Housing Scams

When searching for housing, always be aware of potential housing scams. See below for further explanations and examples of warning signs:

Rental Scams

Be suspicious that the property or transaction could be a scam if:

  • The advertised price is much lower than that of similar properties
  • Ads for the property have grammatical and spelling errors, or overuse capital letters
  • The ad uses uncommon spellings of words, like “favour” instead of “favor”
  • You can only work with an agent. The agent says that the owner who is too busy, out of the country, or otherwise unavailable to handle the rental.
  • The owner or agent requires you to sign the lease before you see the rental property
  • The owner or agent isn’t able to let you enter the home or apartment or charges you a fee to view it
  • The owner or agent uses high-pressure sales tactics. They may urge you to rent quickly before someone else gets the property

Moving Scams

While most moving companies are reputable businesses that do quality work, some companies use fraudulent practices. They may:

  • Demand cash upfront before the move
  • Avoid giving you a written estimate
  • Ask you to sign a blank contract in advance
  • Only have one cell phone number as a contact and no local physical address
  • Show up to your house with a rental truck with no company logo on it
  • Give you a quote over the phone without any onsite inspection of your goods
  • Give you a low price and change the estimate substantially at your destination
  • Hold your belongings hostage until you pay more money