IN Lately Fraud in the rental of residential real estate is widespread. Fraudsters use various schemes deception. We will tell you in this publication how to avoid falling for the bait of cunning scammers.
Basic schemes for deceiving gullible citizens when renting housing:
To avoid becoming a victim of scammers, you need to check Is the person renting out the apartment its owner?. If it is not, then you need to clarify who the owner is, what relationship the lessor has with this person, whether he has a notarized power of attorney from the owner or a lease agreement, which indicates the possibility of subletting the property and written permission to rent it out (if the agreement contains a similar requirement).
In addition, it is advisable to obtain an Extract from Rosreestr unified register rights to real estate and transactions with it. It will indicate the owner and existing encumbrances of the property, if any. The state fee for the extract is 200.00 rubles, the production time is 5 days. You can order it at Rosreestr or at the multifunctional center.
You will spend 200.00 rubles and you will know exactly who is the owner of the apartment.
Important! If the owner is not the person leasing it, then you need to check his authority, whether there is a power of attorney, a lease agreement and permission to sublet the property.
In addition, it is advisable to find out who is registered in the premises and actually lives. To do this, you can look at the house register or ask for an extract from the house register.
It is advisable that no one is registered in the apartment or only 1-2 people are registered, since registration gives the right to reside.
Important! Before concluding a rental agreement, you should read it very carefully and it is advisable to let a lawyer review it to see if there are any unfavorable conditions for you.
The contract must fully indicate the object that is to be rented, the condition that the property is not mortgaged, not sold, not encumbered, and that there are no rights of third parties to the object. The contract must also indicate that The landlord guarantees that there are no rights of third parties to reside in the apartment.
If you have become a victim of fraud: you paid money, but did not actually receive an apartment for rent, then you need to file a police report against the actions of the “landlords” regarding fraud.
Often, illegal schemes are used by real estate agencies when selecting options for renting residential premises. Thus, often information services for finding an apartment for a tenant are positioned as a rental fee. A potential tenant, delighted at such a low price for renting an apartment, immediately signs an agreement with a real estate agency, without going into details. Later it turns out that the owner still has to pay rent.
Fraudsters place advertisements for apartments for rent on various classifieds websites, including the most popular site, Avito.
Fraudulent advertisements are not difficult to recognize.
Firstly, scammers sometimes post photos of designer apartments taken from third-party sites, or just pictures.
Secondly, they indicate a low price in order to attract as many more potential victims.
Thirdly, for a fairly low price they offer a completely acceptable option, which in reality costs much more.
To recognize a scammer also when communicating, you can ask more questions about the property that is being hired, for example, when was the last renovation, where do the apartment windows face, which metro is nearby, shops, etc.
Important! If a potential landlord has difficulty answering these questions that the owner could easily answer, then you should be wary and it is advisable not to enter into a contractual relationship with this person.
In many cases, real estate agency employees take advantage of the ignorance of ordinary citizens, improperly inform about the service and impose so-called information services, while the potential employer thinks that he is paying rent.
If you have found an apartment option that suits you on the Internet, and the staff of a real estate agency deceived you and took money for their own services under the guise of a rental price, then you urgently need to write a notice of termination of the contract for the provision of services, send it by registered mail with notification and an inventory of the attachment or hand it over on purpose under seal and signature.
In your application, demand a refund of the funds paid, refer to inadequate information about the service and Article 10.12 of the Federal Law on the Protection of Consumer Rights. If the money is not returned to you, you can file a complaint with Rospotrebnadzor or directly with the court with a claim to recover the funds paid.
ATTENTION! Due to latest changes due to legislation, the information in the article may be out of date! Our lawyer will advise you free of charge - write in the form below.
Namely, under paragraph 4: (fraudulent actions of an organized group of persons, resulting in the deprivation of the victim’s right to use residential premises).
Punishment for fraud involves a fine in the amount of the salary or other income of the culprit for a period of up to 3 years with restriction of freedom for up to 2 years.
But, as practice shows, it is very difficult to prove the existence of a crime in such cases. First of all, the problem becomes proof of fact participation in the scam of an organized group of people, because legally the relationship between fraudulent realtors and fictitious owners is not formalized in any way.
Secondly, a significant part of rental scams comes down to drawing up agreements for the provision of information services, which are not regulated in any way by law, and its presence cannot be the basis for initiating a lawsuit.
And thirdly, many citizens affected by the actions of scammers make mistakes themselves, if avoided, it would be possible not to lose your money: they agree to give a deposit without, do not check the availability of housing documents from the landlord, etc.
