probably want to share their misfortune with everyone.
In this way you can check the owner of the apartment, the potential tenant and the real estate agency.
If in doubt
If you doubt the reliability of the upcoming operation, it is better not to sign the contract. After all, you can lose not only your funds. As we have already said, the actions of intruders can lead to the loss of an apartment.
Fraud when renting an apartment by the landlord
Many scams when renting an apartment occur due to excessive trust. It’s not for nothing that it is said:
Trust but check
For some reason, there is a strong opinion in society that fraud more often occurs on the part of tenants, so they look at apartment owners without fear. However, practice confirms the opposite. I’ll tell you about popular types of fraud when renting an apartment on the part of the landlord.
Change in rent.
If for some reason the tenant has not concluded a rental agreement with the owner and has not signed the “Act of Acceptance and Transfer of Property for Renting an Apartment,” then he does not have legal rights to the property, despite an oral agreement, payment of a deposit or full payment for the period residence. The owner can change the rent unilaterally at any time.
Changing locks in a rented apartment.
The deception scheme most often occurs as follows. The tenant transfers a certain amount to the landlord without supporting documents: an agreement, deed and receipt, and in return receives the keys to the apartment.
But the owner “tearfully” begins to ask to come over in a couple of days, under the pretext of removing things, minor repairs or life circumstances. After two days, when trying to open the apartment, it suddenly turns out that the key does not fit the lock.
Collusion between owner and agent.
There are situations when the owner of an apartment enters into a fraudulent conspiracy with unscrupulous real estate agents. The scheme is quite simple.
A person finds an apartment with the help of realtors, pays the required amount and a deposit, but after a short period of time the owner’s situation changes dramatically and he demands to vacate the property. In this case, as a rule, only a small part of the rent is returned to the tenant, and the rest of the money is divided between the owner and the realtor.
Rent without the consent of the second owner.
If the property belongs to several co-owners, then it is illegal for one owner to rent out his share without the consent of the others. Even if there is a rental agreement for residential premises, if they disagree, the transaction is considered invalid and can be challenged in court. This is the trick of the landlord, since the tenant’s funds remain in full or in part with him.
Repairs at the expense of the tenant.
This is the most common scam when renting an apartment, since “pleasure” repair work is not cheap. Tenants, especially those with children, do not want to live in “destroyed” apartments, so they agree to repair the premises to pay off the rent or reduce the amount of accommodation.
Tenants are rarely able to enjoy the result of the renovation, since the owner, after its completion, begins to insist on the urgent vacancy of the premises. The presence of a rental agreement for residential premises in this situation, unfortunately, does not save the tenant from losing money paid for repairs.
Reduced cost of the apartment
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Good housing is expensive, so solvent people rent it. But they also count their money and do not want to engage in unnecessary waste.
This is the basis of deception when renting an apartment, i.e., a reduced cost of the apartment in exchange for an advance payment for a long-term period (from one quarter to a year). After receiving the funds, the owner can kick the tenants out of the premises or change the locks in their absence.
Assignment of prepayment.
The owner may demand a small advance payment from the tenant before completing the transaction under various pretexts. For example, to “stake out” an apartment under the guise of great excitement, complaints about excessive employment or the distance of residence from the rental housing.
The main thing is to get the money in advance at any cost. After their transfer, the owner stops answering phone calls, and the tenant is left without money and rented premises.
My friends, I cannot help but mention another type of deception when renting an apartment - free accommodation, which is quickly gaining popularity.
In the advertisements, the owner offers housing in exchange for services such as cooking, cleaning, laundry, etc., but in fact, another service is extorted - sex. If this issue is discussed immediately during inspection of the apartment, then there is no deception, since there are quite a lot of people willing to live under these conditions.
Brief conclusion
Fraud schemes when renting an apartment are constantly growing and expanding, so to protect yourself, you need to carefully check the title documents for the apartment, as well as:
- Under any circumstances, enter into a rental agreement for residential premises and draw up an act of acceptance and transfer of property when renting an apartment. If an advance payment is made, then record the transfer of money by writing a receipt in your own hand or using video filming. When transferring rent online, be sure to print and save all receipts.
