During a period of housing shortages, accommodation scams are being more widely reported with students, and in particular international students are being targeted. If this has happened to you, don’t feel ashamed or stupid as the sophistication of these scams make them very hard to spot.
However, we have some tips to help you avoid being taken advantage of and what to do if you suspect or succumb to a scam:
RESPONDING TO AN ADVERT
- If you are responding to an advert, look up their credentials and check out whether they have an actual premises; you can do this by looking them up on Google Maps, do they have a landline number, a professional looking website and reviews? If it is someone with a mobile number and no evidence of an office, alarm bells should start ringing.
ARRANGING A VIEWING
- If you arrange a viewing, make sure you see inside the property – being shown the outside is not good enough. Or if you can only view remotely, ask for a live video call tour (not a recorded video) and ensure you look the property up and take in all the information you can such as a Google Map image, or the landlord details.
RESERVING A ROOM
- Being charged fees is illegal, so never part with money to ‘reserve’ a room. If you are asked to pay a deposit, this is normal but has to be protected in a secure deposit scheme such as the Tenancy Deposit Scheme – you will need to sign paperwork to agree to this. Sometimes you will be asked for a portion of the rent upfront instead of a deposit, which is then taken off the rent, again this is legal but should be reflected in your contract.
PAYING RENT UPFRONT
- Be especially cautious if asked to pay your rent upfront. Whilst this is normal practice if you don’t have a UK-based guarantor, when handing over so much money, you should be even more thorough when doing your due diligence. There are guarantor schemes that act as your guarantor so if you engage with one of these companies, you will negate the need to pay upfront and therefore mitigate your exposure.
SIGNING UP TO A TENANCY
- To sign up to a tenancy, there will be a contract, license or tenancy agreement involved. Have a good read and check for any signs this might not be professional such as bad spelling, irregular grammar and language that doesn’t sound like a legal document.
ASK FOR ADVICE
- If you are concerned, ask your Student Union, Unipol or The National Code for advice and if you have been scammed, report it to Action Fraud. Keep recordings and screenshots of everything during the process whenever you are feeling suspicious.
TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE
- If it seems too good to be true, it probably is. Being persuaded by huge discounts for paying upfront, or a room that appears to be below the market rent for an amazing looking property in a great location is unlikely to be a genuine rental opportunity.
To mitigate renting under pressure, try and book earlier and give yourself time to research properly. The later you leave it, the fewer rooms available which might panic you into making snap decisions which scammers can sense. But remember, the vast majority of landlords, letting agents and managed hall operators will put the customer first and abide by the law so be on the receiving end of a scam would be very unlucky.
Written by Sarah Canning – Student Accommodation Features Editor