Analyzing the general statistics on rental fraud cases, it is safe to say that most scams are tolerated gullibility and negligence of tenants.
Despite widespread coverage of the topic of rental housing scams on the Internet and in the press, citizens continue to fall for well-known, sometimes primitive circuits fraud.
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.
Popular in big cities scheme for “divorcing” owners. Its victims are often landlords who... is verbal, while the owner is firmly convinced that he rents out housing only to those with whom he agreed.
The tenant, in turn, re-rents the rooms or beds - also, of course, without a contract. Thus, the property, from renting out which the owner planned to earn for many years, turns into a flophouse.
As a result, when the deception is revealed, the owner discovers your property in a “killed” state, and there is no one to file a claim with - after all, the current tenants will turn out to be the same victims of deception.
Owners often practice full or partial collection payments from tenants in the form of repairs.
In 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 state of the bathroom, electrical wiring, etc. impossible.
The owner, realizing the prospect of his losses (dissatisfied residents will move out, and find new ones in the apartment, requiring urgent repairs, it will be difficult), agrees to such conditions.
Process drags on for many months, as a result, the owner does not see any money for rent or the actual repairs. In the end, the landlord has no choice but to 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.
Tenant under any pretext defrauds the owner of title documents(for example, he writes that at work they require you to provide proof of the fact of renting for, 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 case fake deed of gift or another document transferring real estate to a fraudster. It is this type of divorce that is classified as fraud committed by an organized group of persons.
Those who are more likely to become victims of a scam are those who who rents the house. The most common schemes for defrauding tenants without involving agencies are:
Often, scammers demand pay in advance not in one, but in several months.
About what's coming sales process, the landlord is silent.
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 face at the door, who, as it turns out, is registered here and has the right to use living space on the same basis as the owner.
After receiving payment two or more months in advance, the owner begins make concocted claims against residents: complaints from neighbors, damage to property, etc., in the end he demands to vacate the premises.
The funds paid in advance, of course, go as compensation for allegedly damaged property.
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 doesn't fit, and the owner pretends that he sees this person for the first time and, naturally, did not take any money from him.
How to avoid getting scammed when renting an apartment? Common scams in this video:
What to do if you were deceived and how to protect yourself from fraud? The chances of proving the fact of fraud when renting/renting residential premises bypass are very small, because there are no documents confirming the transaction.
But you should definitely write a statement to the police, because if several people suffer from the fraudulent actions of the same person, the chances of bringing him to justice increase.
You can protect yourself from the fate of a victim of an apartment scam if you don’t forget about the following things:
You can learn about the rights and responsibilities and also from our articles.
What needs to be done to avoid being deceived at the conclusion? Tips in this video:
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 is working, so it is in their interests to find the right option as soon as possible.
The real estate agency also acts guarantor of the transaction, and, if problems arise on one side or another, 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 job is to deceive clients. Such organizations are divided into 2 groups:
In the first case, the organization's activities do not go beyond the law. Under the guise of real estate services to the client slip vague wording“providing information, assistance in finding a suitable option.”
Employees of such agencies actually perform their duties, only they often consist of 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 housing with the help of information agencies are minimal: often the interaction between the agent and the client ends with the latter being provided 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 contacts of owners whose offers have long been irrelevant.
When calling the specified numbers, the client hears one answer "already completed". Another option for deception is that the agency provides numbers of supposed owners who willingly answer phone calls and they say that housing is still available, but there is one caveat: they themselves are away now.
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.
It’s easy to determine whether a particular agency wants to scam you if you know the distinguishing signs bona fide real estate organizations:
As you can see, there are plenty of ways to deceive citizens in this market, and they will flourish until both owners and tenants learn to show maximum vigilance.
Remember that if there is anything alarming in the behavior of the other party, it is better to refuse the deal rather than later stay with suitcases on the street.
You can learn how to avoid falling into the rental trap from the video.
1. “Money in the morning, chairs in the evening”
After the call, it turns out that the apartment has not yet been rented out (wow!), you can view it even today, but the commission (“some” 5000 rubles) must be paid immediately, because the demand for the apartment is sooo great, and here it is -he's about to leave!
And this is where it works: “Eh, it was - it wasn’t! Five thousand and I’m happy.” Of course, the office draws up the contract “according to all the rules”, with stamps, etc. Of course, the client, who is in a hurry and euphoria, does not have time to read the contract. And after payment it turns out that the apartment was rented out literally a minute ago. "Did not have time!"
