Beware Of Fake Landlords
Written by The Landlord on 05 Sep 2011Did anyone else happen to catch episode 8 of series 2 of Fake Britain? It aired on BBC1, Friday morning, 11am. Without prior knowledge of the episode, I was intrigued to discover that there was a feature about “Fake Landlords”
In the Urban Dictionary, I’m what is known as a “wasteman” (definition from Urban Dictionary: someone who does nothing with their life, most of the time a drunken fuck up, sitting on couches in the alleyways of the London streets), so I’m able to endure all kinds of daytime shit on TV. I think it may air again during prime time (but I’m not sure when) for the nine-to-five mugs grafters. If you missed it, don’t worry about finding out when/where/how because you can watch it below.
What is a fake landlord?
A fake landlord is someone that pretends to have authorisation to let a property, in which they actually have no authority over whatsoever. The fake landlord will take viewings, take a deposit and usually one month’s rent upfront (more if their lucky), give the tenant the keys, and then drive off into the sunset, never to be seen or heard from again.
Shortly after, the real home owners/occupiers will return home and try to use their keys to enter the property, only to find the locks have been changed, and their home has been taken over by strangers.
How do fake landlords do it?
They usually target properties they know will be empty (e.g. when the occupants are on holiday). They will then force entry into the property, change the locks, and start marketing the property to prospective tenants as if it’s their own.
It’s an extremely easy trap for tenants to fall into, especially novice tenants that are unfamiliar with the letting process. When a “fake landlord” has accessible keys to the property, and convincingly takes viewings, everything appears unsuspecting. What makes the charade more believable is that the landlords are known to provide fake letting agent documents.
Fake Britain takes a look into ‘Fake Landlords’
Nasty stuff. As you saw, the end result leaves tenants in an extremely awkward situation and homeowners left temporarily homeless while their homes were invaded by strangers.
How to avoid the “fake landlord” trap
Unfortunately, the feature on Fake Britain failed to get the story from the tenant’s side. But my gut instincts tell me they were careless and missed out on the obvious tell-tale signs something dodgy was occurring, hence why I said it’s easy for novice tenants to fall into the trap.
If you’re looking to rent a property, it might be worth noting down the following points in order to avoid a fake landlord:
- Talk to the neighbours – don’t feel uneasy about approaching the neighbours. It’s perfectly normal for perspective tenants to talk to the neighbours, especially to find out about the local area. While you’re there, enquiry about the landlord. The neighbours will most likely know if the property is legitimately being rented to tenants.
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Ensure landlord provides all legal documents – a landlord is legally required to provide a Gas Safety Certificate and Energy Performance Certificate for the property.
Firstly, most fake landlords won’t provide these documents. More importantly, you shouldn’t be letting from anyone that doesn’t provide them.
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Ask for references- ask the landlord for the details of the previous tenants. You’re more than entitled to ask for references, just like many legitimate landlords ask for references from tenants.
If available, follow these references up.
- Enquiry about utility services- investigate which companies supply the gas, electricity, and water. They’re perfectly valid questions, and most landlords expect to hear them from perspective tenants. The landlord should be familiar with these details. If they’re not, it could be a signal that something dodgy is going on.
- Tenancy Agreements- probably one of the more obvious aspects, and most fake landlords will provide a Tenancy Agreement as part of the charade since they’re so easily obtainable. However, if a landlord doesn’t insist on a Tenancy Agreement then something is clearly wrong. Either he/she is among the band of the most irresponsible landlords on the planet or something unsavoury is taking place. Either way, stay well clear of landlords that don’t require a Tenancy Agreement contract, much like the landlords that fail to provide the Gas and Energy certificates.
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Good landlords ask questions and require references- since the recession, landlords have become increasingly thorough with their vetting process. Tenants falling into arrears is becoming a real problem for landlords.
If the landlord doesn’t ask tough questions about employment, previous rental history, and require proof of ID, then it sends a clear signal, and it’s not a good one.
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Tenancy Deposit- deposits MUST be secured in a Tenancy Deposit Scheme by law. Always ask which authorised deposit scheme your landlord will be putting your deposit into.
It’s another one of those details a fake landlord can easily make up after investing 2mins research on Google. However, it’s always best to enquiry as you never know how stupid these people can be.
- Land Registry- if you really want to be sure you’re not being taken for a ride, you can always go onto the Land Registry Website and pay £4 to get the title register and make sure the landlord actually owns the property.
- If they’re representing a letting agent- this one is kind of a no-brainer, but I thought i’d throw it in anyways. If you’re dealing with an agent, make sure you actually visit their high-street shop to make sure everything is legitimate. Many of these fake landlords impersonate letting agents.
If anyone has any more tips I can add to the list or has first hand experience involving fake landlords, don’t be shy to take the spotlight via the comment form below…
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5 Comments - join the conversation...
Thanks :)
Yeah, dogs can be useful. But you can't leave them alone in the house for 2 weeks while you're away. But getting an alarm fitted might be a good investment!
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When checking the Land Registry, you should see that the owner has a different address listed. If that's not the case then it could suggest that the landlord is one of these 'accidental landlord' jokers who has not got permission from the mortgagee to let the property. In that case it would be worth asking the landlord (or the landlord's agent) for proof that the lender has given permission for the property to be let, or even better might be to check directly with the lender (whose identity is on the Land Reg docs).
I don't know how a repossession usually works out with a sitting tenant where a borrower has breached the terms and conditions of his/her mortgage by letting the property without permission, and I certainly wouldn't care to find out (in either the landlord or tenant scenario).
Even though it is unlikely to come to that as long as the mortgage is serviced, I would be concerned if the landlord wasn't doing things properly. If they're only letting the property because they overpaid for the place towards the top of the property bubble and don't want to cystallise their loss by selling, then are they going to be in a sufficiently good financial position to get the boiler replaced if needs be? I would stick with renting from a proper investor with decent margins if possible.
So that's not exactly a "fake landlord" issue, maybe more a "fake landlord but genuine owner" issue.
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I initially started this website because I wanted to document my every step from property idiot to property landlord,
in hope that people would find my site and help me along the way. I literally didn't have a clue about being a landlord
when I started this website.
Quite disturbing if I'm honest, even for the layman, that first person just went away for 2 weeks and had someone move in. Luckily I think having a dog (not a yappy thing) would help against someone breaking in.
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