Apartment rental agreement to protect yourself. How to protect yourself from fraud when renting an apartment. Review of current methods of fraud and counteraction to them. What documents to check and what to pay attention to

Let's list most popular ways to cheat related to apartment rentals.

How do scammers usually work when renting an apartment?

How often do deceivers act when renting out housing?

Analysis of advertisements often used by scammers

How to avoid falling into the trap when renting a home?

To avoid deception and avoid falling into the clutches of swindlers, follow these simple rules:

always make a contract, in which you describe in detail all the terms of the lease.
Don't pay rent in advance. in a few months.
Ignore advertisements, which have suspiciously low prices.
Check the number of owners living space, find out who else is registered in the apartment and can legally live in it.

How to avoid running into criminals when renting out?

The following rules will help you recognize deception and protect your apartment from attacks by scammers:

never pass it on copies of title documents for tenants.
Check regularly according to the Rosreestr database, the right of ownership of a rented apartment.
Agree with tenants about visits on certain days.
Check the number of residents and the condition of the apartment.

What to do if you have already been deceived?

If you do become a victim of scammers, take all measures to punish them:

When looking for an apartment to rent and questions about renting out housing, be extremely careful and careful.

Pay attention to any little details when concluding a contract, do not chase cheapness and do not trust colorful advertising in advertisements.

Taking the issue of renting an apartment seriously will save you from unpleasant surprises in the future and will save your money, as well as your nerves and precious time.

Watch the video on the topic of the article:

Experts from the Miel-Arenda company have compiled a rating of rental fraud and rules for combating it.

The rental market is the most dynamic segment in the real estate industry, transactions are completed in just a couple of hours, so in the pursuit of “easy” money, this business attracts many dishonest businessmen, whose victims are hundreds of tenants every year.

If you don't go after something cheap...

“As before, the most common type of fraud in the rental market remains the dissemination of advertisements containing false information. This method of fraud has always existed and, as a rule, tenants who want to save money on real estate agency commissions fall for this trick, despite the constant warnings of experts that cheese can happen free only in a mousetrap,” explains First Deputy Director of the Miel-Arenda company Maria Zhukova.

Trick advertisements are often found even in well-known newspapers and on popular Internet sites. A striking example of such an advertisement: “On Chistye Prudy a room is rented for 5 thousand rubles per month. One of the rooms in the apartment is non-residential, the owners ask the tenant to water the flowers.” The most interesting thing is that an advertisement indicating the same apartment, but with a higher rental rate of 20 thousand rubles. per month ends up on the same site literally on the next search page. As a rule, such messages are distributed by news agencies, which, for a small sum, promise to provide the tenant with contacts of owners who rent out housing at amazing prices. low prices. More often than not, it turns out that the apartment listed simply does not exist. In the best case, this message hides an object with a significant catch, for example, the apartment is for sale and is rented temporarily, or it requires repairs. It happens that housing is actually rented at market price, and the advertisement was released by a news agency in order to attract tenants.

Rule: in order not to become a victim of a news agency, you need to have an idea of the current rental rates. If the ad indicates a price significantly lower than market prices, you should be wary rather than happy. It is also important to remember that real estate agencies charge a commission only upon completion of the transaction.

Beware, subletting!

The scammers' scheme of dealing with subleased housing is as follows: the attacker rents an apartment, most often an economy class one, offers it for rent at a reduced price to several tenants at once, posing as the owner using forged documents. The client pays a fee for a month of accommodation or a security deposit, and the “fake” owner, in turn, asks for a few days of deferment under various pretexts: to remove personal belongings, clean the apartment, etc. The result is obvious: several deceived families at the closed doors of the apartment and a perplexed true owner of the property.

