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Renting safely

View properties in person before paying any money. Even if they claim to be overseas, people who are not willing to show you their property or meet with you before accepting you as their tenant aren’t likely to be legitimate. For your own safety, always have someone with you.   Ask lots of questions about the property and the area.  Any genuine landlord or agent should know the answers and give them.    For extra piece of mind you may want to consider only renting from a landlord or agent that is a member of a professional accreditation scheme (e.g. ARLA, NALs, NLA etc).     If dealing with a landlord directly, ask to see their proof of ownership for the property before handing over any money.   Never provide your personal identity or banking information to others over the internet e.g. details or photocopies of your passport, driving licence or your credit card number. Only give this information to a landlord or agency once you’ve met them in person, viewed the property and decided to proceed with a rental arrangement. You should always view requests for personal information by someone you haven’t met with extreme caution.   Use common sense. If something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.   Be aware of top scam warning signs.  In particular be wary of any requests to use money transfer services like Western Union or MoneyGram to pay deposit money or "prove" you have funds.   If in doubt about a prospective landlord or agency either contact us for advice or don't proceed.