# Renting directly from landlord: any tips on avoiding a scam?



## thirty6chambers (Jul 31, 2009)

This will be my first time renting directly from a landlord. The asking price seems a bit too good to be true based on the prices of equivalent apartments I have seen. The landlord says the deed has not been given out yet because the building is quite new. However, he does have other forms of proof of ownership which he will e-mail me. In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for to figure out if this is legit or not?


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## ByronSKraemer (Mar 23, 2011)

Be really careful when renting a place here in the UAE. We gave over 100k a 6 ago to some real estate company that that wasn't registered with rera and ended up losing the money. Rather go through a legitimate company and be sure is my suggestion. 

SNIP


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## ByronSKraemer (Mar 23, 2011)

Sorry meant to say about 6 years ago


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## indoMLA (Feb 6, 2011)

Yeah, I wouldn't deal with the owner directly... there are too many things that you don't know... I have heard instances here where apartments and villas were sold twice to people... in that instance I think everyone loses...

Deal with an agent... they know the market and know the working of it...


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## rsinner (Feb 3, 2009)

What if the agent is corrupt? if its a question of anecdotes, I do know of someone who who was rented out an apartment through an agent, and turned out that the building management compnay ran away with the money without paying the landlord.

You MUST see the title deed. And the landlord's passport. And register the contract with RERA (I have not done it, but I have heard that it is relatively inexpensive to do).

In case there is no title deed, I am no expert, but take advice from people who know the market and regulations (there are a couple of users here who are in real estate - Marc and Bigjimbo)


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## marc (Mar 10, 2008)

What building is it? - have you seen SPA - Sales and Purchase agreement?

Quite a few buildings are new and haven't been registered yet on the interim register and therefore do not have a title deed. 

an original SPA or PSA will suffice, you can also check with DEWA as well.


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## ByronSKraemer (Mar 23, 2011)

Hi guys. 

You can now log onto the rera site and check every registered rera company in Dubai. You should only go through those companies and not direct. 

We had the same situation as I mentioned in my previous post whereby the villa was let to about 11 different people who had all paid the deposit including us. It was a massive scam and that's only that 1 villa. There were many more villas that the same company used.


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## marc (Mar 10, 2008)

Its no problem to go direct to a landlord, after all you can save on commissions e.t.c

I'm sure its fine, you just need to make sure the landlord is who he says he is and that he has lawful power to execute and sign a lease agreement.


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## ByronSKraemer (Mar 23, 2011)

Ok so the landlord can do it himself but as Marc has said just make sure you see the Title Deeds, Passport copy etc. If all of that is in order then its ok.


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## thirty6chambers (Jul 31, 2009)

Thanks for the advice everyone! 

Does anyone know if the landlord writes up a contract, does it need to be certified by any public authority? Or will both of our signatures be enough?


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

As above, you need to see his Sale and Purchase Agreement and his Passport. Pay by cheque only (not cash) and write the cheque only to the Landlord (not his cousin, brother etc). Keep a copy of the cheques. Go to RERA Website to check up on your rights as a Tenant. Landlord can do the Tenancy Agreement, register it yourself with RERA.
I am a landlord and always rent direct to my Tenants - they are very happy that they can deal with me and not an agent, but then I'm a good landlord.


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## Sumair (Aug 16, 2008)

There are may different situations . some suggestions are listed below;

Building is new , title deed is stll in developer name :

1) Developer will issue one NOC in the name of owner to change the DEWA meter in his name or rent the appartment
2) Tenant will ask the landlord to arrange that NOC
3) Landlord will provide first two pages of SPA showing the name of the landlord and appartment number
4) Landlord will provide the passport copy

All these documemt will become the attachment of the tenancy contract , once tennacy contract is signed take it to RERA for attaestion and DEWA for change of meter.

Building is new , title deed is in Landlord name :

Number ( 1) above will replace with copy of title deed must be in Landlord name
Number (2) and Number ( 3) not required.













thirty6chambers said:


> This will be my first time renting directly from a landlord. The asking price seems a bit too good to be true based on the prices of equivalent apartments I have seen. The landlord says the deed has not been given out yet because the building is quite new. However, he does have other forms of proof of ownership which he will e-mail me. In the meantime, does anyone have any suggestions on what to look for to figure out if this is legit or not?


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## thirty6chambers (Jul 31, 2009)

Sumair said:


> There are may different situations . some suggestions are listed below;
> 
> Building is new , title deed is stll in developer name :
> 
> ...



Thank you very much for the extensive info!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

be careful; the National had an article on how a guy was jailed for 6 months for bouncing a cheque. The man who cashed the cheque wa supposed to rent out a factory which he did not. So a crooked landlord can refuse to hand over an apartment and then cash the cheque and have the tenant jailed for no reason; it is open banditry.

SO be very careful be4 handing out any cheque.


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## Maz25 (Jul 6, 2008)

Tropicana said:


> be careful; the National had an article on how a guy was jailed for 6 months for bouncing a cheque. The man who cashed the cheque wa supposed to rent out a factory which he did not. So a crooked landlord can refuse to hand over an apartment and then cash the cheque and have the tenant jailed for no reason; it is open banditry.
> 
> SO be very careful be4 handing out any cheque.



That is why it is so important to make sure that you have a rental agreement in place and ensure that the person you are dealing with is the rightful owner of the property and/or has the right to lease the property.
I think in this case, common sense must prevail and no one should hand over any cheques until they have ascertained that the person that they are dealing with is legitimate, the property exists and importantly, you have keys and right of access to the property.

I have just renewed my tenancy agreement and will be renting directly from the landlord and I have copies of his passport and ownership papers. Couldn't really justify paying more fees to an agent to simply draft a new tenancy agreement - the agent goes on his merry way as soon as he has his fees and does not really care whether there are any problems after that, so why spend the money on them!

Even when you rent through an agent, you still have to do these checks since there are crooks everywhere and you just need to ensure that you take all reasonable steps to protect yourself and your interest.

But as you have rightly pointed out, sometimes even when you have taken all reasonable steps to safeguard your interest, you can still fall victim to crooks. I guess that's just the nature of this place at times.


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## jayomcd (May 21, 2010)

Great advice!


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## Tropicana (Apr 29, 2010)

Maz25 said:


> That is why it is so important to make sure that you have a rental agreement in place and ensure that the person you are dealing with is the rightful owner of the property and/or has the right to lease the property.
> I think in this case, common sense must prevail and no one should hand over any cheques until they have ascertained that the person that they are dealing with is legitimate, the property exists and importantly, you have keys and right of access to the property.
> 
> I have just renewed my tenancy agreement and will be renting directly from the landlord and I have copies of his passport and ownership papers. Couldn't really justify paying more fees to an agent to simply draft a new tenancy agreement - the agent goes on his merry way as soon as he has his fees and does not really care whether there are any problems after that, so why spend the money on them!
> ...


The main issue is that the law protects the crook in some cases.

I am yet to meet a landlord who will hand over keys without receiving the cheques. And even its 0.1% of crooked landlords, it still means there is a chance someone may lose their money and not get the apartment


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## wandabug (Apr 22, 2010)

Tropicana said:


> The main issue is that the law protects the crook in some cases.
> 
> I am yet to meet a landlord who will hand over keys without receiving the cheques. And even its 0.1% of crooked landlords, it still means there is a chance someone may lose their money and not get the apartment


Why should a landlord hand over the keys before he gets the cheques? Would you give someone the keys to your car before they paid you?


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