There has been a rise in the number of illegal lettings websites, ARLA has claimed.
It says that over the last six months, increasing numbers of foreign criminals have been scraping property listings from UK agents’ websites to con tenants into parting with their deposits.
The websites look highly professional in appearance, frequently mimicking a genuine letting agency website, and use industry logos such as ARLA.
However, one phoney site named by ARLA does not even carry any listings. Instead it says: “All of our available properties are of a high standard and range from one-bedroom properties up to large properties with over 10 rooms.”
It also says: “We refuse to make contracts with apartment [sic] with legal issues of any king of problems [sic]).”
It gives no address for its supposedly ‘prominently located’ office in London, of which there is a picture, and the only way to contact it is via email. It displays the ARLA logo and says its ‘highly experienced’ staff are ARLA qualified and regularly attend ARLA courses.
ARLA says there has been a particular upsurge of fraud from companies posting on Gumtree.
It has widely distributed a news release warning tenants of the problem and advising them to search for properties on NFoPP’s own website, propertylive.
It says it has had particular complaints about this site:
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