Tenants urged to use reputable letting agencies

Tenants should consider renting through reputable letting agencies, says Andrew Collins, owner of the City Bowl franchise of Just Letting in Cape Town.

His advice comes after the news that numerous tenants have been scammed out of thousands of rands by dubious landlords who advertise fake rental properties on popular classifieds and community websites.

"We were alerted to the situation by tenants who came into our offices looking for rental properties. They came across the adverts on websites and fortunately recognised them for what they were," says Collins.

He says the confidence tricksters advertise properties for rent at incredibly low prices. The advertisements are specific - they name actual buildings and post pictures. When prospective tenants respond they are told that the landlord is out of the country and can only courier the keys to the tenant once the deposit has been paid in full.

"If tenants do pay the deposits or rents upfront, they will never hear from the landlord again," says Collins.

Collins advises tenants to be careful when dealing with private individuals on the internet.

"The chances of being scammed are very good. Also, when dealing with rental agents, make sure they have valid fidelity fund certificates and audited trust accounts, and are registered with the Estate Agency Affairs Board (EAAB)."

He says there are numerous advantages to renting residential property through reputable agents, but the biggest plus for tenants is that they are covered by the EAAB. This means tenants have a legal body to turn to if they feel they are being treated unfairly.

Weekend Property supplement (Saturday Argus)

Posted at 08:18AM Nov 02, 2009 by Editor in Residential  |  Comments[1]