Prevent fraud through pre-tenancy checks

People seeking rental accommodation need to check the credentials of landlords and their representatives, following reports of tenants paying bond money to bogus property managers.

Wednesday, August 19th 2009, 3:51PM 2 Comments

by The Landlord

The Department of Building and Housing (DBH) has noted a substantial increase in such reports.

"The department has recently become aware of substantial bonds and rent in advance being paid to a property manager, and then being unable to move into the property or to trace their landlord and the money they've paid," says DBH's manager client services, Jeff Montgomery.

"This is fraud and these tenants have, quite rightly, gone to the police. We encourage anyone who finds themselves in this situation to do the same or call the department for advice," he says.

DBH suggests prospective tenants carry out pre-tenancy checks to prevent this kind of fraud.

"This will ensure the person they are dealing with is genuine and that the tenancy runs smoothly, and in a business-like fashion," Montgomery says.

He suggests prospective tenants do the following when dealing with a landlord or property manager:

Pay your bond to your landlord as a cheque made out to DBH
Pay rent in advance only when you take possession of the property, not before.
Ask to see their identification, noting their full name and any relevant identification numbers such as a driver's licence number
Check if they are a member of the Real Estate Institute of New Zealand (REINZ) or the Independent Property Managers Association (IPMA)
Get their physical street address not just a Post Office box number
Check their details in the yellow pages, by contacting the office directly or by talking with other local property management companies
Make sure your tenancy agreement accurately reflects the arrangements between you and your landlord, and keep a copy of the tenancy agreement and the bond receipt.

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Comments from our readers

On 21 August 2009 at 10:03 pm Ian Thompson said:

As a manager of our own properties we find this appalling, however the suggestions by Montgomery will not work because we never let a tenant have the tenancy until bond and rent in advance is paid in full, We will not give our personal address for privacy reasons, I could not imagine tenants asking for ID, its hard enough getting their ID. We are not members of any real estate group onlY PIA members.
As long as the correct tenancy aggreement is used there should be comeback for the tenant. The tenant will receive a letter when the bond is lodged if they dont then they need to act. The first suggestion is the most helpful.

On 31 August 2009 at 7:05 pm Denis Irvine said:

I totally agree with Ian Thompsons comment "it won't work" I would bet that Jeff Montgomery doesn't own and manage property or he wouldn't make the comments he has. I am not a member of REINZ, IPMA or PIA. I own and manage a number of properties very successfully, it is only the Tenancy Tribunal that is a thorn in the side of commonsense. Bond is ALWAYS paid direct to me in my name with rent in advance or a bank authority for the rent before the tenancy commences. Bond is paid to DBH on the 23rd day. All correspondence to me is through my P.O. Box. I am not in the yellow pages, or white for that matter. What Montgomery fails to mention is that every property has an id number, as does every landlord. If DBH had half a brain collectively between them, instead of just making a noise, they would produce landlord id cards with a tiny percentage of the $50,000,000 interest money made on bonds and Tribunal application fees. These could be produced for little cost with photo and would cure their concerns 100%. Its just too simple for them to comprehend or implement. I'm not alone with that opinion.