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.
What to look for when renting an apartment through an agency
Lawyers recommend remembering the following rules that will help you not part with your money:
- do not make an advance payment, pay only for services actually performed;
- all remunerations are specified in the contract before the start of the service, where the agent’s data is entered;
- pay attention to the clauses in the agreement about penalties against the company or agents, this indicates that the company takes its obligations seriously;
- pay attention to the company’s experience; the longer the agency exists on the market, the better for the client.
Some unscrupulous agencies have the following fraud scheme: an agreement is concluded with the client, on the basis of which the agency provides the addresses of apartments, for which the customer makes payment before receiving them. In fact, it may turn out that these addresses do not exist or the apartment is not for rent.
What to look for when renting an apartment if you are searching on your own?
Inspection of future housing should not end with inspection of the apartment. In order for the choice to be successful, certain inspection rules must be followed. Note:
- which side do the windows face;
- what floor is in the house;
- by type of house (Khrushchev, high-rise building, new building, etc.);
- what is the condition of the courtyard area, entrance and staircase;
- what kind of neighbors live;
- how developed is the infrastructure;
- remoteness of public transport.
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
Renting a room in a communal apartment
It is possible to rent out a room in a communal apartment. Here we will consider two options. The first is that if the room is privatized, then the owner has the right to do whatever he wants with the room within the limits of the law. There are certain rules for renting a room in a communal apartment. The owner must obtain the consent of other residents to rent out the room; this procedure is not mandatory, but is recommended for comfortable living with neighbors. In addition, rules for the use of common areas are discussed. For the peace of mind of neighbors, the conditions for visiting guests are discussed.
The peculiarity of renting an apartment in a communal apartment is its square footage. The law establishes that 12 square meters are allocated for one person, that is, when two people move into such a square footage, neighbors have the right to go to court with a claim for infringement of the rights of other residents.
The second option, if the apartment is not privatized, then the procedure becomes more complicated. In order to rent out a room, you must obtain permission from the municipal authority, and it is also mandatory to obtain the consent of neighbors living in a communal apartment.
A contract for renting a room in a communal apartment has its own nuances, since third parties are involved. The document must specify all living conditions, rules of conduct (returning home, bringing guests, when noise is prohibited, etc.). The contract also stipulates the rules for using common areas (toilet, bathroom, kitchen, corridor). It is advisable to include the consent of the neighbors in the form of signatures in the contract.
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.
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.
Deception in real estate agencies
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 , 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, only 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 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.
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.
Renting an apartment for a long time
The rules for renting an apartment for a long term include a mandatory inspection of the apartment for suitability for habitation. It is mandatory to check window units, gas and electrical equipment, the condition of pipes and plumbing. It is necessary to take care of emergency telephone numbers.
What should you check when renting an apartment for a long term? Typically, such living space is rented with furniture and appliances, so an important point is to include all appliances, furniture and utensils in the inventory, so that when you leave you are not presented with a bill for a non-existent microwave.
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Be sure to discuss when the tenant needs to be granted access to the apartment. It will be unpleasant if, in the absence of residents, the owner wants to check the order in the house.
The rules for renting an apartment for a long period dictate that you pay attention to the terms of payment for utility bills. If they need to be paid in addition to rent, inquire about, or better yet, personally verify the monthly payments for the apartment. If 8 people are registered in the apartment and meters are not installed for the apartment, you may end up with unpleasant amounts on the receipt. Therefore, be sure to check all meter readings and record the data in the contract. You can also find out possible debt on utility bills; to do this, you need to contact the relevant institutions that service this residential complex.
At the end of the lease agreement, the lessor will check the property transferred to the tenant according to the inventory. In case of damage, the tenant is obliged to compensate for the damage incurred either by monetary compensation or by independently correcting the problems.
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.
We trust professionals
If you are planning to rent an apartment daily for the first time, entrust this matter to professionals. This way you will quickly find a suitable option without the risk of falling for scammers. The real estate agency will offer you a large selection of apartments, selected according to your parameters, and will also help you rent any one you like. The main advantages of renting an apartment through an agency:
- concluding a contract - everything is transparent, and the risk of being deceived is minimal;
- the appearance of the apartment in reality matches the photo;
- Special people clean apartments and monitor their condition.
It is believed that renting through an agency is more expensive than renting directly from private owners. You may actually have to pay a little extra. But you don’t need to waste time searching, contacting and negotiating with landlords. This is a significant saving of time and nerves.
