Safe renting: how to avoid rental scams

No money before the viewing and the lease

A scammer usually says the flat is “in high demand” and you must pay something to hold it: an advance, a reservation fee, a key fee, a deposit up front. They often ask for a BLIK code or for a code from a bank text message. A BLIK code lets someone withdraw money from your account. It does not reserve a flat.

• Pay nothing until you have seen the flat in person and signed the lease.
• Pay the deposit and the first month's rent by bank transfer to the account named in the lease, ideally at the signing. Put the deposit amount in the lease; the rules for getting it back are in our guide to tenant rights.
• Never give anyone a BLIK code or a code from a bank text message.
• An honest landlord may ask for a deposit, but only at the signing. Time pressure (“today only, I have other people interested”) should worry you.

You can estimate the deposit and your move-in costs with the calculators. If the amount you are quoted is far off, ask for details.

ID scans and personal data

A request for a photo of your ID “to reserve” or “to check you” before you have met is an identity-theft risk. Data from an ID can be used to take out a loan.

• Before a viewing, do not send your ID, PESEL number, photos of documents or a selfie with your ID.
• A landlord may reasonably ask for your name and how you earn your income. Full details go into the lease at the signing.
• If you must send a document (for example an occasional lease requires one), do it after the viewing and once you know who the recipient is.

Stolen photos and listings that are too good to be true

Scammers copy photos from real listings, often from property sale sites or foreign portals, and post them with a low price. The flat looks great, the rent is well below the market, and the “landlord” replies instantly.

1. Save a photo from the listing and search for it with a reverse image search (for example Google Images, Google Lens or TinEye).
2. If the same photos appear at another address, in another city or in a sale listing, stop talking to the advertiser.
3. Compare the price with similar offers. Market rates are in rent prices, and nearby listings are in flats for rent in Warsaw.
4. Ask for an extra photo or a short video from inside the flat, such as the view from the window. A scammer usually avoids this.

“The owner is abroad, a courier will send the keys”

This is one of the oldest schemes. The “owner” has gone abroad for work or a mission and cannot meet you. They ask for a payment, and the keys are supposedly sent by courier or collected by a “trusted person”. After the transfer, contact stops.

• No viewing and no handing over of keys in person means no lease.
• If the owner really is abroad, they can authorise someone else. Then ask for a written power of attorney and check that person's identity (see below).
• Be wary of a request to move from the site to a messenger such as WhatsApp, especially right after the first message.

Fake payment links

The scammer sends a link made to look like a “secure OLX payment”, “delivery”, “courier confirmation” or a bank transfer. The page looks convincing, but it exists to steal your card details or banking login.

• Do not click payment links sent by a stranger. A deposit and rent need no intermediary platform.
• Check the web address. Fake domains often differ from the real ones by a single letter.
• If you have already entered card or login details, call your bank straight away and block the card.

At the signing: check who the owner is

Signing a lease with someone who is neither the owner nor authorised by them is a common ending of a sublet scam. Before you hand over any money, make sure the person you sign with has the right to let the flat.

• Ask to see their ID and compare it with the details in the lease.
• Ask for the land and mortgage register number (KW) and check the owner in the free online register (ekw.ms.gov.pl). Do not publish a KW number in a listing or in public messages; just check it yourself.
• If someone acts for the owner, ask for a power of attorney and that person's ID.
• For a sublet, ask for the owner's written consent to subletting.
• Draw up a handover protocol and hand over the keys with both parties present.

We describe the lease itself in the guide to the rental agreement. This is general information, not legal advice.

How to report a suspicious listing or message on Flats

• A listing: use the report button on the listing page and choose a reason. We review reports and take the listing down when needed.
• A message: under a message that looks like a scam attempt, a warning appears with a “Report” button. The report keeps a reference to that message.
• If you have lost money, report it to the police and your bank. Quick action improves the chance of stopping a transfer.

What Flats does to make renting safer

• Warnings in messages. When a message looks like a scam attempt (advance payment, BLIK, payment link, “owner abroad”, a request for an ID scan), we show a non-blocking warning with a link to this page.
• Phone number only on request. We do not show the owner's phone number publicly. A signed-in user can reveal it deliberately, with a rate limit.
• Owner verification. An owner can confirm the right to the flat, and the listing then gets a “Verified owner” label.
• Reports. Any listing and any message can be reported in one click.
• No tenant fees. Flats does not charge tenants advances or a commission for renting a flat. If someone asks for a payment in our name, it is a scammer.

A short note for landlords

Landlords are targeted too: fake transfers with an “overpayment”, requests to refund a supposedly mistaken payment, or tenants with forged documents.

• Before you hand over the keys, wait until the money has really arrived in your account. A screenshot of a transfer confirmation proves nothing.
• Do not refund an “overpayment” before checking your account history.
• Meet the tenant in person and check their ID at the signing. For longer lets, consider an occasional lease.
• If you need a template, use the lease generator.

More tips for landlords are on the for landlords page. Looking for a flat? Browse listings in search and see the for tenants page.