How to rent an apartment without being deceived: what you need to know to rent a property correctly

Where can I find long-term rental housing on my own?

Finding an apartment to rent on your own is a difficult task, but doable. Most tenants prefer to work with realtors, so it is now quite difficult for tenants to find an apartment from the owner without paying a commission to the agency.

Nevertheless, it is possible to find living space without an intermediary. How to find out who is renting an apartment, where to look for offers?

On ad sites on the Internet. Most offers are published from agencies, but you can also find advertisements from owners. Some of the popular Internet platforms are the Avito website and the Yula mobile application.
Through friends, colleagues and relatives. When looking for housing for rent, you should first inform your social circle about your desire to rent an apartment. Surely, someone you know rents out housing themselves or has information about the possibility of renting a property without intermediaries.
Through social networks. This is a great opportunity to quickly find housing. It is enough to post an entry on your page about searching for housing or publish an ad in thematic communities in your region.
Newspapers. The option is a little outdated, however, many owners still prefer to submit advertisements in print publications.

Why is it not profitable to work with realtors?

As previously mentioned, the real estate market is now overcrowded with intermediaries who want to receive a percentage of 50 to 100% of the monthly rental cost of the apartment for their services. This is why cooperation with realtors is considered unprofitable.

If you do not want to cooperate with them or simply want to save your budget, you can independently start looking for a new place of residence for yourself. However, this may take a little longer compared to the previous option.

Where exactly can you find an apartment for rent:

The most effective and optimal way is to search through social networks. Information is often found in special real estate groups, where owners post rental offers;
Searches can also be made through special forums. However, you need to be careful here, since there are advertisements not only from owners, but also from realtors;
Students can find their desired accommodation on the school notice board. If we look at advertisements in other places, this, as a rule, does not work, because they all come from realtors;
Opposite situations are also allowed, when the realtor receives payment for services not from the tenant, but from the landlord. This happens in cases where the owner needs to rent out his apartment as soon as possible. In cases with economical housing, this practically does not occur. But if this is elite housing, such a development of the situation is allowed;
The most ineffective way is considered to be searching for housing through friends or acquaintances. However, no one excludes the possibility that someone they know is actually renting out an apartment at this moment.

From the proposed options you can understand that there is nothing complicated about this. You just need to put in a little effort and patience to find good housing without additional costs.

How to bypass intermediate links?

If the search does not give a positive result, then you can use a trick: find housing through an agency, but conclude the deal without his participation, without paying a commission. How to bypass the intermediary when renting an apartment:

When showing an apartment, you need to gain confidence in the owner: show goodwill, ask questions, listen carefully to him.
As soon as the realtor is distracted, you need to establish contact with the owner by discreetly handing him a piece of paper with your contact information. You can write on a piece of paper in advance: “I really liked your apartment. I guarantee timely payment and order.”
After the showing, tell the realtor that you are not happy with this option.
If the owner has not been able to find tenants for a long time or he urgently needs tenants, then he will contact the phone number indicated on the piece of paper.

What do we pay attention to in order to avoid deception?

If renting an apartment is inevitable, to avoid being deceived, you need to follow several rules:

Don't take low rental prices seriously. Probably, behind the low cost is either a fraudster or an unscrupulous owner.
Before concluding a transaction, you need to make sure that the person posing as the owner really is the owner.
The security of the transaction is guaranteed only by well-executed accompanying documents that spell out the duties, rights and responsibilities of the parties. If the owner insists on a verbal agreement, then this option should raise doubts.

What pitfalls need to be checked?