Rule: “We constantly warn tenants that it is necessary to carefully and calmly check all documents when concluding a contract, especially focus on papers certifying ownership rights. The owner is obliged to present the original passport and documents for the apartment, there should be no copies or laminated papers, - warns Maria Zhukova. We also usually advise tenants, if the owner asks for a delay in moving in, not to pay the entire monthly payment and security deposit at once, but to pay, for example, only a third of the monthly rent, and give the rest when handing over the keys. ".

Will you share?

There are cases when one of the owners of an apartment located in shared ownership, rents it out without the consent of the other homeowners. As a result, the owner, who did not give consent to rent out the apartment, simply kicks out the tenant on the basis of the invalidity of the concluded lease agreement. It happens that this type of fraud turns into a kind of “family” business, when unscrupulous apartment owners are in collusion.
Rule: if the apartment is in shared ownership, then when concluding a lease agreement it is necessary to require written consent from all owners to rent out the apartment.

Do not offer municipal stuff!

The scam involving a municipally owned apartment, by and large, repeats the pattern of actions of criminals in a situation with illegal subletting. The fraudster re-rents the living space without the consent of the citizens who are registered in it. As a result, the transaction is declared invalid, since only a person who is registered in it and has entered into a social rental agreement with the municipality has the right to rent out a municipal apartment.

Rule: if the apartment is in municipal ownership, then it is necessary to conclude a sublease agreement and require the landlord to present the original social tenancy agreement, which indicates all the residents registered in this apartment, as well as written consent to rent out the apartment from all residents registered in the apartment over 14 years. You can ask to see paid receipts for the use of utilities, which also verify the identity of the responsible tenant.

"At the behest of the pike, at my will..."

A more “exotic” method of rental fraud is the early eviction of a tenant from an apartment for failure to comply with the most bizarre wishes of the owner. An unscrupulous owner can make the most unprecedented claims and invent the most incredible reasons in order to expel the tenant without returning the security deposit, and sometimes even a month’s rent. rent. “In my practice, there was a case when the owner of an apartment was an avid card player who always needed funds for his addiction. He earned money in the following way: he rented out the apartment, took the collateral value and after a short period of time kicked his tenant out of the apartment under using various pretexts, without returning the deposit. Immediately after this, he looked for a new tenant to repeat his trick,” says Maria Zhukova.

Rule: carefully and in detail stipulate in the lease agreement all the conditions of residence, as well as the procedure for early termination of the lease relationship and penalties imposed on the initiator of termination of the agreement. The main thing is not to succumb to the owner’s provocations if you have not violated any rules set out in the contract.

The easiest and most proven way to avoid rental scams is to contact a real estate agency, where qualified specialists will quickly find you suitable housing, check all documents for legal accuracy, help you correctly draw up a lease agreement, and, most importantly, assist you in resolving relations with the owner.

What actions need to be taken, where to go, how to record and what papers to collect if fraud has been committed against the tenant/tenant?

The hero of “The Golden Calf” O. Bender knew 400 relatively honest ways of taking money. Today's realities allow fraudsters to significantly diversify the ways they commit fraud. It is hardly possible to name them all, as well as to develop a single universal way to combat them. However, before you decide to rent or rent out an apartment, you need to present the main ones.

News agency scams. The person who called about the rental ad is asked to come to the office “to make an advance payment.” Fraudsters usually post ads with good apartments at very low prices. In the office, specially trained people offer the client many excellent options for rental housing, while their prices are significantly lower than market prices, and agent services are quite inexpensive. The tenant, who wants to rent a house cheaply and pay less commission, agrees. He enters into an “exclusive agreement,” makes an advance payment and goes to inspect the options. The contract states that the agency provides “information services,” but the client does not pay attention to this detail. It soon turns out that there is no housing for rent at the addresses given to him by the agency. Outraged by this, he returns to the office, but the “agents” are no longer so friendly and courteous. He is told that the contract is valid for a month and he can explore other options. However, all subsequent home viewings will be “single”. When the contract expires, the client will be told that the agency has fulfilled its obligations to him.

