Online Advertising – Warning for Prospective Tenants

 

If you’re looking for a place to live, you need to be careful about renting a unit that is advertised on the web.  The Residential Tenancies Branch recently learned of a situation where a tenant lost a lot of money in an online rental scam.

The tenant found an online ad for a Winnipeg rental unit.  The ad included pictures showing the features of the unit.  The advertiser said that he had been transferred out of the country and needed to re-rent the unit as soon as possible.  The tenant contacted the advertiser by e-mail and later wired him a large amount of money for a security deposit and the first month’s rent.  After the advertiser demanded more money, the tenant became suspicious and decided to contact the property manager for the building.  The tenant found out that, the advertiser was not a tenant in the building and that there was, in fact, no unit for rent.  Unfortunately, the tenant has no way to get back the money paid to the advertiser and is still hunting for a new place to live.

To avoid this happening to you:

1. whenever possible, ask to see the actual rental unit before you agree to rent it;
2. contact the landlord or property manager of the building directly to make your arrangements to rent the unit; and
3. pay your security deposit and rent only to the landlord or property manager, not to an individual tenant.