To avoid deception, before signing the papers, you should check the documents for the living space and the owner, that is, all the pitfalls that may affect your future residence:

Who rents out the apartment? If this is the owner, then he must have papers in his hands proving this. If during the showing it turns out that this is not the owner, but his friend or relative, then he must have a power of attorney from the owner of the property.
Legal documents. The owner or his representative must have documents for the living space. Moreover, you need to demand not copies, but originals.
Owner's passport. It is important to make sure that the data in the passport and in the title documents match.
Spouse's consent. If the owner is married, then most likely the apartment is in shared ownership. This means that without the consent of the other owner, the rental transaction will be considered invalid (clause 1, article 246 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation). The owner must provide written consent to rent out the apartment to his spouse.
Home Book. This document provides information about the persons registered in the apartment. If persons other than the owner are registered in the living space, then it should be agreed in advance that they cannot claim to live in the apartment during the validity of the lease agreement.
Neighbours. A conversation with the owners living nearby will not be superfluous. It will help you find out what kind of people live here, whether there are problems with engineering systems, and how often residents move out of the rental apartment.

Rental Fraud Schemes

The topic of apartment rental fraud is widely covered. But despite this, the number of scams is not decreasing. Why does this happen and how can you protect yourself from attempts by deceivers to take possession of the material values of gullible citizens? This will be discussed further. Let's look at the most popular cases of fraud related to rental housing. Please note that fraud is possible on the part of both landlords and tenants.

Underground sublease

This scheme is quite common in large cities. The victims of scams are people who rent out their property.

The landlord offers the tenant his living space for a certain period of time. Moreover, the agreement between the parties is concluded orally and is not recorded on paper. In turn, the tenant, paying his rent, rents out the housing to other people on a daily basis, receiving much larger sums for this than he pays himself. Naturally, it also operates without a written contract.

The owner's apartment is transferred from one person to another. And no one can guarantee everyone's integrity. Property is damaged. When the apartment owner reveals the deception, it turns out that his property is already in a “killed” state. Who is guilty? Partly the primary lessor himself. It is impossible to hold accountable a person with whom there is no rental agreement .

Repairs for rent

The parties agree on a lease, partial or full payment of which is made in the form of repairs. Usually, fraudulent tenants themselves offer this option. And, it would seem, why not? After all, the cost of the apartment will only increase in this way. With new electrical wiring, a bathroom and other “delights”, renting out the property in the future will be even more profitable than before.

But in reality, the residents live in the apartment for free or for a meager fee, and the owner never sees any repairs. The landlord will have no choice but to kick out the deceivers and accept the losses incurred.

Taking possession of ownership documents

In this case, we are talking not just about deception, but about a real scam with serious consequences. Typically, elderly owners become victims of fraud. As you know, they are the easiest to deceive.

The diagram looks like this. The tenant, under any pretext, tries to lure from the owner documents establishing the right to own housing. For example, he may think that a lawyer he knows can check the papers for free, or something else, depending on the situation. Having the appropriate connections, the fraudster draws up a gift agreement with the subsequent sale of the apartment.

Such a crime is classified as fraud, which is organized by a group of persons. Its goal is the illegal seizure of housing. If there is evidence of misconduct, the perpetrators face serious punishment.

Sale of rented housing

In this case, the victims of the scam are the tenants themselves. The owner demands to pay for long-term rent (several months), arguing that he needs guarantees of the tenants' serious intentions. Tenants agree and pay for a certain period of stay, as agreed. Please note that the contract is again not drawn up in writing, and the transfer of money is not recorded anywhere.

The owner sells his apartment, and after a week or two the new owners legally evict the tenants.

Carrying out a transaction not with the owner of the apartment

Do tenants often check the documents for the apartment from the owner himself? Not good. At the same time, scammers know how to gain people’s trust and win them over. And another situation is also possible. People looking to rent an apartment seem to want to get acquainted with the documents, but the owner of the property assures that they are temporarily absent. For example, they are with parents who are currently living abroad. And again, the more trusting citizens agree, “driving themselves into a hole.”

As a result, it may turn out that the apartment was rented out not by the owner at all, but by an outsider who, for some reason, had access to the living space. And one fine day a person will appear on the residents’ doorstep presenting a document for the right to live in the apartment. There is no need to explain which side the law will be on in this case.

