Mar

Beware attempted ‘property hijackings’ by criminal tenants, landlords are warned

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Landlords have been warned of a growing trend in ‘property hijackings’ where a tenant steals the property owner’s identity and sells the home using fake documents.

Fraudsters take on the landlord’s name by Deed Poll, which they find on the tenancy agreement, then a solicitor starts the conveyancing process, when it is difficult to spot any discrepancies.

If the transaction goes through, their ill-gotten gains are usually swiftly transferred to an overseas bank account and impossible to retrieve.

Hijackings first hit the headlines just five months ago when a vicar living outside the UK and renting out his former family home in Luton returned to find the property had been sold for £131,000 to a young couple by his former tenant.

Marc von Grundherr (pictured), director at London agent B enham and Reeves, says landlords are particularly vulnerable as they let an individual live in their property who they don’t know personally.

“Our referencing company tells us they see at least two applicants a week supplying false information but they have robust systems in place to spot fake documents,” he says.

While the situation can be resolved with the Law Society or by the lawyers’ insurers and the property owner will immediately get their property back, the stress, hassle and legal costs are enormous, he tells LandlordZONE: “If someone steals a property, landlords would miss out on the rent which, for someone who is relying on it to pay a mortgage or for care, is absolutely huge.”

Prevent hijackings

To prevent hijackings, landlords can register an anti-fraud restriction on their property with HM Land Registry, meaning that any application to register a sale or mortgage must be certified by a solicitor.

Landlords can also sign up to the Land Registry’s free property monitoring service to get an email alert if anyone applies to change the register.

Von Grundherr advises landlords that accurate tenant referencing is essential and suggests regularly checking their own credit rating.

He adds: “When a tenant signs a rental agreement, a couple of weeks later, check they have actually moved into the property. But even if they have moved in, carry out regular inspections.”

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