In such a situation, it is almost impossible to get your money back. From the point of view of the law, the contract was drawn up correctly: the agency provided “information services”, the client paid for them. A deceived client is simply no longer allowed into the office. To avoid becoming a victim of fraud, you should remember that you should never transfer an advance payment without first inspecting the apartment and completing the paperwork.

Illegal rental. A typical situation is when enterprising citizens provide a potential employer with documents for an apartment (as a rule, not the originals), show the apartment, accept an advance payment, a security deposit, a commission (in the end a decent amount is obtained) and disappear. Or they give you the opportunity to move into the apartment and disappear, and after a short time it turns out that the tenant has no legal grounds to be in this apartment.

A similar method of fraud is subletting an apartment without the consent of the landlord. For example, the owner has rented out an apartment, the payment is transferred to his bank card and he calmly goes on a trip (a cult scenario), while in fact no one is monitoring the apartment. After some time, people who start living in the apartment are completely different from those to whom the owner rented the apartment. It is obvious that by going to court with a claim for eviction uninvited guests, the landlord will restore his rights (in particular the right to own the apartment), but this will require time, money for legal expenses and a strong supply of nerves.

In practice, there are cases when tenants stop paying and, threatening the property owner in every possible way, continue to live peacefully in the apartment. A reflexive attempt by a landlord to contact the police may not always end in success. If the threats are not recorded, for example, on the phone or cannot be confirmed by witnesses, the police will not be able to respond in any way, since the parties have concluded a rental agreement and all issues of its execution must be resolved through civil proceedings.

Finally, the biggest method of fraud is sale rented apartment By fake documents . The apartment is rented using a fake passport or on behalf of a person whom the tenant has never actually seen. Within a couple of months, they prepare documents, arrange showings of the apartment, make a deal and the money disappears. With a probability close to 100%, the tenant will be able to regain the apartment by initiating a criminal case, a long investigation, parallel or sequential trial. As a result, the buyer will be left with direct damage. However, a lot of time, effort, money, and nerves will be spent on such a struggle.

How to avoid falling for scammers' tricks?

In practice, the truth of the proverb has long been proven: “The miser pays twice.” If you want to rent/rent an apartment, but you don’t have the option of making a deal with friends you trust, don’t save money, contact professional realtors with a good reputation, reviews, a large database and various options.

Never leave/give away long term original documents for the apartment and your passport. Presenting it for review is no problem, leaving it “for verification” is never a question. There is enough data for verification, that is, just photocopies.

What documents should I check?

When concluding a residential rental agreement, do not be lazy and require the landlord to provide following documents: certificate of ownership of residential premises (another document allowing you to rent out an apartment - certificate of inheritance, deed of gift, social tenancy agreement, etc.), cadastral passport (technical passport of the BTI), extract from personal account (information about supplied utilities), an extract from the house register. Check the details of the apartment owner through the free online services of the government services portal or Rosreestr. It doesn't take much time, but it helps to avoid trouble.

The landlord should check with the potential employer not only the passport, but also at least one other document - driver's, service, pension, tax identification number or student ID, etc., and inquire about the place of work/study or other purpose of the visit to the region of temporary residence. In the end, it wouldn’t hurt to “Google” a person, that is, look for information about him on the Internet, in social networks. Quite often, to counteract specific scammers, entire forums are created where they “know the enemy by sight” and offer specific countermeasures.

Enter into a well-drafted, detailed employment agreement, which in one way or another reflects all the conditions that are important to you.

Drawing up an agreement on insurance deposit or requiring the counterparty to carry property and liability insurance can also help avoid trouble.

These simple tips are not a panacea for scammers, but they significantly reduce the risk of becoming their victims.

Apartments for rent

Be careful when transferring prepayments to new site users. For additional security, we recommend that you first request documents for the object and confirmation of the transaction.

