LoginProperty Rental Scam Hits London
London Trading Standards is warning of a new scam targeting renters in search of affordable housing.
Journal of Trading Standards Staff
Posted 14 August 2025 | JoTS Online
Content Tags: Updates|Property and Housing|London
London Trading Standards (LTS) is warning of an emerging property scam in which prospective tenants are being pressured into handing over money for deposits or up-front rental payments only to find the ‘reduced-price’ properties they wanted are not available, and the documents given to them are bogus.
One tenancy deposit protection company has already received more than 50 calls from frustrated renters who tried to contact their agent to ask for their money back, only to hear that the line has been disconnected. In some cases, victims of the scam have parted with thousands of pounds.
An LTS spokesperson advised, “When renting any property, tenants should never hand over money until they have actually viewed the properties, and payments should always be made by bank transfer.
“These scammers are pressuring people to pay holding deposits, security deposits and sometimes rental payments up front before they have even viewed a property. When using a letting agent, tenants should use a reputable agent and ensure that the agent they are using is registered with a government-approved redress scheme as well as a Client Money Protection scheme.”
These scammers are pressuring people to pay holding deposits, security deposits and sometimes rental payments up front before they have even viewed a property
Since April 2019 letting agents have been legally required to belong to an approved Client Money Protection (CMP) scheme to ensure that tenant and/or landlord money is protected should the business fail.
Property and lettings are a top priority for LTS, which represents the 33 local authority Trading Standards teams in the capital. In collaboration with the Mayor of London, LTS launched its ‘Report a rogue landlord or agent’ tool last year, which encourages renters to give the details of complaints and suspected scams.
Trading Standards teams in London have issued fines of up to £30,000 to letting agents that fail to comply with the law on protecting tenants’ and landlords’ money.
The Renters’ Rights Bill, which is designed to introduce new protections for tenants, is currently in the final stages of its passage towards receiving Royal Assent; it had its third reading in the House of Lords on 21 July, and is scheduled for a consideration of amendments at a date yet to be confirmed.
Among the provisions of the Bill are measures to amend the Tenant Fees Act 2019 to prohibit landlords or letting agents from requiring or accepting any payment of rent in advance of the tenancy being entered into. A landlord will only be able to require up to one month’s rent (or 28 days’ rent for tenancies with rental periods of less than one month) once a tenancy agreement has been signed and before commencement. The Renters’ Rights Bill will also amend the Housing Act 1988 to provide that, once a tenancy starts, a landlord will be unable to enforce any terms in a tenancy agreement that require rent to be paid in advance of the agreed due date.
PLEASE NOTE: This content originally appeared on our standalone Journal of Trading Standards website (www.journaloftradingstandards.co.uk), which we are gradually migrating over to the Journal's new home on the CTSI website. Please bear with us while we complete this process. This will not affect the production of our Print Edition.
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Content Tags: Updates|Property and Housing|London