- Check the certificate of registration of rights or an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, since they indicate all the owners of the property. Be sure to include all owners in the rental agreement with their personal signature and passport details. If one of the owners is absent, request a notarized power of attorney for the right to sign the contract by the other owner present.
- Make a full payment or prepayment only after inspecting the apartment and signing the rental agreement. Beware of "cheap" apartments.
- Pay monthly because life is fleeting and changeable. Circumstances on both sides may change and it is unlikely that you will be able to take your money back from the owners.
Scams when renting out an apartment in questions and answers
When housing is needed temporarily, citizens rent it, and at considerable expense. Therefore, it is not surprising that there are numerous scammers operating in this segment of the real estate market. There are many schemes in their arsenal: from the simplest to carefully developed combinations.
Often scammers rent out housing to several people at the same time. And here it is extremely difficult not to be deceived. After all, swindlers, posing as the owner, hand over the keys to someone else’s premises, take money for it and disappear.
Foresight and personal life experience help you avoid becoming a victim of attackers. The verified recommendations of a lawyer in the answers to the questions below will also come in handy.
How to rent an apartment in Moscow and avoid scammers
My friend and I are coming to the capital to study. We don’t want to live in a hostel, and are thinking about renting a one-room apartment. From many television shows and articles in newspapers, we know about the actions of swindlers who take money from gullible people.
Please tell me what needs to be done in order not to become deceived? What is the first thing you need to pay attention to? Thanks in advance for your answer.
Elena, Rostov-on- Don.
You can find rental housing offers in Moscow from various sources, including the Internet and street advertisements. When choosing an option for renting, you need to ask whether a contract is concluded upon move-in. If it is not provided, it is better to refuse the offer.
The second important point is payment. Many homeowners take out funds several months in advance. One of the tricks of scammers is precisely this. Therefore, all financial issues are discussed in advance.
Finally, you need to make sure that it is the owner who is renting out the living space. To do this, his passport and real estate documents are checked - an extract from the Unified State Register.
What does prepayment mean when renting an apartment?
At the moment I am looking for temporary living space in Moscow. Most host options require an advance payment. It is not entirely clear what this means, because there is a possibility of losing your money.
Please advise how to act correctly when resolving the housing issue? I express my gratitude for the recommendations.
Andrey, Lyubertsy.
Usually two options are practiced. The first of them involves paying fees for the first and last month of renting housing. Some landlords insist on transferring the amount for several months at once.
Often scammers act as follows. They take money in advance, and then, under various pretexts, forcibly evict the tenant. There is no talk of voluntary refunds.
To avoid getting into the situation described, they enter into a full-fledged rental agreement. When the conditions stipulate prepayment, then in the event of early vacancy of the apartment, it is necessary to provide for a refund for unused months. A receipt from the owner of the property to receive funds will not hurt.
How to check an apartment before renting
There was a need to rent an apartment in Moscow. They offered an option in a new building, which was also close to work. I'm confused about the rent. Its size is significantly lower than the prices that have prevailed on the market.
What pitfalls can there be, and how can you protect yourself from being deceived? Thanks in advance for your qualified clarifications.
Mikhail, Domodedovo.
Indeed, the situation described is fraught with several risks. When the conversation turns to new buildings, it is possible that low rents may be due to the fact that the house has not yet been put into operation. Therefore, you must first order an extract from the Unified State Register for the object of interest.
The catch sometimes is that people are registered in the apartment who do not live there. But it is possible that one day they may appear and claim their rights to the living space. Therefore, before signing the contract, you must insist on a certificate from the housing office or management company about the persons registered in the housing.
It would not hurt to conduct a visual inspection of the condition of the sanitary facilities. Perhaps pipes are leaking or there are other problems that complicate normal living.
How to check an apartment tenant
Due to circumstances, I live with my mother, but I plan to rent out my studio. I want the tenant to be decent and not cause problems, including for the neighbors.
Are there any ways to find out information about the tenant legally? I am grateful to the specialist for useful advice.
Ksenia, Balashikha.
There are several ways to get an idea about a future tenant. First of all, the passport is examined to determine its validity and whether the citizen has registration.
It would be useful to inquire about the tenant’s place of work and his occupation. If desired, information about it can be obtained at the enterprise or via the Internet.
