How to rent an apartment daily or long-term without getting scammed

Finding a rental property is one of the riskiest processes in the real estate market. Despite the abundance of offers in almost every city, renting an apartment without being deceived is almost impossible. To avoid falling victim to scammers and losing personal time and money, it is recommended to follow simple tips.

Find housing without deception: with realtors or without intermediaries?

Searching for housing in St. Petersburg, Moscow, Voronezh, Novosibirsk and other large cities in 70% of cases is associated with risk for the tenant. Those who need to rent housing for a day, in most cases, are faced with the impossibility of booking an apartment on the desired date. It is even more difficult for long-term tenants to find suitable living space, since advertisements on the Internet or newspapers are full of scammers.

Concluding an agreement with a real estate agency: advantages of the deal

Citizens who have not previously encountered transactions in the real estate market prefer to contact specialists from the agency. Real estate offices will not only help you rent an apartment so that you are not deceived, but will also take care of full documentary support for the transaction .

Contacting real estate agencies will help tenants:

1. Quickly and easily find the best option in a convenient area of ​​the city.
2. Don't worry about documents.
3. Save personal time.

To conclude an agreement, the tenant must come to the realtors with a passport and outline his conditions. Real estate specialists will advise future tenants on possible options. If clients are satisfied with the option proposed by realtors, they enter into a lease agreement. One copy is given to the tenant, the other remains with the company, and the third is given to the owner of the property.

They clarify in advance the conditions under which housing is rented, what the rent includes, evaluate the location of the apartment, property, state of repair, etc. They almost always have up-to-date photos of the property, which allows the tenant to familiarize themselves with the property before the inspection.

Disadvantages of concluding a rental agreement through real estate agencies

But the services of realtors are not cheap. Depending on the company and rental option (daily or long-term), the cost will vary from 1,000 to 10,000 rubles . In addition, negative reviews on the Internet indicate facts of deception on the part of real estate agencies.

One common method is the fictitious provision of services. Tenants come to the company’s office, sign an agreement, and make a payment. Realtors promise to find a suitable option for them within a few days. As a result, the client receives 5-10 addresses from the old database, which initially do not meet his requirements.

When asked by the employer, the scammers shrug their shoulders and refer to the terms of the contract, which may stipulate in fine print the provision of no more than 10 addresses. That is, in fact, the realtors fulfilled their obligations, and the client cannot make any claims against them.

Is it possible to rent an apartment without intermediaries?

Finding an apartment on your own is even more difficult and risky. Real estate forums often address complaints from tenants who encountered scammers when trying to rent an apartment.

Most tenants are faced with another problem: apartments from the owner without intermediaries are practically never found in advertisements. In 9 out of 10 offers, the tenant will have to communicate with a specialist from a real estate office.

However, not all owners want to cooperate with the agency. In resorts, for example, in Crimea and Sochi, most owners provide their housing without intermediaries.

Step-by-step instructions on how to rent a home and not pay for realtor services:

• look for an apartment only on trusted sites. The chances of finding housing without intermediaries on large portals are much higher;
• Don’t pay attention to “nice” phone numbers and template descriptions. Unlike owners, agencies often copy information about apartments and indicate corporate numbers in the ad;
• not agree to a meeting in the office. The owner will not waste time and will immediately invite you to inspect the apartment;
• Having selected a suitable option, the tenant must personally come for inspection;
• be sure to conclude a written agreement;
• do not pay several months in advance at once.

Popular rental scams

Before contacting realtors or trying to find an apartment on your own, it is recommended to pay attention to how people cheat when renting out housing.

Inconsistency of information in the ad

One of the most common options is posting false photos on the Internet on Avito, OLX. This is relevant for cases when a fraudster rents out an apartment in a disadvantaged area and in poor condition, and displays a photo of an elite house with European-quality renovation . It is not only the appearance that attracts clients, but also the price, which is deliberately low for such a property.

This type of deception is most common in large cities, where luxury housing with good repairs is not uncommon. Therefore, renting an apartment correctly in Moscow or St. Petersburg is much more difficult than, for example, in Belgorod.

Requiring advance payment without prior inspection

When renting housing for a long period of time, the tenant must become familiar with the condition of the apartment in person. It is much more difficult if you need to rent an apartment for a day in another city, for example, during an urgent business trip. In this case, it is almost impossible to get acquainted with the housing, which is often taken advantage of by scammers.

Requiring prepayment for booking an apartment for the desired date and time is one of the options for deception.

• firstly , the client does not receive any guarantees, since the reservation most often consists of a telephone conversation;
• secondly , it happens that the apartment has already been rented out or such an address does not exist in principle.

By transferring funds, the tenant risks being left without finances and without housing.

Renting out housing by a tenant

Sometimes tenants themselves are not averse to making money on other people's property. By renting housing from the owner for a day, they can engage in double rental, providing long-term rental services.

Fraudsters place an advertisement, invite clients to inspect an apartment for long-term rental, and demand an advance payment. After receiving the funds, they hide, and the new tenants are left without rented property.

Fictitious contract

Not all owners are ready to provide services under a rental agreement. But even among those who agree to official relationships, there are scammers.

One type of fraud is a fictitiously drawn up lease agreement. For example, the owner assures the tenants that he is providing them with an apartment for a long term under a contract, but does not specify a deadline for handing over the property.

After 2 months, he demands the tenants to vacate the premises, citing the terms of the contract. If the document does not contain specific deadlines, he has the right to evict tenants who could have paid several months in advance.

Attempted robbery during an apartment inspection

This is the most daring and violent version of deception. When inviting clients to inspect a home, scammers politely ask them to take cash with them “just in case.” They convince tenants that the money may be useful to them for an urgent lease agreement if they are satisfied with the conditions.

Instead of a polite owner, an aggressive group of people who are ready to take away cash in any way may be waiting for gullible tenants. Finding such villains can be difficult: they may cover their faces to avoid being caught on surveillance video and use disposable SIM cards.

Simple tips to avoid rental property scams

By studying the basic tricks of scammers, you can easily avoid possible risks when looking for an apartment. To do this, you should adhere to the following recommendations:

1. Conclude a lease agreement indicating the terms, amount, and obligations of the parties . An officially executed document will protect the client’s interests in court if the landlord attempts to deceive him.
2. Do not go to home inspections alone . Fraudsters can easily deal with one client, but they will be afraid to attack 2-3 people.
3. Check the owner's documents . If the tenant doubts that the property belongs to the owner, he has the right to ask to see a certificate of ownership and the landlord's passport.
4. Don't believe everything the landlord says . Of course, every owner believes that his apartment is worth much more and tries to embellish its advantages. But it is better to verify everything personally than to rely on the integrity of the owner.