Tenants being caught out by rogue landlords

MORE than two million people have fallen victim to a scam involving a private tenancy or a landlord in the past three years, research out today reveals.

The most popular rip-offs include "let and run" scams, where conmen break into vacant properties and rent them out as their own, only to disappear once the tenant has handed over a deposit and rent, according to a report by Shelter, the homelessness charity.

Hidden fees are similarly commonplace, where money is taken for costs without the tenant being informed, leaving them in arrears. The report also found that some rogue landlords ask for tenants to provide guarantors instead of deposits, with the guarantors later landed with a bill for unnecessary and expensive repairs.

And while the proportion of rogue landlords remains a tiny minority, Shelter said those guilty of ripping off their tenants were damaging the reputation of the sector.

Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: "It is absolutely shocking to think that so many people have fallen victim to these kind of scams but even more astonishing is the fact that these rogue landlords are seemingly able to get away with it scot free."

He warned that with more than a million victims to date there were landlords all over the UK operating some form of scam. "They knowingly let people hand over their cash in good faith, with the sole intention of stealing it. It is simply not acceptable that people who are just trying to secure the basic human need of a roof over their head should end up ripped off," said Robb.

His comments come days after the Scottish Government unveiled plans for a Private Rented Housing Bill that includes measures to "tackle unscrupulous rogue landlords who operate outside the law and make life a misery for tenants and their neighbours and tarnish the reputation of the many good private landlords".

But Shelter Scotland expressed doubts that the bill would ensure the sector is properly regulated and called for urgent reform giving tenants more rights and longer tenancies.

Gordon MacRae, head of communications and policy at Shelter Scotland, said: "The sector needs to have regulations with real teeth that penalise criminal landlords and encourage the good practice of responsible landlords."

And the private rented sector is set for a new period of expansion, according to one of Scotland's biggest residential letting agents. David Alexander, owner of rental firm DJ Alexander, said demand for rental property was at the highest level in his 28 years in the industry, with families accounting for a growing proportion of the rental market. As house price inflation slows, Alexander predicted that families would stay in rental accommodation for longer.

"Over a period of 15 to 20 years, capital growth is likely to only modestly stay ahead of inflation, which may encourage couples and families to rent their homes on a long-term basis and look for some other means of building up a capital surplus," he said.