But never mind, there are other options. Only in reality it turns out that other options are nothing more than printing a bulletin board. And upon closer examination of the contract, it turns out that the “agency” provides only information services and is not obliged to show any apartments at all.
Conclusion:
The price is greatly reduced
- the room is locked with things and will not be given up,
- the owner goes abroad, on a business trip, etc.,
- payment by transfers is offered,
- it is emphasized that “decent people” are needed (do you think anyone needs dishonest people?),
- designer photo a luxury apartment (such apartments cannot be cheap),
- “assistance in registration” is offered (this is how they look for new arrivals: it’s easier to deceive them),
- the phone number is indicated in letters or shown in the photo.
2. “Our barracks are very friendly! Will you be the twentieth?
It would seem like a wonderful friendly company, and the apartment is conveniently located. Apartment showings usually take place during the day, when residents are at work. The scammers take the month's payment, and in the evening all the neighbors return, not five, but twenty!
Conclusion:
They show you a room that is not the one in the photo in the ad,
- another person comes to the meeting, and not the one in the photo in the ad,
- the distance from the metro is much greater than what was indicated in the advertisement, there are no promised shops near the house.
3. Goodbye pledge!
So, the tenant pays a month’s rent and a deposit and moves into the room. And in the evening, 20 neighbors return to the apartment! At the end of the month the person has to move out, but the deposit is not returned to him. There can be many reasons for this: for example, torn wallpaper, a scratch on the cabinet, etc.
Conclusion:
4. Prepayment
Now imagine the situation that a month after you move in, the real owner appears and declares that the apartment was rented out using forged documents, and you have no right to rent the apartment.
Conclusion:
It only makes sense to pay several months in advance if you work through a trusted agency. In this case, it is dangerous to work directly with the owner, unless, of course, you are a real estate rental specialist.
And most importantly! Any fraud can be detected by two signs:
We wish you a successful housing search!
For rent a large number of residential premises, this especially applies to major cities. At the same time, you need to keep in mind what rules to follow so as not to fall for scammers when renting an apartment. Different kinds scams operate throughout our country, in Moscow, Novgorod, as well as other countries - Ukraine, Spain and others.
In order to recognize rental fraud, you need to know the characteristics of a real estate agency operating in good faith:
the company's office should not be located in a slum and should not consist of one or a couple of small rooms;
the office location must be in the business district of the locality;
payment for agent services is calculated as a percentage of the cost of housing (this means that the price for the service cannot be equal for those who are looking for an apartment in a new building and a bed in a residential area);
the contract has clear clauses, one of which specifies the provision of services related to the search for real estate;
settlement with the agent occurs after the specified services have been provided (when the landlord and tenant have signed an agreement);
The agency does not take an advance.
If, when renting an apartment, it seems to you that a scam is happening, then it is best to refuse the deal and save the money . Otherwise, you risk being left without money and housing.
Sublease, which is clandestine in nature. This method Fraud is often used in big cities. The victims are the owners of the apartments who carry out the unofficial renting. The agreement is concluded in the form of an agreement - verbally, the owner believes that the housing is rented to exactly the person with whom he agreed. The tenant, in turn, rents out a room in the apartment or sleeping area for a day, and the contract is also not concluded. As a result of such use of the living space, the furniture and equipment are in a deplorable state, but there is no one to demand compensation from, since there are no official papers.
Repair work carried out to offset rental payments. This is how tenants try to deceive, insisting on making repairs, arguing that they do not want to live in such conditions. The homeowner understands that he will first need to renovate the apartment himself and then find new guests, and agrees to such conditions. Then for several months he does not receive or receives a small rent, but does not see the results of the repairs. As a result, they have to evict the tenants and accept losses.
Title documents are in the hands of criminals. Elderly owners are trying to deceive people using such a scheme. The tenant asks to give him documentation for the apartment, arguing that at work it is necessary to confirm the fact of renting or another reason. After taking possession of the papers, the urgent sale of housing occurs.
Sale of an apartment that has been rented out. This type implies that the landlord demands payment of rent several months in advance, but does not indicate that the apartment is for sale. After some time, new owners appear and ask to leave the premises.
The transaction is concluded with a person who is not the owner of the property. The swindler reports that the apartment belongs to his relative, who has gone abroad and is temporarily unable to provide title documents.
Silence about the fact that other registered persons may live in the apartment. One day, the tenant finds a man at the door who says that he will live with him.
Eviction for far-fetched reasons. IN in this case The scammer will act in such a way that they will first take money from the tenant several months in advance, after which they will come up with reasons for eviction.
