Free guide
A guide to dealing with fake landlord scams
7 – 10 minutes to read
In this guide
1. Introduction
It is not uncommon today for people to find a property they like online, pay the deposit and first month’s rent only to find that they have been dealing with a fraudster rather than the property owner.
Scammers often create convincing fake listings using stolen photos, forge tenancy agreements, and communicate professionally via email. They may even provide fake ID or utility bills. So it is not surprising that many people get taken in.
Also, scammers sometimes gain access to a genuine property—for example, by renting short-term accommodation—and conduct apparently convincing viewings. So, viewing the property is an important precaution but is not an absolute guarantee.
This type of scam generally is known as “rent fraud” or the “fake landlord” scam. It can be a devastating experience for those who have been scammed.
Because you have been dealing with criminals, not legitimate landlords, recovering your money can be difficult—but acting quickly gives you your best chance.
Here is some guidance on what you should do.
2. Recovering your money
This is the very first thing you should do, as soon as you discover you have been scammed. If you act quickly, it may be possible to recover your money.
But time is critical. The longer you wait, the harder it is to reverse transactions.
If You Paid by Credit Card
Contact your credit-card provider immediately.
If the cash price of what you were paying for was more than £100 and no more than £30,000, you may be able to make a claim under section 75 of the Consumer Credit Act 1974. Section 75 makes the card provider jointly responsible for certain breaches of contract or misrepresentations by the supplier.
However, section 75 does not apply to every payment. For example, protection can be affected where an intermediary was involved, or the payment was not made directly to the person with whom you contracted.
Ask the card provider to consider both a section 75 claim and, if appropriate, a chargeback claim. Explain that the accommodation did not exist or that the person taking the payment had no authority to let it.
If You Paid by Debit Card or Bank Transfer
Your protection is weaker, but you can still try:
Debit Cards: Ask your bank about a chargeback scheme. Some banks allow chargebacks for fraudulent transactions if reported quickly, in most cases within 120 days.
Bank Transfers (Faster Payments/CHAPS):
Contact your bank immediately and tell it that you have been the victim of an authorised push payment scam. Ask it to:
- try to stop or recover the payment;
- contact the recipient’s bank;
- consider your claim under the mandatory APP scam reimbursement rules; and
give you written reasons if it refuses reimbursement.
Since October 2024, banks and other payment providers have generally been required to reimburse qualifying victims of APP scams involving Faster Payments or CHAPS, up to a maximum of £85,000 per claim.
There are exceptions, but you should not assume that a bank transfer is irrecoverable.
If the bank rejects your claim, use its formal complaints procedure. You may then be able to complain to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
If You Used PayPal or Similar Services
Report the fraud through the provider’s dispute procedure immediately. Describe exactly what happened and do not describe the payment as “unauthorised” if you authorised it after being deceived.
The provider’s buyer protection may not cover property-related or person-to-person payments, but it may still be able to freeze the recipient’s account or help recover the money.
Banks and payment organisations do not want their services used by criminals, so you should get sympathy even if they are unable to recover your money. But it is always worth a try.
3. Report the crime
You must report your experience to the police to establish an official record.
Report the matter as soon as possible:
- England, Wales and Northern Ireland: report it to Report Fraud.
- Scotland: report it to Police Scotland by calling 101.
- Immediate danger or a crime currently taking place: call 999.
Keep the report reference and give it to your bank, insurer and any website on which the property was advertised.
You should also report the listing and the scammer’s account to the website, agent portal or social-media platform concerned. Try also to preserve screenshots before the advert is removed.
4. Check the property ownership and alert the owner
The next thing to do is to confirm who actually owns the property. This will help distinguish between a simple error (rare) and criminal fraud.
You can obtain a copy of the title register from HM Land Registry. It currently costs £7. The register will usually show the registered owner and one or more addresses for service.
Do not assume that there is fraud simply because the person named on the tenancy agreement is not the registered owner. A landlord can act through an agent or another authorised person. Equally, matching names do not prove that the person you dealt with was genuine, as fraudsters can impersonate an owner.