Concluding contracts for the selection of real estate on behalf of CIAN

Advertisements on the CIAN website can be viewed for free; they are posted in free access. Do not trust those who introduce themselves as a “branch” of CIAN and offer to make a selection of objects for an additional fee. Do not enter into a contract before viewing the property and checking the documents for the property.

Fresh renovation, cleanliness, a smiling and friendly owner and, most importantly, a very attractive price - all this is by no means a reason for a tenant looking for housing to immediately move into an apartment, much less pay a deposit three months in advance. The RIA Real Estate website has collected five expert tips that will allow you to learn about the intricacies of renting and not be left with your nose, and what’s more, on the street.

Check the documents for the apartment

There are several types of fraudulent activities on the part of landlords that all those who are looking for rental housing should remember.

For example, says Maria Baskova, head of the rental department of the ABC Zhilya company, in rental relations there is such a thing as subleasing of housing - when the tenant rents out the apartment to third parties, of course, without informing the owner. According to the agency's interlocutor, in this case the fraudster rents an apartment by the day, say, for seven days. During this time, he manages to resell it to several employers at a price significantly lower than the market price, but, having received an advance payment for several months, disappears. Failed apartment tenants are left without money and without housing.

The means of “self-defense” in this case are quite banal and simple. In order not to fall for a scammer, before paying money, make sure that the apartment belongs to the owner, insists Vadim Cherdantsev, senior lawyer of the Land. Real Estate. Construction practice of the Cliff law firm. “Such information can be obtained on the basis of an extract from the Unified State Register of Rights to Real Estate. To obtain it, you need to submit a corresponding request to the territorial division of the Office Federal service state registration, cadastre and cartography or (Rosreestr), pay 200 rubles of state duty and wait only 5 days. In Moscow you can also contact Multifunctional Center, they are available in every region. Any citizen can request an extract,” explains the lawyer.

When renting an apartment, the tenant also has the right to demand a passport from the owner, and, after checking the documents for the apartment, conclude a rental agreement with the owner of the apartment, which must specify the main wishes, requirements and responsibilities of the parties, adds Baskova. And, of course, you only need to give money against a receipt, she emphasizes.

How to properly draw up a rental agreement. Advice >>>

Specify the rental period in the contract

“In the spring-summer period, with the appearance of seasonal apartments on the rental market, there are owners who give out the rental of their seasonal apartment for an apartment that is rented for a long time. As a result, the tenant is forced, after a few months, to look for housing again and move,” leads Baskov is another example of a tenant being deceived.

In order to avoid such an unpleasant situation, you must immediately insist on concluding a written contract indicating the terms of hire.

By the way, Cherdantsev notes, if the term is not reflected in the rental agreement, it is considered to be concluded for five years. After the conclusion of the contract, the owner will no longer be able to simply kick out the tenant and terminate the contract. In case of any disagreement between the parties, the contract is terminated only in court, the lawyer clarifies.

Don't go to view an apartment alone

Be friendly, but keep your distance from the owner

As for the behavior of the employer, according to Baskova, there is no need to invent anything or specially adapt to the landlord, the main thing is to be calm and friendly. "Never react violently to possible changes in the price or rental period, if you structure the conversation correctly and calmly, the result, as a rule, will be in your favor,” Baskova is convinced.

Gutsu advises the employer to treat rented apartment, as if it were your own, don’t be afraid to nail down a shelf or call a plumber again. But what exactly is not needed, in her opinion, is excessive attention, tea parties and gifts to the owner of the apartment. As in any business, in rental relations it is important to show yourself as responsible, diligent, with a good memory, but at the same time “keep your distance,” the realtor notes.

1. “Money in the morning, chairs in the evening”

If, after viewing the ad, the thought flashed through your mind, “This is exactly what I’ve been looking for for so long! We must act quickly so as not to be late!” - stop for a minute. Because of emotions, a person forgets about caution and easily parts with money. Consider a classic scam ad:

After the call, it turns out that the apartment has not yet been rented out (wow!), you can view it even today, but only the commission (“some” 5000 rubles) must be paid immediately, because the demand for the apartment is sooo great, and here it is -he's about to leave!

