A few general points
- Be on the alert of "landlords" offering you a residence at rates that are much lower than the market standard. The old saying "If it seems too good to be true, it is probably not true" comes to mind.
- Be on alert of landlords offering a contract in English. Leasing contracts in Denmark are in Danish (eventually with an English translation.) A leasing contract looks like this. If you receive anything else, be on alert.
- Be wary of landlords offering you housing very centrally located in 8000 Aarhus C. There are very few (payable) housing options there and scammers like to choose addresses in Aarhus C, because many people like to live there. Always check www.krak.dk. If an address doesn't exist there, it is most likely because the address doesn't exist.
- Be on the alert of "landlords" who do refuse to provide a direct contact number or the possibility to view the apartment in person.
- Be alert of "landlords" that does not offer the possibility to view the apartment in person - you need to see it in person for verification.
- Be on alert of "landlords" who will pressure you into signing a contract or transferring money straight away. Do not feel pressured into signing anything.
- Be on alert of "landlords" who provide false addresses (addresses that do not exist) or do not specify the floor or apartment number. If you want to see if an address really exists you can use this page: www.krak.dk or this www.dgs.dk
- Be on the alert if the person is resident in a country other than Denmark. Look out for email addresses which originates from UK, Germany or any other country outside Denmark. This could indicate that the address given for the property in Denmark may not exist.
- Beware of any irregularities in what is being offered to you.
- Beware if the landlord claims to be deaf and dumb to avoid videocalls.
Descriptions of accommodation - are they too vague?
- Examples could be "centrally located" - what does this constitute? Make sure you critically examine the information offered to you.
Payments/money
- Never pay deposit in cash. Make a bank transaction so the transaction can be traced. Make sure to transfer the payment to a danish registration and account number.
- Be on the alert of "landlords" who request you to transfer a deposit and/or rent via wire transfer services, such as Western Union or Moneybookers Escrow, as these will most likely be transferred out of Denmark, and are untraceable and irreversible.
- Be on alert of "landlords" offering you a residence to be paid in Euros as it is not the Danish currency.
- Never pay cash under the table. It is illegal and you have no legal way of getting your money back.
- Be on alert of "landlords" who request the above stated deposit/rent before you have even signed a contract.
Can the accommodation be used for CPR-registration?
- Before you commit to anything, make sure that you can register for your CPR number (civil registration number) at the property.
- It is mandetory to have a CPR number if you are a resident in Denmark - even shortterm. You must have a valid address to apply for CPR. It is illegal to use a different address for this purpose. If the person from whom you are renting will not permit you to register their address with the citizen service, do not accept the offer.
- Why is the CPR number important? It is needed in order to get free healthcare, opening a bank account, to be able to work and to make arrangements with mobile service providers and other private companies.
The contract and sublet apartments
- Make sure that you receive a contract signed by the current tenant or landlord. Always read the contract carefully and make sure that what you agree on is also confirmed in writing
- Be on alert of "landlords" who make their own contracts and do not make use of the official leasing contract.
- When subleasing a room or apartment make sure that the landlord/owner of the property is informed of the sublease. This will put you in a better position in case of a conflict between the landlord/owner and the person subletting to you. Should you in any way be unsure about the legitimacy of an offer you have received you can check who owns the property here: www.boligejer.dk
Furthermore, please don't hesitate to contact the housing department at International Centre at housing@au.dk to get a second opinion if needed.
Read this excellent article written by a former AU student.
If you have experienced being contacted by someone you believe to have been a scammer, please forward the relevant e-mail and persons name to us at housing@au.dk so that we can assess the situation and, depending on the outcome, update the list above.
Example
The following is an extract from an e-mail correspondence with a scammer, which exemplifies a variety of the 'tells' outlined above, such as payment in Euros/GBP, irregularities in addresses and names, pressuring the tenant to pay the deposit, as well as requesting payment through a MTCN number from Western Union:
Thanks for the response on the rent. Each bedroom is 14m2. The apartment is a two bedroom apartment each room with its own private bathroom and toilet also include a private kitchen. each room is 450 Euros per each room per month and including all the utilities such as internet(WIFI),electricity, water, heating, building charges and a security deposit of 600 Euros which is refundable during your departure time in the apartment. The apartment is located at : Otto Benzons Vej 10 8210 Aarhus, Denmark. Attached is the picture of the apartment. Looking forward to read from you.
HERE IS THE TENANCY CONTRACT LEASE AGREEMENT,YOU ARE TO READ AND UNDERSTAND CLEARLY, AND ALL WHAT YOU HAVE TO DO IS TO PRINT OUT THE LAST PAGE(PAGE 6) OF THE LEASE AND SIGN AND SEND IT BACK TO ME.
THEN PROCEED WITH THE DEPOSIT OF THE FIRST MONTH RENT AND SECURITY DEPOSIT TO ME FOR THE APARTMENT TO BE RESERVE FOR YOU TILL YOUR ARRIVAL DATE. YOU ARE TO BRING THE SIGN COPY OF THE LEASE AGREEMENT ALONG WITH YOU ON THE DAY OF YOUR ARRIVAL.
YOU ARE TO MAKE THE DEPOSIT OF DKK 12000 TO ME IN WITHIN 24 HOURS AFTER YOU MUST HAVE RECEIVE THE CONTRACT LEASE AGREEMENT AND SIGN IT FOR THE APARTMENT TO BE RESERVE FOR YOU.
HERE IS MY GRAN PA DETAILS IN THE WALES:
NAME: MR SVEN THORWARTH
ADDRESS: 10 CORK ST, CITY OF WESTMINSTER, LONDON W1S 3LW UNITED KINGDOM
GET BACK TO ME WITH THE SENDER NAME AND ADDRESS,
RECEIVER NAME AND ADDRESS,
AMOUNT SEND IN DKK, GBP
MTCN NUMBER
Relevant links:
http://www.snydboligsnyderne.dk/
