Yahoo Finance New online landlord checker brings fresh hope to desperate renters who fear being duped
You have identified the perfect apartment. It’s small but it’s clean and it’s affordable. The landlord wants a deposit and a month’s rent up front and produces an authentic-looking agreement.
You pay the money and wait for the keys. And wait. And wait…
It dawns on you that your money has gone and so has the so-called landlord. You’ve been scammed – joining a rising number of people who are falling to rental fraud.
In 2015, Action Fraud received 3,193 reports of rental fraud, an increase of 44% on the year before. The Local Government Association has suggested this represents just 5% of victims as most cases are not reported owing to embarrassment.
With a deposit and rent averaging £1000 it means £63 million is lost each year to fake landlord scams.
[Also read: ‘Rogue’ landlord caught renting out caretaker’s storeroom as tiny flat]
Now, in a first for the industry, RentProfile has launched a service that can verify a landlord’s credentials for any UK rental opportunity, helping prevent fake landlord fraud.
Co-founder David Munday was inspired to setup the site after being a victim of a scam himself. “The landlord seemed a professional guy, well spoken,” he said.
“He showed me around the flat, had a tenancy agreement and said a bank transfer was fine. A friend and I transferred him £1000 later that evening.
“On the day we were supposed to move in, he texted to ask for another month’s rent and it was at this point I got nervous,” he said.
“After not agreeing to this, his phone stopped working and I realised this was a scam.”
Mr Munday reported the incident and it transpired there were other victims and that the scammer was a former tenant who had kept a key.
There are about 11 million private renters in UK and about 2.5 million private landlords.
The site works by allowing landlords to sign up and be added to a directory, which is then searchable by renters.
Renters can search by mobile, rental address or the unique landlord reference that RentProfile assigns to a landlord. If when a renter searches there is no record of a particular landlord there is an option to request a landlord check report for a £9 fee.
RentProfile’s landlord verification includes identity, rental property ownership, history of housing prosecutions and reports from other renters.
Landlords who sign up benefit from being alerted when somebody attempts to impersonate them or when a property is being advertised without their permission.
“We realised there is a compromise when seeking a rental today; either go through a letting agent which may charge excessive fees, or use a listings site where there’s a chance of being scammed,” said Paul Munday, David’s brother and fellow co-founder.
“It wasn’t difficult to find fake listings on websites. In many cases the landlord is also a victim and it becomes complicated when the fraudster has used the actual landlord’s name in the scam,” he added.
Betsy Dillner, director of campaign group Generation Rent, said renters had very little information available to them to check potential landlords. And Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the Residential Landlords Association (RLA), said: “Rental scams by non-landlords have been a problem in the sector for a long time, impacting not just tenants but landlords as well.”
Action Fraud’s top tips to protect yourself from rental fraud:
Do not send money to anyone advertising rental properties online until you are certain the advertiser is genuine.
If you need to secure accommodation in the UK from overseas, seek the help of the employer or university you are coming to, or get a friend, contact or relative to check the property exists and is available.
Do not pay any money until you or a reliable contact has visited the property with an agent or the landlord.
Ask for copies of tenancy agreements and any safety certificates such as Gas Electricity or HMO Licence.
Do not be pressurised into transferring large sums of money. Transfer funds to a bank account having obtained the details by contacting the landlord or agent directly after the above steps have been followed. Be sceptical if you’re asked to transfer any money via a money transfer service like Western Union.