Changing locks. You can rent an apartment from the owner, who gives you the keys and asks you not to move in for a couple of days so that he has time to restore order. However, during this time the locks are changed, and the tenant, having arrived to move in, cannot enter the premises.
You can avoid fraudulent activities by following certain rules:
preparation of contract - required condition conclusion of a transaction;
low rental prices should always be a concern;
the time to think after viewing the apartment should be at least 1 day, during which time you can communicate with neighbors, find out whether the person is the owner and rents out the property;
Paying several months in advance should be avoided;
you can ask to present the house register in the presence of a realtor and make sure how many people are registered in the apartment;
documentation for the apartment (neither copies nor originals) should not be transferred to third parties, otherwise you may fall into the trap of scammers
Important! A correctly concluded agreement will help not only tenants, but also homeowners not to fall for the tricks of scammers.
Every citizen faced with the need in a metropolis quickly realizes that the rental market is full of scammers, always ready to lighten the wallet of an unlucky tenant.
Fraudulent schemes used to deceive gullible clients have not changed for years and are not very diverse.
Topping the list of common schemes is a low rental rate, which is used as a “hook”.
“Most of these advertisements are of the same type, and the rental rates indicated in them are 50-70% lower than market prices. When the client calls the specified number, it turns out that this particular wonderful offer is no longer there, but there is another one “with mother-of-pearl buttons” and market price", - noted the managing director of the Miel-Arenda company Natalya Sivko.
However, such advertisements can be called harmless tricks that only take up the client’s time and nerves. But schemes where a potential tenant is defrauded of money for “air” are already fully classified as fraudulent actions.
Fictitious news agencies and SMS scams are also quite common in the market. The principle of operation of these organizations is simple: a citizen who wants to rent an apartment and has left his phone number on some Internet resource receives an SMS message asking him to send a reply SMS to gain access to the database of homeowners.
Of course, the gullible tenant does not receive any information in response, and the sent message costs him a lot of money.
However, scammers are not only remote - a company with a completely respectable office can offer a client to buy for several thousand rubles a list of contacts of owners who rent out apartments at a price 10-15% below the market.
A potential tenant receives in the office a list of owners with addresses and telephone numbers of apartments; for persuasiveness, a company employee can even call one of the telephone numbers to arrange a showing. A satisfied client goes to a meeting, and no one is waiting for him in the apartment. The realtor also does not answer calls.
Calling the remaining apartments, the client understands that there are no apartments for rent in the purchased list that match the stated prices. Claims are not accepted at the company’s office, since the agency provided a paid “information service” for an agreed fee. “And the fact that the wrong offers turned up on the phones just at the moment when the client called is already his problem,” sums up Sivko.
Thanks to technological progress, renting an apartment using fake documents is a very common type of fraud in the rental housing market.
An agent may enter into a conspiracy with an apartment owner to rent out housing through dummies using forged documents. After some time, the owner will declare the transaction invalid, putting the tenant out on the street without any compensation.
It should be noted that an apartment can be subleased by scammers several times in a row, so the question of which subtenant has the right to live in it will fall on the shoulders of the tenants, and the scammers who initiated this situation will go into the shadows.
“The owner is required to present a passport and original documents for the apartment. Usually, scammers show the tenant only copies of documents, which are beautifully laminated for greater persuasiveness, rushing and distracting when studying the documents,” notes Sivko.
Fraud in apartment rentals is not uncommon in the luxury housing segment. Typically, scammers trick wealthy tenants into paying several months in advance without providing proof of receipt of the funds.
Also, owners of luxury housing sometimes offer tenants to make repairs in the apartment to pay rent, and then forget about these agreements and demand payment for the past months of rent, she said CEO Real estate agency "Usadba" Nadezhda Khazova.
Experts strongly advise not to take anyone’s word for it during an apartment rental transaction.
The client must be aware of the price situation so as not to buy too much profitable proposition, which is usually just a decoy.
Remain calm while viewing the apartment and concluding a deal, do not react to the state of nervousness artificially created by many owners and unscrupulous agents, thanks to which the client will quickly inspect everything and give the money.
Give Special attention drawing up a lease agreement - it reflects all the terms of the lease, including the term, fixed rental rate, visit to the apartment by the owner, responsibility of the parties, and others important points, notes Galina Kiseleva, director of the apartment rental department at Inkom-Real Estate.
Payment for the realtor's services occurs after the transaction is concluded, and not before the work begins.
The easiest way to transfer it to the owner is through a housing acceptance certificate, which includes an inventory of the property.
