Living in London can be great fun and we know for many of our students, moving here may be their first time living independently. Renting in a city can feel overwhelming and unfortunately there are scammers out there who target students. Whether you are a first-time or seasoned renter, it is good to be aware of what to look out for in a housing scam and know that your Student Union Advice service is here to help.

Scams can be obvious or well disguised. There are no websites that are 100% guaranteed to be free of scams. We at the Arts SU Advice service have compiled a few red and green flags to look out for when renting in London. Please do remember, if at any stage you are unsure of an agreement or if you are being scammed, please reach out to our service on advice@su.arts.ac.uk or book an appointment with an adviser here.

So, how do you spot a scam? Here is a list of some things to watch out for:

• Requests for a deposit payment before viewing the property
• A large quantity of negative reviews following an online search
• Payments requested via services such as Western Union or AliPay rather than a bank transfer
• Being asked to pay someone who has not been named as the estate agent or landlord
• The price advertised is significantly lower than similar properties in the area
• You are asked to pay rent up front for an extended period and offered a discount as a result
• All communication from the estate agent/landlord is via WhatsApp or social media
• You cannot find the letting agent’s details on one of the two official redress schemes (which agents are required to be a part of by law)
• The company appears to have recently been dissolved or struck off when searched on Companies House. These companies are much higher risk to pay money to

The two redress schemes are:

• The Property Ombudsman tpos.co.uk
• The Property Redress Scheme theprs.co.uk

Here are some examples of what a responsible agent/landlord will look like;

• The letting agent is a part of a professional body or accreditation scheme. This may be advertised on their website, or you could ask the agent themselves.
• The landlord/agent offers a viewing as a first step before sending any documents or requesting payment.
• The landlord/agent is confident in answering questions about the property and previous rental histories.
• Should you make an offer with an agent, you are given clear instructions about a tenancy agreement and payment timelines.
• Upon reviewing a tenancy agreement, it is clear which deposit protection scheme (DPS) the landlord/agent will use to protect your money. The landlord/agent are required to protect your deposit in a government approved scheme by law.
• The agent is part of a redress scheme (linked above) and Client Money Protection scheme.
  • Agents must advertise which scheme they are members of in their office and on their website. Currently, there are six government approved CMP schemes.

What we can do:

We offer housing advice to students and can provide guidance on issues such as:

• Contract checking
• Deposit returns
• Disrepair issues
• Negotiating a rent increase
• Making a complaint to your landlord
• Ending a tenancy
• Renter’s rights

If you’re unsure of whether we can help you, please get in touch anyway. If we are not the most appropriate service to support, we will likely be able to signpost you to a service who can.

Please do note that we do not offer legal advice. However, UAL is a member of the University of London Housing Service (ULHS) who do offer legal advice and can be found here.

Housing search resources

If you are currently searching for private accommodation, you could create an account on the ULHS website where you can access a range of tools including their vetted accommodation search platform. All properties available to view on this platform are from trusted agencies that are happy to offer student lets.

Further, if you wish to meet other UAL students also looking for accommodation, please feel free to join our official ArtsSU Housing Group Facebook page. Here you can often find rooms on offer in houses already occupied by UAL students. The University of London also offers a similar housemate search tool here, accessible to students from a variety of universities across London.

If you think you’ve been a victim of a scam

If you think you have been a victim of a property scam, contact Action Fraud – an online fraud reporting service who pass cases to the National Fraud Intelligence Bureau (NFIB), and offers victim support.