Unreasoned eviction

Everything is simple here. If there is no lease agreement, then no one owes anyone anything. Did you trust the imaginary owner of the apartment? But in vain. He has the right to evict you at any time. Moreover, he won’t even waste time to come up with an excuse. As a result, the tenant's funds spent in advance will go down the drain.

Changing locks

Another type of rental fraud does not even involve moving in tenants. Let's say the tenant has verbally agreed with the property owner and also paid a certain rent. But the owner of the apartment asks to give him a couple of days to restore order in the living area. And as a guarantee of his honest intentions he gives the keys. As a result, he changes the locks and disappears in an unknown direction.

Decor

When renting an apartment, it is important to draw up documents correctly. They will become the protection for the employer in case of conflict situations. How to properly complete a transaction and what papers should be prepared?

Agreement

This document specifies all the conditions for living and providing housing for rent: the rights and obligations of the parties to the transaction, the payment schedule, the amount of the monthly payment, liability for damage to property, conditions for terminating the contract, etc.

A standard rental agreement can be found on the Internet, adding other clauses and conditions at your discretion. When drawing up a document, it is important to take into account all the nuances and little things: from responsibility for paying for housing and communal services to the frequency of the owner’s visit to the apartment.

REFERENCE! The rental agreement is usually concluded for a period of 11 months with subsequent extension. When concluding an agreement for a period of more than 1 year, the transaction is subject to registration in Rosreestr.

Inventory of property

In order for the owner to keep the items in the apartment in order, and for the tenant to protect himself from unfounded claims by the owner regarding the use of things, an inventory of the property is drawn up.

It lists furniture, equipment and other valuables with a description of their condition and characteristics. The document is drawn up in the presence of the employer so that he can verify that the information in it is valid.

Transfer and Acceptance Certificate

This is an annex to the rental agreement, which confirms the fact of transfer of housing from the owner to the tenant for temporary use. The document contains a list and brief description of the property, details of the parties to the transaction, the date of transfer and the responsibility of the tenant in the event of damage to the property located in the apartment.

Receipt for receipt of money

It is recommended that the fact of transfer of rent to the owner of the property be recorded on paper. To do this, you need to draw up a receipt for receiving the money. As a rule, it is written when transferring a deposit for housing.

However, for complete security, it should be drawn up before each payment for accommodation. The document confirms that the indicated amount was transferred to the owner and that he received it.

How to rent an apartment correctly so as not to be deceived by agents or homeowners

The need to rent housing arises in different cases. An apartment is needed for a long time by students and newlyweds, as well as people who come to work from another city. Business travelers and tourists are looking for accommodation for a few days. There are a lot of offers from owners and real estate agencies, and the danger of becoming a victim of unscrupulous realtors is very high. We'll figure out how to rent an apartment so that you don't get scammed by scammers, and what to look for when starting to look for housing

Initial information

What do you need to know when renting an apartment? First of all, it would not hurt to study the existing types of leases and familiarize yourself with the articles of the Civil Code, which discuss the conditions for renting living space. This information will be useful for all future tenants.

Types of rental

There are two types of rental housing: long-term and short-term. The first case involves concluding an agreement for a period of six months to several years. In the second case, housing is rented daily. Payment for short-term rental housing is higher than long-term rental. Registration of daily hire is not required.

The legislative framework

The relationship between the parties to the lease agreement is regulated by Chapter 34 of the Civil Code of the Russian Federation. The conditions for concluding a short-term agreement can be found in Article 683, and the need to draw up a written lease agreement in two copies is stated in Art. 674 Civil Code of the Russian Federation.

Article 671 of the Civil Code provides for the following conditions for renting housing:

Under a residential lease agreement, one party - the owner of the residential premises or a person authorized by him (the lessor) undertakes to provide the other party (the tenant) with residential premises for a fee for possession and use for living in it.
Legal entities may be provided with possession and (or) use of residential premises on the basis of a lease or other agreement.

In paragraph 2 of Art. 4 122-FZ lists all title documentation for real estate.

Rights to any real estate must be registered. Since 01/01/2017, 218-FZ “On State Registration of Real Estate” has been in force, which confirms ownership.

