Home seekers who commit fraud often end up with a raw deal

The housing shortage has led to an overheated rental market, with many people looking for a home facing enormous pressure and stress. Out of sheer desperation, some people resort to illegal methods of finding a home, while others fall into the hands of criminals. One of the latest trends involves people looking for a home hiring someone to forge documents for them, documents they can then use to arrange a rental contract. Another common trend is for house hunters to pay brokerage fees to someone posing as a rental agent. Home seekers who use these kinds of illegal methods to secure a rental home often become victims themselves, regularly paying more than a € 1,000 for false documents or in useless brokerage fees.

In order to minimise fraud and deception, Vesteda regularly applies new techniques and innovations in its rental process. Unfortunately, no system is 100% watertight, but by making continuous adjustments, the chances of obtaining a Vesteda rental property using falsified documents are steadily decreasing. For example, Vesteda recently entered into a partnership with personal data management provider Ockto, which makes it possible to source essential information directly from a source file at a local council or bank once we have the permission of the prospective tenant. This will significantly reduce the risk of fraud.

Appeal to home seekers

Vesteda’s homes are offered and let exclusively via www.vesteda.com, and we never charge registration or brokerage fees. In addition, Vesteda does not work with waiting lists and does not collaborate with other parties to offer or rent out homes. We call on home seekers to only use the websites of reliable rental companies and not to get involved with shady intermediaries or so-called rental agents.