November 13th, 2012

Halifax police are warning the public about an ongoing apartment rental scam in the city.

What’s the Scam?

This is not a typical landlord and tenant issue. It’s another Kijiji scam. It continues to happen.

What Happened?

The police were sent a complaint from a potential tenant who answered a Kijiji post for an available rental unit.

And?

The potential renter set a time and eventually met with his landlord. He paid the required deposit and even signed the lease.

So the Tenancy Commenced!

No.

The so-called ‘landlord’ immediately stopped being available to this tenant. He even disconnected his phone!

He vanished, with the potential tenant out of a lot of money! And the real landlord who wants to rent out  and offer great landlord services was screwed over.

Is this a Common Scam?

Sadly, yes. Tenants need to realize good (and real) landlords will do proper tenant screening before handing over the key to the rental property!

The police have been alerted to many of these types of crimes recently.

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Good landlords and tenants be aware there are a lot of scammers out there. This case in Halifax is only the tip of the iceberg.