Incidents of property scams are rising, thanks to digital growth in the UK. This means that people wishing to rent a property need to be aware of this.

It is estimated that there are more than 4,000 reports of rental fraud per year, with the scam victims collectively losing over £6 million.

The University residential properties which are let to staff are not managed via an agency. You will only receive communications from our team directly from their email address, a Microsoft Teams call or by telephone.

If we do not have a University property available for you to rent, we would suggest you contact one of the many reputable letting agents in Bristol.

Keeping safe

To keep our prospective and current tenants safe, we would like to make you aware of the most common ways to identify a property scam and tell you how you can avoid becoming a victim.

Free listings

Scammers will use free listings. Gumtree, Facebook Marketplace and other social media platforms are all used. Always be very careful of rentals advertised on these websites. Most reputable landlords or agencies would list their properties on websites such as Rightmove, Zoopla, Onthemarket and other reputable portals.

Multiple advertisements for the same property

These can sometimes have slightly different descriptions or pictures. If in doubt, avoid.

Poorly worded advertisements

Are there a number of spelling, or grammatical mistakes? Do some sentences not make sense? Professional landlords and agencies would not advertise their properties with these mistakes.

Comments about the landlord that are unnecessary

You would not expect to see any information about how 'lovely' or 'friendly' the landlord is, or any personal information such as their family details etc. Scammers use this technique to draw renters in and attract them with kind words about the landlord.

Letting Agency doesn’t have an online presence

If you can’t find much information about the letting agency online or they don’t have their own website - search the company and see what information is online about them. If you are worried about the letting agency, you could always go to their office and speak with them directly – you are then certain that you are speaking to a professional.

Low rental price

Rental properties are in high demand, there are no 'low price' rentals that are real. If the rental is much lower than comparative properties, then it can’t be real. If it seems 'too good to be true', then it could be a scam.

Requests for money

If the landlord is putting pressure on you to pay money immediately, or before a property viewing - there’s likely to be an issue. Do not be bullied into giving your bank details or transferring money. Be aware if they are asking you to use a reference such as 'Family Emergency' or something personal, to bypass your bank’s security protocols. This is not how a professional landlord or letting agency would request your rental payment. If they ask for any money to be paid in cash – avoid. This is a scam, or tax avoidance technique.

Deposit Payments

If possible, pay these by credit card, as you are protected by your card provider, if this is a scam. Do not pay a holding or security deposit before seeing the property in person.

Payment Portals

Do not pay your money via a portal that you do not trust. Deposits should never be paid by PayPal, or anything where you do not have confidence that your deposit is being paid into a business bank account.

Pictures

Are the pictures different to the property? Are they good quality? Do the pictures look fake or unnatural? Use Google Earth, or Maps Street View to look at the property from a street level. Is it the same property? Scammers will steal pictures of a legitimate property and use for their own, fake listing. Try using a reverse image search, on Google.

Advertisements with no pictures

This is likely to be a fake/scam listing. Avoid.

Communications

If you are approached by a letting agency or landlord via WhatsApp – be careful. Email or a landline is the best way to communicate. Email addresses for letting agencies should have their company name followed by .com or .co.uk and not an email such as gmail.com or outlook.com.

Are you feeling bullied into accepting the property? Then don’t do it. It is likely, they are trying to push you into signing an agreement and giving them money. If the 'landlord' or 'agent' becomes aggressive, then stop communicating. This is a technique used by scammers, to intimidate renters into signing agreements and transferring money.

Viewings Unavailable

Scammers will make excuses to explain why you can’t view a property such as: the 'landlord' is overseas, the property is having building work done, the current tenants don’t want viewings taking place. If they won’t let you view the property, then do not agree to rent it.

Payment to view a property

Never pay to view a property. If this is requested, this is definitely a scam.

Unsatisfactory References

Some scammers are now claiming that your references have been returned and are unsatisfactory. They are not even contacting the people you have provided as referees. If in doubt, ask your referee if they have been contacted. Scammers are keeping deposits, or they are saying that they will still rent the property to you, but at a higher rent. Do not proceed.

Helpful links

• Which? have written an article with advice and tips around scammers' use of Facebook and SpareRoom.
• The Citizen’s Advice Bureau have a helpful page on expected costs of renting a property.
• If you have fallen victim to rental fraud or suspect you are being contacted by a rental scammer, you can contact Action Fraud via their website, or telephone 101 from a UK mobile or landline, to speak with the police.