Agency warns about prime central London sub-letting scams

Agency warns about prime central London sub-letting scams


Todays other news
The smallest rise across Britain excluding London at this time...
Tenants there pay 358% more than the British average...
Property Sense has ambitions to be leasing more than 7,500...
Owner-occupiers aged 60-plus now hold a record £2.89 trillion of...
Its busiest activity is at both the lower and upper...


A prime central London letting agency says there has been a rise in the number of subletting scams in that part of the capital.

Patterson Bowe, a boutique lettings and sales specialist in Kensington and Chelsea, says it has recently been approached by a number of landlords in search to tenants after having discovered that their properties had been illegally sub-let without their knowledge or consent. 

Although the central London agency database Lonres published information on so-called rogue tenants, Patterson Bowe says landlords must conduct rigorous due diligence and formal background checks on tenants before signing contracts. 

“An undersupply and increased demand in the current market has left room for certain tenants to bend the rules where they can. We have been contacted by both landlords and tenants looking for advice because they have fallen victim to these scams” says Stuart Patterson, managing director of Patterson Bowe.

The company says that relying on computerised reference checks alone is not enough to ensure the quality and reliability of tenants – the agency meets each tenant in person to gather what it calls “in depth background information” in order to build a profile for its landlord clients.

Share this article ...

Join the conversation: Login and have your say

Want to comment on this story? Our focus is on providing a platform for you to share your insights and views and we welcome contributions. All comments are screened using specialist software and may be reviewed by our editorial team before publication. Letting Agent Today reserves the right to edit, withhold or delete comments that violate our guidelines, including those that harass, degrade, or intimidate others. Users who post such content may be banned from commenting.
By commenting, you agree to our Commenting Terms of Use.
1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
Recommended for you
Related Articles
The smallest rise across Britain excluding London at this time...
Tenants there pay 358% more than the British average...
Owner-occupiers aged 60-plus now hold a record £2.89 trillion of...
Its busiest activity is at both the lower and upper...
The BoE has come to a decision on interest rates...
The removal of temporary rent controls may make buy-to-let more...
There will be a greater emphasis on digitisation....
Recommended for you
Latest Features
The smallest rise across Britain excluding London at this time...
Tenants there pay 358% more than the British average...
Property Sense has ambitions to be leasing more than 7,500...
Sponsored Content
With less than a month to go until the UK...
The UK government has implemented 16 financial sanctions rule changes...
The owners of the Rentman software application (for property Lettings...

Send to a friend

In order to send this article to a friend you must first login. Click on the button below to login or sign up.

No one likes pop-ups ...
But while you're here