Methods of fraud

Renting out apartments is a profitable business, but some businessmen seek to gain income through dishonest means, coming up with new ways to make money. To find out how to rent an apartment correctly, so as not to be deceived by dishonest realtors, you can do this by becoming familiar with common fraud schemes in the rental housing market.

Non-existent apartment

On virtual sites with apartments for rent, you often come across fakes. The agent posts information about housing with quite attractive characteristics: budget price, European-quality renovation, decent area, good transport links. But when you call, it turns out that the apartment with the specified conditions simply does not exist. The purpose of such deception is to increase the client base of real estate companies. Then the intermediary will offer available options, and the client can accept or reject his services.

Fake photos

Published photographs of premises rarely correspond to reality. The rental price must be adequate to the interior shown in the photo. The low price against the backdrop of first-class repairs should alert you.

The Google Images service allows you to quickly check whether there are copies of these photos on other sites.

Money for inspection

There are cases when an apartment owner enters into an agreement with a realtor. Then the income from views is divided in half. Therefore, it is important to remember: it is illegal to demand a fee for inspecting an apartment.

Retake

Keep in mind that tenants do not have the right to move other people in without notifying the owner. In order not to fall for this trick of scammers, you cannot sign an agreement, much less give money, without seeing the document on ownership of the apartment.

Selling a customer base

Relatively recently, scammers have developed a new deception scheme. The realtor offers to buy access to a closed database of owners of apartments offered for rent. He says this is the ideal way to find suitable housing by contacting the owners directly. In fact, the unlucky tenant gives money to view the public site.

How to avoid being deceived

To rent a conveniently located, affordable and comfortable home without wasting your nerves and money, you can act in different ways. If you wish, you can search for an apartment on your own, but most often future tenants prefer to use the services of professionals.

Through an agency

To rent an apartment with the participation of a realtor, you will need a passport and a signed agreement for the provision of services.

The specialist's responsibilities include:

search for an apartment using specified parameters,
accompanying the client when viewing the options they like,
Negotiation,
checking the documents provided by the landlord.

Review of TOP 5 real estate agencies

Professional real estate specialists will select suitable premises for comfortable living. This option is convenient for those who do not have free time.

Top five real estate firms:

Best real estate . It has been working in the housing market since 1992 and occupies a leading position among real estate firms in Moscow. Branches operate in dozens of cities throughout Russia. Practices various real estate transactions. The company's specialists have many years of experience, as well as a huge number of successfully completed transactions. They will help you rent suitable housing in the shortest possible time.
MGSN . The Moscow City Real Estate Service has been working in the housing market for 20 years. The company is universal. She works with various types of real estate and provides professional assistance in any housing transactions. The list of its services: free consultation, accelerated search for current options, qualified drafting of contracts, provision of legal assistance during the transaction.
Miel . This is a holding company founded in 1990. The specialists working here carry out purchase and sale transactions, and also help with the hiring of living space both in Moscow and in other cities of Russia. This is all done taking into account the wishes of the client. The holding has 120 offices in Moscow. It has an extensive database of properties throughout the country. Company employees provide assistance in renting housing in any area of the city or suburb. Any transaction is carefully checked by the company’s legal service. In addition to standard housing, they also provide elite cottages and luxury apartments.
Incom . This large real estate company has been known for more than a quarter of a century. It occupies a leading position in the Moscow real estate market, provides assistance in mortgage lending, provides expert assessment of properties, and also provides intermediary services. The company recruits highly qualified employees who have experience in the field of real estate services. For the company, the legal purity of the contract is extremely important, so it checks all objects in advance.
Alma . This organization is responsible to each client. Satisfying everyone's needs is of great importance to her. The company's activities are carried out using the most current methods and technologies.

Self-rental rules

Those tenants who prefer not to contact agencies face various kinds of trials. For example, people who cannot pay for the services of a realtor will try to do without outside help. And if they don’t know how to rent a room without being scammed, they can lose much more than they planned to save.

