The vast majority of apartment rentals in Europe are trouble-free, but scams unfortunately do exist – especially in the bigger cities. We’ve identified eight of the most common scams for travellers to watch out for:
1. The ‘phantom’ landlord
Some scam artists will rent an apartment from a landlord and then ‘pretend’ to own it. The most brazen scammers may even invite you to take a look around their rental. This snares a lot of people because it oozes with genuineness.
These phantom landlords provide false information and ask for money upfront then soon disappear. This scam affects both the real owners of the apartment and the victims, as both are effectively duped.
If you feel you are in the presence of a phantom landlord, ask to see the contract for the apartment itself. Be wary if they demand the security payment in cash only, or to be sent to a suspicious foreign bank account.
2. The ‘phantom’ apartment
This scam is similar to the last one. It is more common but less snaring, and uses the impersonality of the Internet to its advantage.
Most people are familiar with this type of scam. Often it’s simply a fake apartment profile. It’s more common because it’s easier to do, but also less convincing for the same reasons. Victims will typically pay for the apartment upfront and then arrive to find it does not exist.
To uncloak the phantom apartment scam, try a reverse image search on Google. Often scam artists will ‘borrow’ images from another, legitimate, rental property, and masquerade them as their own. A Google image search will reveal where such images have been used before.
3. The greedy landlord
Some scams pass under the radar of many because they are well disguised.
The ‘greedy landlord’ scam, simply put, occurs when a landlord keeps more of the deposit they are entitled to. It is a matter of preying on the ignorance of the tenant. An example may include keeping most or all of the deposit to pay for repairs to the home.
To avoid this scam, always ask for a comprehensive moving in report before settling in. A landlord cannot claim for repairs if they are already stated in the moving in report. If there are any problematic areas: scuff marks on the walls, for example, take plenty of pictures and submit them to your landlord as soon as you enter the apartment.
4. The ‘Off-the-Record’ scam
There are more platforms than ever to rent an apartment and most, like AirBnB, keep records of all the communication a potential-tenant will have with a landlord. So it should always be a red flag when a landlord contacts you off-the-record, with an email or phone call off of the platform.
The scam artist’s intent here is to move would-be victims off of the record, where there the transparency of the platforms ceases.
To avoid this scam, resist the temptation to move off-the-record.
5. The ‘double’ scam
The double affects two sets of victims, not just the one. A typical scam artist may ask the current tenant to leave for some reason, perhaps to do maintenance work. At this opportunity they will then show the apartment to the new ‘tenants’. It has echoes of the phantom landlord scam because it has the same brazenness and genuineness to it. It also has echoes of the greedy landlord scam, because it may be an opportunity for an unethical landlord to attempt to collect rent from two tenancy agreements.
To avoid this scam, ask to see the apartment again on a different day; at short notice. This will pose problems for any scammer looking to do the ‘double’.
6. The ‘won’t release the lease’ scam
This scam works because, technically, you don’t’ need a lease to live in an apartment. It is the most common way to rent an apartment, but it isn’t mandatory. If a landlord tries to get money from you without even mentioning, or seeming to care, about a lease, you should always be thinking there is no lease for the landlord to show you.
To avoid this scam, always ask about a potential lease, and gauge the landlord’s reactions.
7. The ‘too-good-to-be-true’ scam
It’s mostly true in life that if something seems too good to be true, then it probably is. This scam operates by preying on what’s known to work: the most common example being a great listing that has would-be tenants dying to view.
Scam artists often copy successful listings and recycle them for their own fake apartments, but will always think of an excuse to deter potential viewings. To further prey on our eagerness, they might use one of the oldest sales tactics in the book: insist that the apartment is in high-demand, and that only an immediate deposit can secure it.
To avoid this scam, make sure you get a chance to physically see the apartment. It will be immediately obvious if it marries up to the listing that went with it.
To avoid this scam, always ask about a potential lease, and gauge the landlord’s reactions.
8. The ‘bait-and-switch’ scam
This is a common one because, like a truly deceptive scam, it passes under the radar of most people, who liken it to bad luck or an honest error in judgment.
The bait-and-switch works by advertising a truly great apartment, collecting the deposit and getting the lease signed, only to then say that the apartment is not available, and offering up another – almost always subpar – replacement instead.
To avoid this scam: search to see if the apartment exists and is advertised already, elsewhere on the Internet. And be persistent, reiterate that the apartment you’ve got your eye on is the one you want, and make that clear from the get-go.
Scams are most prevalent in the big cities, but can be anywhere. It’s important to be vigilant, trust your judgment and use common sense. No question is bad question. Be smart, and aware of the dangers, and enjoy your rental and holiday like the overwhelming majority of trouble-free tenants. Enjoy.
This article was written by Haven on Earth, a family run letting business based all over Europe.
