Local tenants are warned against concerning scams

Sarah Froome, Head of Lettings at Livingroom Guernsey advises to ‘use an agent for peace of mind’.

She adds “buyer beware as the old saying goes, but in the property world it’s not just buyers who should be cautious when entering into agreements or taking part in negotiations, tenants should be equally vigilant”.

Guernsey Police recently shared the worrying story of two reported victims of a rental scam that attempts to trick people into handing over a sizeable sum as a deposit on a rental property. 

The local police force has advised people to “be on their guard when entering into a rental agreement for a property” and the best way to ensure your peace of mind is to use an estate agent to handle the transaction for you.

Livingroom’s lettings team is here to make the experience of renting as easy and painless as possible and that includes several factors that keep tenants safe and legally protected.

Firstly, we hold the deposit and the first month’s rent in a safe and secure way that protects the sums while negotiations are ongoing and contracts are being signed.

Secondly, the deposit is only transferred to the landlord once the keys to the property are handed over to the tenant – providing peace of mind that the transaction has been successfully completed.

Pictured: Sarah Froome, Head of Lettings at Livingroom Guernsey

As the Channel Island estate agent Livingroom is regulated in both Guernsey and Jersey and complies with industry best practice to ensure the protection of all the parties we deal with.

In addition to these guarantees, we don’t charge fees for tenants who find their rental property through us and anyone who works with Livingroom will benefit from our award-winning customer service and technological innovations.

We’re proud to be a local company that was founded on the basis that estate agency in the islands could be more client focused and it’s sad to hear about criminal attempts to scam our community. 

We’d reiterate the advice of Guernsey Police and urge anyone who suspects that they are the victim of a scam to contact the Police on 725111, Trading Standards on 234567 or report via Action Fraud 0300 123 2040 or actionfraud.police.uk

If you’re looking to rent property in Guernsey and want the peace of mind that comes with working with an established estate agent and an experienced team, get in touch with Livingroom on +44 1481 715555