Landlord requests rent in cash

MichaelF

Hi everyone,

I'm posting my thread on this board as it seems the right place.

I'm renting a flat for 6 weeks and the landlord has asked if I can make the payment in cash, which makes me uncomfortable as we are talking about a few thousands pounds.

Is this normal? If so, how can I make sure this is a secure transaction and I get some sort of proof of purchase?


Thanks

Comms69

Ask him/her to sign a receipt.


Paying rent in cash is not unusual.

MichaelF

Thanks. Will an informal... "I can confirm I have received xxxx amount from...." Type of doc be ok?

Comms69

MichaelF wrote: »

Thanks. Will an informal... "I can confirm I have received xxxx amount from...." Type of doc be ok?

Yes, should be fine. - what kind of tenancy is it?

MichaelF

Just a short term private tenancy agreement of 6weeks (residential, non commercial) , I guess the technical term would be assured short tenancy?

Comms69

MichaelF wrote: »

Just a short term private tenancy agreement of 6weeks (residential, non commercial) , I guess the technical term would be assured short tenancy?

Just checking it's not an AirBnB style lease.


I don't see the issue to be honest. Just curious, why is it 6 weeks only? Is it a work thing or an emergency move or?

MichaelF

My parents are coming over for a few weeks to help with our newborn baby.

The landlord has used Airbnb in the past, I know that. It's just more work for me to be honest and I was afraid of not having proof of purchase, the easiest is to transfer the money, it takes no time.

silvercar

I’d be wary.

Have you checked the ID of the landlord? Do you know that he owns the property?

Where did you find the property?

Short term rental, paid in cash, smells dodgy to me. say the “landlord” doesn’t own the property, you have over the cash, he disappears, keys don’t work in the lock, phone is unanswered.....

eddddy

I would also be very wary.

Are you sure you know who the person you're talking to is?

For example, have you seen photo ID plus bank statement with address?

A scam that is sometimes used....

• An outgoing tenant knows their LL's name is "Peter Smith", so they introduce themselves as "Peter Smith".

• A land registry check confirms that the property is owned by "Peter Smith", an old AST (and other docs/letters) also confirm "Peter Smith's" connection with that property.

• (And it's easy to set up an email address like "petersmith1771@gmail.com")

• So you pay the cash to the person claiming to be "Peter Smith" and you never see them (or your cash) again.

How/where did you see the flat advertised?

MichaelF wrote: »

I was afraid of not having proof of purchase, the easiest is to transfer the money, it takes no time.

You should be more afraid of being scammed.

A bank transfer might only give you a limited amount of extra protection. Even if you put in a payee name of "Peter Smith" (with sort code and account number), the name will not be checked.

However, new banking rules might mean that it's easier to eventually get the money back, if it's a scam.

m0bov

Ask for his ID and a copy of the insurance for the property or tax statements.

G_M

It's unusual though Iguess there are various possible valid reasons for cash. One might be he's got an overdraft and any £ going into the account would vanish into his bank's pocket whereas he might prefer it in his own!


Or could be the rent is being hidden from HMRC. Or hismortgage lender....


Or i could be a scam.


Certainly check the ID of the 'landlord', and get a writen receipt clearly showing amount paid, date, an what it is for (tenancy at [addres[])


Not sure you can demand sight of insurance - there's no law requiring a property to be insured.