Dodgy adverts for rental homes on social media is a growing problem, according to Generation Rent, particularly as sky-high rents leave more prospective renters growing increasingly desperate.
Research from the campaign group last year found more than half of the adverts they investigated on Facebook Marketplace appeared to be scams based on Meta’s own guidance.
A total of 56% of the listings reviewed in research by Generation Rent were properties found to be lifted from other sites, including Booking.com and Rightmove, with variations in price, location or credibility that make it likely they are not legitimate.
Comparing 300 rental property adverts, the research reveals the dangers of searching for privately rented homes on Facebook Marketplace, with almost three quarters (74%) of listings being found to contain at least one indicator that the advert is suspicious or a scam.
Generation Rent looked for signs including whether a seller’s profile has been created within a year of the advert being published, whether the seller’s profile picture is found elsewhere or if the rental price is lower than the average for the area when considering if a posting was a scam. They also searched to see if photos had been lifted from other sites, including Booking.com, Rightmove or Zoopla.
The research found Facebook Marketplace listings in Birmingham were most likely to be lifted from other sites while 86% of listings in London raised suspicions because they were below the average rent for the area.
Ben Twomey, chief executive of Generation Rent, said: “What a scary time it is to be a renter. We’re in a cost of renting crisis, and scammers are taking advantage to prey on desperate people. For people who are struggling to find homes to rent through conventional letting agents, there may be a temptation to turn towards sites like Facebook Marketplace in the hopes of finding somewhere affordable. It is people in need of a good deal who are made most vulnerable to exploitation by scammers.
“It is vital that the government takes the initiative in building more affordable and social homes across the country, to protect renters from poverty and desperation.”
It’s a situation Nottay found first-hand. She posted an advert on Facebook Marketplace with photos taken from The Shard in London but claimed to have a property to rent in Edinburgh.
The ad stayed online for weeks.
It raises questions about Meta’s moderation policy, according to Nottay. While the documentary was filmed before Meta boss Mark Zuckerberg announced that fact-checkers at the company would be ousted in favour of community notes in a bid to “get back to our roots around free expression”.
“I don’t work in social media so I’m not an expert, but I do feel that there needs to be some sort of moderation going on,” said Nottay. “It seems to me when you go on to Facebook’s website, they talk about their moderators, and they talk about people who are monitoring what’s going on on their platforms, but I don’t see that.
“I put up a fake listing and it was up for weeks. It was an obviously fake listing – it was a picture of The Shard and it was listed in Edinburgh. Now everybody knows that is not a legitimate listing yet that still wasn’t pulled down. So what are they doing at Facebook HQ?”
Meta told the documentary: “We are continually investing in protections against fraud on our platforms and work closely with law enforcement. We advise our community to report any scams immediately so we can take action.
“We continue to work closely with Stop Scams UK to help identify scams at the source. We also provide advice on how to protect yourself and your purchases whilst shopping on Facebook Marketplace.”
How to beat rent scams
Record-high rents have led to some trying to capitalise but Nottay told the Big Issue there are steps that people can take to avoid being scammed.
Using reverse image search to find out whether images are featured elsewhere on the web can weed out dodgy posts while ensuring that a landlord uses a government-approved deposit protection scheme is good practice as well as a legal requirement.
Nottay also suggested using estate or letting agents rather than relying on social media posts.
“I know that we live in a world where everything’s online, and you want to do your shopping online, you want to do your chatting online, you might not want to leave the house to look for properties and things like that” she said. “But if you go to an actual estate agent, they’ve done all the vetting for you. So if there was ever anything to go wrong and you’ve gone via an estate agent, you’re a little bit covered in that regard.”
Another one of her suggestions was to avoid paying too much rent upfront.
This is a measure that looks set to be limited under Labour’s Renters’ Rights Bill. The bill is looking to prevent tenants paying more than one month’s rent in advance to prevent renters being fleeced.
“Just also be wary of anyone that’s piling the pressure on,” said Nottay. “That is a huge alarm bell for any type of scam across the board. That is one of the main tactics. Try not to rush into anything, do your due diligence.”
The £12 Million Rental Scam will be on Channel 4 on 5 February and is also available to view on demand.
Do you have a story to tell or opinions to share about this? Get in touch and tell us more. Big Issue exists to give homeless and marginalised people the opportunity to earn an income. To support our work buy a copy of the magazine or get the app from the App Store or Google Play.
Big Issue is demanding an end to extreme poverty. Will you ask your MP to join us?
