verifying landlord address

damino

Hi

I'm replying to an ad, the landlord lives in Liverpool but I in London.

The deal is very good, potentially too good to be true. The guy sounds a bit eccentric and his English isn't that good.

He has given me his address. I would like to verify his address.

What ways can I do that other than going to Liverpool?

I've heard that it's a good idea to have the landlord's address, but why is that? Is it so law enforcement can get to him if it's some kind of scam?

Also, if he gives me the keys and I transfer the money to his bank account, he's not going to rob me of the keys and run off. Do I really need to have verified his address?

BitterAndTwisted

Where was the ad placed and do you know the exact address of the property being offered for rent?

antrobus

damino wrote: »

....He has given me his address. I would like to verify his address. ...

You can do a free search on http://www.searchelectoralroll.co.uk/ to check whether or not he is on the electoral roll at that address.

agrinnall

antrobus wrote: »

You can do a free search on http://www.searchelectoralroll.co.uk/ to check whether or not he is on the electoral roll at that address.

But bear in mind that if it doesn't find him that doesn't necessarily mean he's not legit: the search doesn't find me but I have chosen not to be on the open register, which is presumably what this website uses.

davidmcn

damino wrote: »

Also, if he gives me the keys and I transfer the money to his bank account, he's not going to rob me of the keys and run off.

No, but he might run off, and leave you to deal with the real landlord when they turn up next week and are surprised to find someone living in their property.

agrinnall wrote: »

But bear in mind that if it doesn't find him that doesn't necessarily mean he's not legit

...and if it does find him, that merely confirms that your supposed landlord has given you somebody's true details - it doesn't necessarily mean that he is who he claims to be.

G_M

This wasn't gumtree was it?

When someone includes in their opening post words like

The deal is very good, potentially too good to be true.....

my instinct is that it is.

stator

Go onto the Land Registry website, pay £3 and get the title register for the property. If he owns it his name will be on it.

benjus

There are lots of scams out there - I suggest you read up on them before proceeding further.

In particular, if this landlord asks you to do ANYTHING via Western Union or similar services, run a mile.

eddddy

damino wrote: »

...
He has given me his address. I would like to verify his address.
...

Hi damino

Be careful on relying too much on a verified address (even if you confirm it with Land Registry, electoral role etc), for example:

I'm the tenant of a flat. I know the landlord's name is Mr L Lord, who lives at 18 Any Street, Liverpool 8.

I tell you that I am Mr L Lord and confirm my address is 18 Any Street. (So everything checks out on the land registry website etc)

I meet you at the property - with an AST ready to be signed. You like the flat, we're both ready to sign the AST as long as you give me the deposit and first month's rent immediately in cash.

I then do a runner with your money.

(Insisting on getting a bank account number to do a transfer is safer - but there is still no guarantee it is Mr Lord's account. It may even belong to a duped 3rd party.)

damino

I have decided against it. The landlord has asked for me to help prove I can pay the rent, by me sending a relative of mine money via western union and showing him the receipt. On the face of it it sounds risk free as it's to a relative, but I googled western union landlord relative and I found http://england.shelter.org.uk/campaigns/fixing_private_renting/evict_rogue_landlords/avoid_landlord_scams "The landlord will ask for proof of receipt and will then withdraw the funds using the transfer details." So his plan is to use the receipt to get the details and pick the money up before the relative does. If the relative were to pick it up and he got the receipt after then I guess he'd have a problem but i'm not going to play. He does have my name and address

I'm aware that the normal way to prove ability to pay is via a credit check and possibly looking at bank statements. Initially I thought the guy might just be eccentric

I also prior to that (given advice from a friend) I asked him to send me a utility bill and he said he could but he insisted on me doing the western union first.. He hadn't yet told me the flat number either, just the block of flats. I was going to go up to the block to check out if the neighbours knew anything. And he seemed ok with the idea of me coming up to liverpool to see him at his place. I'd have checked with the neighbours too. And I was planning on asking him for evidence of usage of a tenancy deposit scheme. And another thing I asked him, to which he didn't reply on was a landline but he didn't reply to that question... But he was most keen on the western union transfer being done. And his claimed address I checked on google maps, was a low value house in liverpool while the flat was quite a nice looking flat in London.

I won't be going ahead with it. His is clearly beyond suspicious but clearly without doubt a textbook scam. ( western union to a relative asking receipt )

I am curious..

I have been looking into what I can do to protect myself from a dodgy "landlord"..

Besides not going ahead at the mention of western union. and knowledge of the western union to my relative scam


And any money to him should be sent to him via a bank transfer


Some advice I was given by shelter months ago (if I recall) was to take pictures of the property make sure I have records of it, so that should I need to, e.g. I suppose, should the landlord take the money and not give me the keys, I can prove(to a court) that i'm a prospective tenant and that landlord tenant relationship exists.

And for signing the AST, I should meet him in a residence I believe to be his - confirmed via land registry, not outside a building or at a stairway, and not at the place I want to rent.

Could get a landline number to him and as a friend advised, if he's that far away then to get him to send a utility bill. as he wants me to prove myself then I should get him to prove himself, and to show he uses a tenancy deposit scheme.

eddddy

If your renting through an (established, reputable) letting agent, the agent will have 'checked out' the landlord.

If not, I guess you could do similar checks that the agent would do - ask to see photo id (passport or DL), proof of address (e.g. a recent utility bill), evidence of ownership of the property (i.e. Title deed from LR website).

And if the Title Deed shows the property is mortgaged, 'consent to let' form the lender.

(Incidentally, as you now realise, the person you were dealing with was a 100% scammer.)