Pay before visiting a property: beware of this scam that can cost you dearly

Finding accommodation is a real obstacle course, so much so that some owners take advantage of the distress of candidates by asking them for an advance payment to reserve the property. But be careful, it's a scam .

RMC Conso tried the experiment and gives you some advice on how to spot misleading ads.

At a glance, it was probably the photos that attracted you: a bright, refurbished apartment, with beautiful volumes, close to amenities and above all with a very attractive rent.

So we clicked on two such ads: a 38 square meter rental apartment for 700 euros per month in Pontault-Combault (77340) and another of 42 square meters for 765 euros in Villiers-sur-Marne (94079). We then contacted the owners via the leboncoin or SeLoger sites. A few hours later, we received responses from the owners. Very long emails. Both were built in the same way and followed the same strategy.

First, the owners praised the features of the property again. In both emails, the same qualifiers came up: "charming and bright apartment", "quiet area", "equipped kitchen", "a splendid Italian-style shower room" or even "a parking space to make your daily life easier". A way for them to reaffirm that you have come across the perfect apartment.

Then, they ask for a series of personal information (first and last names, profession and income, current address, telephone contact details, desired duration of the lease, number of occupants of the accommodation, etc.), but also documents (identity document, pay slips, tax notices, employment contract, proof of address, etc.) on the pretext of "setting up an appointment as quickly as possible". And they also remind you that "no further action can be taken" without all these elements.

Throughout the email, there are many polite phrases: "don't hesitate to ask any questions", "I will be delighted to help you" or even "receive my best regards", to create a real climate of trust.

Once they have your attention, they drop their bomb at the end of the email and ask you to pay them the security deposit even though you haven't even visited.

In one case, the owner requests a bank transfer of 700 euros as a security deposit on the day of the visit. For the other apartment, nearly 1,400 euros are requested, indicating that, in addition to the security deposit, the first month's rent must be paid.

To justify this amount, the owners play with your emotions again and put forward the same argument: distance.

"We have already made the trip for people who were not there, others who could not even afford to take my apartment. I am not saying that you are like them, but understand that I am leaving Bastia to come here and that I am also leaving my job, so I do not want to leave and not see anyone. So, you must make the transfer and send me the transfer receipt. If during the visit, the apartment does not meet your requirements (which I very much doubt), we will stop and I will reimburse you the 700 euros quickly by transfer", wrote one of the owners to RMC Conso.

After some research, we found that these two alleged owners had already been reported by Internet users on the site signal-arnaques . This time, the owner did not live in Bastia, but in Brussels or Marseille, according to Internet users' comments.

"Although this practice is quite widespread in high-demand areas, the law strictly prohibits the owner from asking for money (check, money order, etc.) from the rental candidate to reserve the accommodation," recalls the SeLoger group, which specializes in the distribution of real estate advertisements, on its website .

"No amount of money can be claimed by the owner before signing the rental agreement. The only legal way to reserve accommodation is to sign the rental agreement. It is only at the time of signing that the owner can ask the tenant for the security deposit and the first month's rent," it is explained.

As a reminder, the amount of the security deposit must not exceed one month's rent (excluding charges) for unfurnished rentals and two months' rent (excluding charges) for furnished rentals.

If you have already fallen into the trap and paid the owner, don't panic. Even if you withdraw from the accommodation, you can claim reimbursement of the amount from the owner by sending him a formal notice . "And if he refuses to return your money, you can refer the matter to the Local Court if the amount paid is less than 4,000 euros," says SeLoger.

Also be careful with the documents you send to the owners, to avoid identity theft in particular. They take advantage of your distress to ask you for all types of documents, but once again this practice is regulated.

Landlords have the right to ask you for your identity and resources as well as those of your guarantors (national identity card or passport, proof of address, employment contract, professional card, last three pay slips, last or penultimate tax notice or non-tax notice, etc.).

But they cannot ask you for your bank statement, direct debit authorization, family record book or the co-signature of an ascendant or descendant.

When you are looking for accommodation on online platforms other than real estate agencies, you need to be extra vigilant. An advert that presents an apartment that is too perfect and cheap should alert you, especially if the offer is significantly lower than the real estate market in your area.

Once you have contacted the owner and received a response from them, do not immediately provide them with your personal information and documents. First, you need to verify that the accommodation actually exists. You can call the owner directly, ask for the rental deed, or look on Google Street View to see where the accommodation is located.

After these tips, you can focus on the email. Several elements can put you on the trail of a scam: a strange email address, an excessively long email, spelling mistakes, capital letters in the middle of a sentence, colloquial language and awkward turns of phrase.

And if all these criteria are checked, you can search the internet for the owners' first and last names and you will see if they have already been reported by other internet users.

Finally, last piece of advice: don't hesitate to report these profiles on platforms like signal.conso.gouv.fr or signal-arnaques. You can also block ads directly on the sites.