Ask anyone who is not the registered owner to explain their authority and provide evidence. Independently contact the owner or agent using contact details obtained from a reliable source (eg the Land Registry), not details supplied solely by the suspected fraudster.
Note also that owners whose identity or title information has been misused can contact the HM Land Registry property fraud team.
5. Understand Your Housing Rights
If the person who granted the tenancy had no authority to do so, the agreement will not normally give you a tenancy that is binding on the true owner. You may nevertheless have contractual claims against the person who deceived you. Your precise legal status can be complicated, particularly if the fraudster was themselves a tenant or had some other right to occupy the property.
If you have already moved into the property, do not assume that the owner can simply change the locks or physically remove you. Equally, do not assume that the agreement gives you a right to remain indefinitely.
The legal position can be complicated. Seek urgent housing advice from Shelter, Citizens Advice or a housing solicitor. If anyone threatens to remove you by force or change the locks while you are living there, contact the council’s tenancy-relations or private-sector housing team and, where appropriate, the police.
If you have nowhere else to go, you may be considered homeless depending on the circumstances. In which case:
- Contact your Local Authority (Council)’s homelessness team: Explain you are a victim of rent fraud. The council may owe you homelessness-prevention assistance if you are threatened with homelessness within 56 days. You do not need to wait until you are actually on the street.
- Priority Need: See our article on this.
Whether the council provides temporary accommodation or longer-term housing will depend on a number of matters including eligibility, priority need, intentional homelessness, and local connection. Being the victim of a scam does not automatically make you intentionally homeless.
6. Check your insurance
If you have any of the following:
Renters Contents Insurance: Most standard policies do not cover lost deposits or rent payments made to scammers. But read your policy carefully.
Legal Expenses Insurance: Some policies include coverage for fraud recovery costs.
Note, though, that if the bank or payment provider has already reimbursed you, you cannot recover the same loss again from an insurer.
7. How to Protect Yourself in the Future
Having been scammed once, you will not want to be scammed again!
If you are reading this article as a precautionary measure, you will not want to be scammed once!
These checks can prevent most incidents:
Viewing:
Wherever possible, view the property in person before paying anything. If that is impossible, arrange a live video viewing and ask the person showing it to respond to specific requests, such as opening a cupboard or showing the view from a particular window. Remember that even an in-person viewing is not conclusive proof of ownership or authority.
Verify Identity:
Ask to see the landlord’s photo ID and proof of ownership (a copy of the property’s title register). Cross-reference the name on the ID with the Land Registry. Although note that if the name is different, this is not always evidence of fraud.
Use Reputable Agents:
Using an established agent can reduce the risk, but verify the agent independently. In England, letting agents must belong to an approved redress scheme and, if they hold client money, an approved client money protection scheme.
Propertymark members are subject to additional professional requirements. Check membership using Propertymark’s directory, rather than relying only on a logo displayed on a website.
- Using their online directory
- Email Propertymark at logos@propertymark.co.uk or call them to verify an agency if you suspect false claims. Or ring 01926 417 791.
Be Wary of Pressure:
Scammers often create urgency (“Another tenant wants it,” “Must pay today”). Legitimate landlords allow reasonable time for references and checks.
Check Payment Methods:
Do not pay in cash, cryptocurrency, gift cards or through an anonymous money-transfer service. A bank transfer is traceable and may carry APP scam protection, but it is not proof that the recipient is genuine.
Check that the account name produced by your bank’s Confirmation of Payee service matches the person or business you expect to pay. Stop and investigate any warning or mismatch. An agent may legitimately use a client account, but it should be able to explain this and provide independently verifiable details.
Also:
- search a distinctive sentence from the advert and use reverse-image search to identify copied listings;
- telephone the agent using the number on its independently located official website;
- never use contact details supplied only in an email or WhatsApp message;
preserve the advert, tenancy agreement, payment information, emails and messages; - be suspicious of requests for more than one month’s rent in advance before the tenancy starts, bearing in mind the current statutory restrictions; and
- check whether a tenancy deposit is to be protected, although promised protection is not itself proof that the offer is genuine.
Finally, be careful. If something does not seem right, trust your instinct. Always double-check things and be very careful indeed about handing over any money.
This is the end of this article.
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