Avoiding rental scams: what to check before you pay

Most rental scams are not clever. They work because the home looks right, the price looks good and someone is in a hurry, usually you. The scammer's goal is always the same: to get money from you before you have seen the home and signed a contract with the person who has the right to rent it out.

This guide covers the patterns to watch for, what to check before you pay anything, and what to do on LeaseExact if a listing looks wrong. It applies wherever you rent; where rules differ by country, we say so.

The one rule

Never transfer a deposit before a viewing and a signed contract. Not a holding fee, not a "reservation", not a "refundable" amount to prove you are serious. If you cannot see the home, you cannot rent it yet. Almost every scam below breaks this rule in one way or another.

Patterns to watch for

A deposit before a viewing. You are asked to pay to "hold" the home, to receive the keys by courier, or to get on a viewing list. A real landlord or agent shows the home first.
The landlord is abroad. The owner is overseas, working on a rig, or caring for a relative, and cannot meet you, but will send the keys once you transfer the money. Sometimes a "lawyer" or a "relative" handles it instead. The story changes; the request for money does not.
Too cheap for the area. A furnished flat in a sought-after district for far below what similar homes ask. A low price is the bait. Compare it with other homes in the same building or street before you get excited.
Pressure. "Ten other people want it." "The price goes up tomorrow." "Pay now or lose it." Real landlords do get many enquiries, but none of them needs your money before you have seen the home.
Copied photos. Pictures lifted from another listing, a hotel or a developer's brochure. Watermarks from another site, photos that do not match the floor or the view, or a home that looks staged and empty in a way the text does not explain.
Payment to a personal account. The money is to go to an individual's account, a relative's account, a money-transfer service, a gift card or crypto, instead of the landlord or the licensed company named in the contract.
Fake or borrowed permit numbers. In Dubai, every property ad must carry a DLD advertising permit number and QR code. Scammers copy a real permit from another listing, invent a number, or show a QR that opens nothing. In Qatar, a licensed broker shows a licence number; a scammer may borrow one.
The conversation moves away. You are asked to continue on a private number, send your ID straight away, or ignore the platform's messages "because they are slow". Keep the conversation where there is a record.

What to check before you pay anything

View the home in person, or have someone you trust view it for you. A video call can help, but a recorded video is easy to copy.
Check the advertiser. Ask for the name of the landlord or company and the licence numbers that apply where the home is. In Dubai: the DLD permit QR (scan it and check the property matches), the broker's BRN and the office's ORN. In Qatar: the broker's licence number. In England: the agent's redress scheme, and the rule that a deposit must be protected in a government-approved scheme.
Check the right to rent it out. Ask who owns the home and how the advertiser is allowed to rent it: as the owner, or with a management contract or power of attorney. The name on the contract should match.
Check the photos. A reverse image search takes a minute and often finds the same pictures on another listing or another site.
Check the price. If it is far below similar homes nearby, ask why, and listen to the answer carefully.
Pay only to the party named in the contract, by a traceable method, and get a receipt. Never in cash without a receipt, never by gift card or crypto.
Get everything in writing: the rent, the deposit, every fee, who holds the deposit and when it comes back.

If something feels wrong, stop. A real home will still be there tomorrow, or there will be another one.

How to report a listing on LeaseExact

Every listing on LeaseExact has a Report button. Choose the reason that fits:

Fake or unavailable: the home does not exist, is already let, or the advertiser does not have the right to rent it out.
Asked me to pay before a viewing: someone asked for money before you could see the home.
Wrong price: the price or a fee in the listing is not what you were told.
Photos aren't this home: the pictures belong to another property.

Add what happened in a sentence or two, and screenshots if you have them. You do not need to be sure; if something looks wrong, tell us.

What happens after a report

We pause the listing while we look, when the report points to a possible scam. Paused listings do not appear in search.
We review it. We check the listing against what the report says, and we may ask the advertiser for proof, such as the permit, the licence or documents showing they can rent the home.
We tell you the outcome. You hear back whether the listing was corrected, removed or restored.

If you have already paid someone, contact your bank straight away and report it to the police in the country where it happened. A report to LeaseExact helps protect other renters, but it does not replace a police report and we cannot recover money for you.

What LeaseExact will never do

LeaseExact never asks you to pay on its behalf. No one from LeaseExact will ask you to transfer a deposit, a booking fee or a "verification fee", and no message from us will ever give you a bank account to pay into. LeaseExact is free for renters, always.
LeaseExact is not a broker. We take no commission and never hold deposits. Your deposit goes to the landlord or agent named in your contract, after a viewing and a signed contract.
A badge is never for sale. Advertisers pay for tools, not for trust. Paying for a plan does not buy a badge or a better position in search.
We check only what we say we checked. A listing shows what the advertiser provided and, separately, what LeaseExact checked, how and when. A badge is not a guarantee; it tells you exactly what was looked at. Read what each badge means on Trust and how verified listings work.

You can create a free account to keep your conversations with advertisers in one place, with a record you can come back to.

Sources

Last checked: 21 October 2026.