Hi, i have seen a listing that is ‘let agreed’, and the puctures are two really strange pics of a property that i do not believe is grover gardens rm5, i have reported this to open rent, what do open rent do to make sure the listings and photos are genuine?
They don’t do anything to verify pictures, but those posting adds do have to upload proof of ownership of the property address.
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I think the proof of ownership only applies if listing on Rightmove, so ads can go live elsewhere without this, unless they have changed it recently.
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Thanks guys, as crazy as this sounds…i have a tenant in my house (unrelated to OR) he said he has rented a new house and signed all the agreement and has shown me correspondence between him and the OR landlord.
I now believe my tenant and the landlord of this fake listing on OR are one and the same person, i think he is biding time to stay in my house as he owes us rent.
That was why i asked, could this scammer simply regoster as an OR ladnlord, put some fake pics up and start liaising with potential tenants?
Looks like he can, i have reported it to open rent and would like them to provide more info on the is alleged landlord.
In a word, yes. It’s very easy to do.
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If you think an ad is fake, there is a link to report it on the ad on OpenRent right at the bottom of the page.
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No they don’t. OpenRent have never asked me for proof of anything. That’s probably why 99% of alm my applicants are scammers. They don’t check anything properly.
As a LL I have always been asked for proof of ownership of the property before they will list it.
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So it seems quite mixed on what people are saying here, in the fact they def ask for proof of ownership and some say they do not.
What firther could i ask OR if they think this is a genuine listing ?
As i am 99% sure this is not a genuine listing.
Thanks for all your help guys
Hi Leslie what do they ask for when you list as a landlord?
Thanks
The below excerpt suggests that proof is only needed for Rightmove.
I have had property go live on all other platforms without providing proof.
This was a while ago.
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Can you clarify exact details in relation to above?
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OR have told me that due to security they cannot divulge what they ask landlords to produce in relation to when they list…ridiculous
I have reported the guy to Action Fraud and Open Rent to Trading Standards, thats all i can do i guess unless OR play ball and take this seriously, where at present they are not.
Hi all,
I’m intrigued by this, I’d like to think it couldn’t happen, and to be honest I’m not sure why a tenant would go to that much effort for what seems to be
unnecessary deception. Presumably this correspondence leads to a moving date, which from the tone of your post seems to be what you would like?
However from either perspective any sort of misinformation can damage trust and create bad feelings. Landlords and tenants should be united in the same aim, well maintained properties/homes and good relationships, it is (or should be) a partnership. Unfortunately there are lots of external pressures that skew this.
In the first instance I think asking outright is always the best course of action. It’s respectful and fair. There is often a third element that explains things satisfactorily when something seems amiss.
I suspect Open Rent probably do due diligence using the Land Registry, it’s publically available for a small fee and updated during the process of conveyancing.
If there were serious financial/legal concerns about the ownership of a property I might consider checking the details, however I would caution that in the instance described this might be a step too far. There are understandable ethical and privacy considerations because information doesn’t need to be sought or held about others simply for the sake of it.
I hope that’s explained reasonably, you are of course free to disagree.
It’s really interesting reading both sides of this and the complexities, social, economical and personal/emotional.
Thank you all for your contributions.