How rental scams work in practice
The classic sequence is short and easy to recognise. According to the national fraud reporting desk, Fraudehelpdesk, fraudsters advertise a home or a holiday apartment over the internet and on social media. In order to rent it you first have to pay. That can be a deposit, an upfront payment, agency fees, or a few months' rent. Sometimes the fraudster also asks for a copy of your identity document. After you have paid, you hear nothing more. Quite often it also turns out the home does not exist at all.
Fraudsters operate at scale. They lift photos from existing adverts, which lets them place large numbers of fake listings and answer questions at lightning speed. They approach people through WhatsApp, Telegram, Signal, Facebook, Instagram, dating sites and marketplaces such as Marktplaats. That does not mean every message on such a platform is fraudulent, but it does mean the competition is strikingly active. Whoever responds quickly responds almost too quickly: even a friendly landlord who cannot show the home yet is a warning sign.
The way people talk is often revealing too. Fraudsters push hard on speed and secrecy. The fraudster does not want to call, or insists on one single channel, so that no written record exists and the identity stays unverified. Sometimes you are asked for a small trial payment to 'start the procedure', after which the amount grows. You may also be told you can 'sublet it to someone else afterwards', or that the price is exceptionally low because the landlord 'lives abroad'.
Also watch for fraud that appears to arrive through the proper channel. Fraudsters sometimes direct you to an official website or tell you to apply for a housing permit at the municipality, only to then extract your data or a 'application fee'. A real municipality never asks for payment up front for a permit. So always check who you are dealing with, and whether your details are being requested through an official route.
- Paying up front to 'reserve the home' is the classic warning sign of fraud.
- A landlord who will not call, keeps everything to one channel and offers no viewing is a serious risk.
- Copies of identity documents are also used to commit identity fraud.
Warning signs: how to spot a fake listing
There are concrete checks you can run yourself before transferring a single euro. Fraudehelpdesk names three that take only minutes. Check whether there are reviews of the landlord: type the landlord's name, or their website address, into Google followed by the word 'complaint' or 'review'. Check the address of the property on Google Streetview. And check with Google Images or Yandex whether the photos of the home are used on more than one site, because fraudsters often lift photos from existing adverts.
The wording of the advert itself carries information too. A legitimate Dutch rental advert should give an address, a floor area, a number of rooms, a year of construction or how long the home has been available, and a landlord willing to arrange a viewing. Vague adverts with no address, nothing but stock photography, or an extremely low price for a central location are a reason to slow down. So is a story that you must rent immediately because the landlord 'is leaving for abroad', while no viewing is possible.
Look at the technical details too. Ask for the land registry number (Kadasternummer), the name of the owner or the estate agent, and whether the home is genuinely vacant. A real owner or intermediary can look that up or verify it. A fraudster cannot and will talk around it. Notice also the email address or phone number: a professional-looking corporate email address may be a fabricated one, and WhatsApp numbers created only recently are no proof of anything, though they are a reason to check extra carefully.
Finally, note the pace of the conversation. Real fraudsters push: they want you to pay today, because 'three other people are viewing' or 'three other homes become available tomorrow, which may interest you too'. That urgency is part of the script. You are always entitled to verify calmly first, and a genuine landlord will understand that.
- Search the landlord's name or website in Google plus 'complaint' or 'review'.
- Check the address on Google Streetview and the photos on Google Images or Yandex.
- Ask for the land registry number and whether the home is genuinely vacant.
- Refuse any pressure to pay today; a real landlord gives you time.
What to check before you pay or sign a contract
The moment you pay is the riskiest moment. A rule of thumb that prevents a great deal of fraud in practice: never pay for a home on the basis of photos or text alone, and always arrange to see it first, ideally with someone accompanying you. A real landlord will agree to that. Paying by bank transfer rather than in cash gives you a payment record you can later use in a report or a legal procedure; that is also exactly what the national government advises when paying a deposit.
Statutory rules on deposits and other charges help you spot fraudsters. A landlord may ask for a deposit, but for contracts signed from 1 July 2023 that may be at most 2 months' base rent. For older contracts the maximum is 3 months. Private landlords must comply with that. If you are asked for a deposit far above two months' rent, that is a signal to stop. You also do not pay agency fees to an estate agent who works for the landlord; those are then charged to you unfairly.
Keep the contract and your payments carefully. Ask for the rental contract in writing, even for a short period, and check that the landlord's details appear on it. Make a written or bank record of every payment and keep all correspondence. Note in writing, or in your own records, whenever you have made an agreement. This helps not only when recovering an excessive deposit or unjustified charges, but also when you file a report or start a procedure.
Stay alert to identity fraud through the rental process too. Fraudsters sometimes ask for a copy of your identity document 'to draw up the contract'. Even a copy of your passport can later be misused to take out loans or arrange other things in your name. Never send a full copy of your identity document to an unknown party over WhatsApp or email. Fraudehelpdesk advises contacting them for personal advice if you are in doubt and have already handed over a copy. Only pass on details through a secure environment of a housing corporation, municipality or recognised intermediary where this is genuinely required for a regular application.