How to find a good deal

Often those who want to find a suitable apartment are close to despair: advertisements posted by owners are rare. In most cases, a real estate agent will answer the call. Experts recommend paying attention to specialized sites, which do not necessarily have to be top ones.

Sites focused on searching for housing:

Realt.onliner.by . There is an “Online” service for renting housing, where the owner himself, without intermediaries, submits advertisements.
Avito.ru . There are a lot of advertisements on the site that pretend to be private, but are actually posted by intermediaries. However, you can find publications from the owners. To do this, you will need to spend your free time on telephone conversations. Remember that advertisements must be looked for in the “private” section. It is possible to receive 100% confirmation that the apartment is being rented out by the owner only through a personal meeting.
Thelocals.ru . This site is a direct rental area. Unfortunately, there are few advertisements posted.
Posrednikovzdes.net . The site is similar to CIAN (owner database) and has a small number of publications.

Owner verification

Before concluding a contract, the tenant should carefully read the owner's documents.

The lessor is required to present the following documents:

certificate of ownership, issued in the name of the lessor,
written confirmation of ownership of the apartment (purchase and sale, gift or exchange agreement),
passport,
if the owner of the apartment is absent, the owner’s representative must provide a notarized power of attorney, on the basis of which he has the right to sign the lease agreement.

Consent of all owners

Having the signatures of all homeowners is an important condition when drawing up a rental agreement. Another option is the signature of an authorized person to whom each owner of a share in the apartment has issued a power of attorney.

Address verification

There is a risk of falling into the clutches of scammers who deliberately take money for someone else’s living space from several clients at the same time. Realtors often act as deceivers. They charge a fee for the information provided - the client receives the landlord's numbers. But completing the deal is not part of their plans. Therefore, you should not pay anyone without verifying the address. It is necessary to personally verify the actual existence of the rented premises at the specified address and examine the supporting documents.

Correct execution of the contract

A person looking for a place to live faces a lot of problems. Such as: incurring unjustified losses, wasted energy and time. Therefore, it is important to always draw up a rental agreement and know its structure.

Contents of a well-drafted contract:

passport details of the owner and tenant,
monthly rent cost,
conditions for reviewing housing fees,
rental period,
persons living with the tenant,
number of visits by the owner of the living space to inspect the property,
detailed description of the housing: address, number of floors of the house, area and number of rooms,
conditions for termination of the contract.

Inventory of property

A property inventory is an official document that is an appendix to the main lease agreement. The inventory indicates the things that are transferred to the tenant for temporary use.

The home owner usually includes all household items in the inventory: kitchen appliances, household appliances, furniture, paintings, home library. Those things that the owner did not include in the property inventory cannot be returned.

The preparation of this document must be approached very carefully. The tenant must compare the items described on paper with those located on the premises. If something is overlooked, when leaving, the owner may demand the return of the items indicated in the inventory of the property.

Inspect the equipment (is everything in working order), pipelines, and bathrooms. If the breakdown occurred due to the fault of the residents, they are obliged to compensate for the damage. Therefore, it is so important to indicate the initially broken items in the property inventory, which is signed by each party.

A good option is to take pictures of all the defects found so that when you move out, they are not attributed to the renters. It is advisable to attach photographs to the act.

Taking meter readings

On the date of signing the lease agreement, the readings of water, electricity and gas meters are recorded in the presence of the owner of the property.

If there is arrears on utility bills, the procedure for repaying it should also be reflected in the agreement: who exactly and within what time period undertakes to deposit the money into the account of the management company.

Expert recommendations

When hiring premises, both parties must be careful. The transaction will be as safe as possible if it is concluded in writing.

According to documentation

The fact of renting an apartment is clearly reflected in several documents.

Necessary documents when renting residential premises:

A rental agreement for residential premises, which is drawn up in writing. The parties to the contract are the landlord and the tenant. The object of the lease agreement is residential premises.
Receipt for cash receipt. Not compiled for non-cash payments.
Certificate of acceptance and transfer of premises. Not an independent document, it is part of the main lease agreement. Drawed up to confirm the fact of transfer of the apartment for use to the tenant.
Inventory of property. This is done to avoid disputes regarding the condition of the apartment and furnishings. It indicates all pieces of furniture and other things located in the room. The inventory is signed by both parties to the transaction.