And this is where it works: “Eh, it was - it wasn’t! Five thousand and I’m happy.” Of course, the office draws up the contract “according to all the rules”, with stamps, etc. Of course, the client, who is in a hurry and euphoria, does not have time to read the contract. And after payment it turns out that the apartment was rented out literally a minute ago. "Did not have time!"

But never mind, there are other options. Only in reality it turns out that other options are nothing more than printing a bulletin board. And upon closer examination of the contract, it turns out that the “agency” provides only information services and is not obliged to show any apartments at all.

Conclusion:

Pay the commission only in the presence of the apartment owner, having signed an agreement with the owner and received the keys from him. Also, check that the keys fit the doors of the apartment you are in.
Don't trust ads that:
The price is greatly reduced
- the room is locked with things and will not be given up,
- the owner goes abroad, on a business trip, etc.,
- payment by transfers is offered,
- it is emphasized that “decent people” are needed (do you think anyone needs dishonest people?),
- a designer photo of a luxury apartment (such apartments cannot be cheap),
- “assistance in registration” is offered (this is how they look for new arrivals: it’s easier to deceive them),
- the phone number is indicated in letters or shown in the photo.
Do not rent rooms in “apartment-type hotels” - this is also a scam.

2. “Our barracks are very friendly! Will you be the twentieth?

This method of fraud is used when renting out beds. Often the tenants themselves are responsible for moving in, so they often move in without a contract, on trust. This “scam” works precisely on the client’s trust. Typical ad:

It would seem like a wonderful friendly company, and the apartment is conveniently located. Apartment showings usually take place during the day, when residents are at work. The scammers take the monthly payment, and in the evening all the neighbors return, not five, but twenty!

Conclusion:

If inspection of the apartment is possible only during the day, then most likely they want to cheat you.
When paying, ask for a receipt, which should indicate the passport details of the parties and the exact address apartments. Pay attention to whether the name of the person in the passport matches the name of the author of the ad.
It is highly advisable to conclude an agreement with the owner and pay him personally for the first month.
If they refuse to enter into an agreement with the owner, pay 1-2 days in advance, and pay the rest after final check-in. Don't pay for a whole month at once if you don't know who you're dealing with.
Do not rent a bed if the information does not match reality:
They show you a room that is not the one in the photo in the ad,
- another person comes to the meeting, and not the one in the photo in the ad,
- the distance from the metro is much greater than what was indicated in the advertisement, there are no promised shops near the house.
Do not trust advertisements that emphasize that the apartment is “almost ideal” in location, interior, household appliances etc.
Most often, barracks are set up in three-room apartments, less often in two-room apartments.

3. Goodbye pledge!

This “scam” works when renting rooms. As you know, a deposit is paid only for an isolated room with a lock, because otherwise the room could be damaged by your roommates. It is this option that scammers use to “pocket” the deposit. Look at the ad:

So, the tenant pays a month’s rent and a deposit and moves into the room. And in the evening, 20 neighbors return to the apartment! At the end of the month the person has to move out, but the deposit is not returned to him. There can be many reasons for this: for example, torn wallpaper, a scratch on the cabinet, etc.

Conclusion:

4. Prepayment

Sometimes the owners are ready to rent out their home cheaper, but they ask for an advance payment for several months because they really need the money. Sometimes it's true.

Now imagine the situation that a month after moving in, the real owner appears and declares that the apartment was rented out using forged documents, and you have no right to rent the apartment.

Conclusion:
It only makes sense to pay several months in advance if you work through a trusted agency. In this case, it is dangerous to work directly with the owner, unless, of course, you are a real estate rental specialist.

And most importantly! Any fraud can be detected by two signs:

you are offered almost ideal conditions, but
There is a catch with payment: a large deposit, prepayment or lack of an agreement.

We wish you a successful housing search!

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