- The deposit is at most 2 months' base rent for contracts from 1 July 2023; 3 months for older contracts.
- Do not pay agency fees to an estate agent who works for the landlord.
- Get the contract in writing and keep a bank record of every payment.
- Never send a copy of your identity document to an unknown party.
Paid housing search sites: search service or intermediary?
A related risk is paid housing search websites. The Dutch consumer authority, the ACM, has investigated what these sites actually do. According to the ACM, many of them offer only a search service and do not act as an intermediary. They gather other people's listings and show them in one place, but do not put you in direct contact with the estate agent or landlord. You often have to take out a paid subscription to see the listings at all.
The ACM approached rental property websites about this, saying they must be clear so you know what you are paying for. They must also be clear about the availability and currency of the listings, about what the subscription costs, and about how to cancel it. The authority looked into this after its consumer advice line received many complaints: landlords proved often unreachable through the website, and listed homes regularly turned out to be long gone, or never to have been available at all. The ACM also passed on those signals to the national internet fraud reporting desk (LMIO).
The same applies to intermediaries who offer extra services. The ACM has published guidance: letting agents may offer additional services only as a separate, optional choice, detached from the intermediation itself. Services such as arranging a permit or the gas, water and electricity connection may not be imposed. They must be explained clearly, the renter must expressly consent, and no pre-ticked box may appear on the form. If such services are in fact compulsory, that constitutes agency fees, which are prohibited. Intermediaries who break these rules can expect fines of up to 600,000 euros, or up to 7.5 per mille of total annual turnover if that is higher.
In practice: you may well use a paid search service, but then know that you have to make contact yourself. You can also go straight to an estate agent or a housing corporation, who often publish their listings free of charge and do the intermediation themselves. In both cases the same rule applies: do not be persuaded by speed or pressure, and never pay before you have verified that the home genuinely exists and is genuinely available.
- Many paid housing search sites offer only a search service and do not intermediate.
- They must state clearly what the subscription costs, what the listings are, and how to cancel.
- Extra services from an intermediary must be optional choices; compulsory extras are prohibited agency fees.
- Consider going straight to a housing corporation or estate agent; their listings are often free.
Reporting and taking action when it goes wrong
Say you did pay anyway and contact has broken off, or an excessive deposit was demanded, or unjustified agency fees were charged. There are concrete steps you can then take. Keep everything: the advert, the messages, the payment records, the name and phone number or email address of the other party, and the advert as it may still be online. Take screenshots of the conversation, with the date and time visible.
For fraud and rental scams you can file a report with Fraudehelpdesk, the fraud reporting desk of the national fraud reporting office. Private individuals can do so through a reporting form, from the age of 16. In that form you indicate how the contact began, for example that you responded to an advert or were approached by WhatsApp message, and that it concerned a home you wanted to rent. Those details help recognise the pattern. If you have also handed over a copy of your identity document, explicitly ask for personal advice, because action is then needed to limit further misuse.
For consumer rights you can file a report with ACM ConsuWijzer, the ACM's consumer advice line. That is mainly relevant if you took out a subscription with a search service and were not properly informed about what you were getting, or if an agent charged you prohibited agency fees: the ACM can impose fines for that. For an excessive deposit, the routes the government sets out are these: you can refuse, you can pay the deposit and report it to the municipality afterwards, which can then impose a fine on the landlord, or you can ask the court afterwards to reduce the deposit. The government warns that with such a report you are not certain of getting the excess back: the fine is a penalty for the landlord, not an automatic refund to you. If an excessive deposit is not refunded, the first step is a letter requesting repayment, for example using the sample letter from the Dutch Legal Services Board (Het Juridisch Loket). If the refusal stands, you can recover the money through the court.
It also matters that, faced with an excessive deposit or unjustified charges, you may refuse to pay, while bearing in mind that you will then not get the home. If you have already paid, you can still claim the excess back. And if you are threatened, or the situation puts your safety at risk, contact the police, who can help you with a report.
- Keep the advert, messages, payment records and the other party's details; take screenshots.
- Report fraud and rental scams to Fraudehelpdesk; reporting is possible from age 16.
- Report consumer rights problems (subscriptions, agency fees) to ACM ConsuWijzer.
- On an excessive deposit: refuse, pay and report to the municipality, or ask the court to reduce it. An excessive deposit is the one case where the municipality can fine the landlord; prohibited agency fees are the ACM's remit.
- For a deposit not refunded, ask for repayment in writing first, using the sample letter from Het Juridisch Loket.
Sources and further reading
This guide refers to the sources below. Check the current information at the source before making a decision.
- Fraudehelpdesk (National Fraud Reporting Desk): I rented something
- Fraudehelpdesk (National Fraud Reporting Desk): Filing a report as a private individual
- Rijksoverheid: Renting a home – the deposit
- ACM: Housing search sites that only offer a search service must be clear about that
- ACM: Letting agents may only offer extra services as a separate choice
- Rijksoverheid: Which additional costs may a landlord charge under a rental contract?
