How to Avoid Rental Scams

Rental scams are far more common than we might think. If you are searching for a new home rental it’s important to be informed. Use these tips to make sure you don’t become the victim of a rental scam. If you are looking to rent, you can also rely on our sales representatives at The Peggy Hill Team help you find your next rental!

1. Do your research and search on reliable websites.

There are many different websites that rentals can be listed now. If you are looking on Realtor.ca at a lease or rental it is likely being listed by a legitimate source as the people listing on there need to be a member of a real estate board. If you are looking on websites such as Kijiji, Prop2Go, Facebook Marketplace etc. you can still find authentic rentals but it’s important to take steps to ensure that it is the real landlord, or sales representative listing it.

2. Make sure the residence is real.

Sometimes scammers will post fake properties that don’t exist, or they’ll use Realtor® listings that are active or sold and list them at a lower price. Make sure you do your research to ensure that the property is in fact real and that you are speaking to the real owner. According to StudentLife at UToronto, a good way to verify the authenticity of the rental listing is to search the owner & listing and if you find the same ad listed under a different name or contact then it is likely a scam. Keep in mind if it’s too good to be true, it probably is!

3. Meet the landlord and view the property.

Be careful of the landlord or tenant who is “Out Of Country”, as this is very common with scams. If it’s a scam sometimes they won’t be able to meet you or show you the home, and won’t have anyone in the area who is available to do so. They will invite you to drive by the home to see the area and the outside but say they won’t be able to show you inside.

4. Ask for references that you can contact yourself.

References can be requested by the landlord or the tenant! Just because you are the one looking to rent doesn’t mean you can’t ask them for previous tenant's contact information and hear from them if they were happy with their landlord. We recommend that you reach out to tenants yourself if you are suspicious because it would be easy to create a fraudulent letter of recommendation.

5. Understand what you must provide, and don’t provide them with information that you’re unsure about.

It’s important to understand what information you legally must provide to a landlord and what you do not. A great resource to understand what you are and are not required to share with a landlord is the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. On their website, they have a detailed outline of what information you do and do not have to share.

6. Be aware of suspicious requests or complicated instructions with money.

Scam artists will often be very pushy, and even though you haven’t met them or seen the home they will ask you for large sums of money to secure the home. StudentLife at UToronto says that they may ask you to pay an illegal security or holding deposit or other upfront fees. StudentLife also warns that if you are asked to wire money, it’s very likely a scam.

If you think you have been the victim of a rental scam it’s important to file a report with the police and keep all correspondence you’ve had with the fraudster. If you’ve sent them money, or if you’ve deposited money from them then contact your bank as soon as you can to advise them you have been the victim of a scam.