A person's personality can be revealed by his appearance. Some signs may indicate alcohol or drug abuse. And this is already a risk factor.
How to rent an apartment for daily rent in Moscow and avoid getting divorced
A two-week business trip to the capital is planned. I don’t want to live in a hotel, but I plan to rent a place for daily rent. All my friends warn me about scammers.
Recommend how to protect yourself from scammers and not get into unexpected troubles? Thanks for the answer.
Pavel, Krasnogorsk.
Before concluding a transaction, it is necessary to check the ownership of the apartment. A conscientious owner always shows a passport and title documents for real estate. An important point for business travelers is the possibility of receiving checks or receipts. After all, you need to report to your employer.
The contract must contain information about the time of use of the housing. Thanks to this, you will be able to avoid overpaying the landlord.
It wouldn't hurt to make an inventory of valuables at the time of moving in and moving out. Often, scammers will accuse a citizen of stealing non-existent property and demand money for it.
Deception in real estate agencies
Finding housing through an information agency is also fraught with financial losses. Of course, such a scheme does not directly relate to the use of a rented property, but it is still necessary to know about it.
The point here is to place advertisements for apartments for rent on various platforms and in the media. Typically, the rental price is as low as possible. Having fallen for such a tempting offer, a potential client calls the indicated telephone numbers, after which he is invited to come to the office for a meeting.
During personal communication, the tenant is told in vivid detail about the various options for renting housing, not forgetting to mention that the rental price is several times lower than market values, and the services of agents require a purely symbolic payment. The client who comes across signs the agreement, makes an advance payment and goes to inspect the proposed options. However, as a result, it turns out that no one is going to rent out housing at the addresses provided.
When contacting again, the client will be informed that the contract is still valid for some time (usually about 30 days) and he can consider other options. But the next attempts will again be unsuccessful. After which, the agents will report that the contract has expired, but they have fulfilled their obligations.
We suggest you read: How to re-register an apartment from a husband to a wife
Accordingly, you should be careful about agency offers regarding rental housing at a minimum cost, and also not transfer an advance payment without inspecting the apartment. If the agreement is signed, then it is unlikely that the money will be returned, because from the point of view of the law everything is correct - the person was provided with information services, which he, in turn, paid for.
How do realtors cheat when renting apartments? The fastest (but not always and not profitable for everyone) way to rent or rent out an apartment is to contact a real estate agency.
The organization works for a % of the transaction, so it is in their interests to find the right option as soon as possible.
Also, the real estate agency acts as a guarantor of the transaction, and if problems arise on one side or another, it is obliged to resolve them as soon as possible.
The realtor bears the burden of checking the condition of the apartment before renting, whether the owners have the right to own the property, and reading the contract for controversial items.
But all this applies only to those agencies that conduct honest activities. Unfortunately, along with them, pseudo-real estate agencies are thriving, whose work boils down to deceiving clients. Such organizations are divided into 2 groups:
- news agencies;
- fly-by-night agencies.
In the first case, the organization's activities do not go beyond the law. Under the guise of real estate services, the client is given vague wording “providing information, assistance in finding a suitable option.”
Employees of such agencies actually perform their duties, but they often involve providing clients with unverified information from the Internet or newspapers.
Such agencies do not have their own database of landlords; employees also monitor websites and newspapers for the latest advertisements. The chances of renting a home with the help of information agencies are minimal: often the interaction between the agent and the client ends with the latter being presented with 5-10 options that do not suit him.
The main feature of such “assistants” is that the fee for the realtor’s services is taken not as a percentage of the transaction, but in advance and in a fixed amount.
Employees of fly-by-night agencies, or more simply put, scammers, do not find it difficult to find fresh advertisements. They simply hand the client a printout with the contact details of the owners, whose offers have long been out of date.
When calling the indicated numbers, the client hears only one answer: “already rented out.” Another option for deception is that the agency provides numbers of supposed owners, who willingly answer phone calls and say that the property is still available, but there is one caveat: they themselves are currently away.
The client patiently waits for the “owner” to return, confident that the transaction will take place, but on the agreed day the subscriber turns out to be unavailable. Needless to say, the “owners” in this case are the agency employees themselves.