Disputed housing is a big problem for the tenant. Documents reflecting the method of transferring the apartment into the ownership of the landlord may even warn of possible risks. For example, if the property was recently inherited by the landlord, then the heirs may appear at any time, ready to challenge it.

By negotiations with the owner

You should pay attention to the behavior of the owner. If the landlord is in a hurry and shows excitement when inspecting the premises, this should be alarming. In addition, he suggests not drawing up an agreement and shows copies of real estate papers instead of originals. This is the worst outcome of the negotiations, and the only correct way out of them is to refuse the clearly fraudulent deal.

It is also worth asking the landlord if there are other homeowners. You can order an extract from the Unified State Register of Real Estate, which indicates who is the owner of the property.

Upon payment of deposit and fee

It is best to pay the deposit and monthly payment by bank transfer. The entire amount is transferred to the owner of the property only after signing the contract.

No one has the right to take money for information services and viewing a home.

Checking information from advertisements

In a telephone conversation, experts recommend finding out the actual address of the future residence, even if it is indicated in the advertisement.

Also find out all the important points for yourself:

availability of furniture, equipment,
working internet,
contract time,
Is it possible with children or animals?

The more such nuances are revealed in a telephone conversation, the better for everyone. It is also advisable to inquire whether the ownership documents are issued in the name of the person who answered the call, and whether there are other co-owners.

Advantages and disadvantages

In the end, the tenant must decide for himself which option he is more inclined to: turn to an agency for help or look for living space on his own.

Cooperation with realtors has both positive and negative sides.

Advantages:

saving time,
the service is provided on time,
guarantee of transaction security,
the rental price is fixed,
specialists will select the appropriate option.

The disadvantages are the presence of additional payments and commissions. There is also a risk of running into false realtors.

Renting a home on your own is a very energy-intensive process. You need to understand that you will have to spend a lot of time searching for advertisements from owners. A person is considered to be at great risk when he avoids mediation. But the risk may be worth it if you weigh the pros and cons of renting an apartment independently.

Advantages:

financial savings due to the elimination of intermediaries,
the choice is not limited by the existing database, as in a real estate company,
personal agreement on all the nuances with the owner of the home.

When renting an apartment on your own, you need to be vigilant.

Flaws:

long searches: finding the owner without an intermediary can be very difficult,
scam: people rent out living space that is not theirs and charge rent before the lease is signed and the tenant moves in.

Video

In this video, a real estate professional talks about the main methods used by scammers.

Risks when searching for housing on your own

Finding an apartment without intermediaries involves many risks. What problems might a self-tenant tenant encounter?

Fraudsters. If an experienced realtor can immediately see through a deceiver, then it can be quite difficult for an employer to determine the bad intentions of a fraudster posing as the owner. Fraud schemes in the housing rental industry are very diverse and sophisticated - from renting out an apartment to several tenants at once to changing the locks on the doors after the owner receives money.
Lack of clear terms in the contract. When drawing up a document, it is recommended to write down all the details of the agreement. If the agreement is provided by the owner himself, then before signing, you should read it carefully or show it to a lawyer you know.
Payment for several months in advance. As a rule, most owners require payment a maximum of 1-2 months in advance. If the owner insists on paying rent 6-12 months in advance, then you should think about the impurity of his intentions.
Fake documents. If the owner provides only copies of papers, then the deal is not worth concluding. The owner is required to show the original documents, as copies can be easily forged.
Rent debts. Before renting a home, it is important to make sure that it does not have housing and communal services debts. To do this, you should check the paid receipts.

Searching for housing on your own is fraught with risks. However, if you know the basic points and rules, you can avoid unforeseen situations and reduce the likelihood of fraud from unscrupulous tenants.

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