Is this rental a scam? Check before you pay.
Paste a listing, a chat message or a payment request. Rentalsafe looks for the warning signs behind most rental scams and tells you exactly how to verify — wherever you rent.
- Explains every warning sign it finds
- Shows the verify and report steps for where you rent
- Free forever for renters
Works wherever you rent
Rental scams follow the same script everywhere: a great price, an owner who can't meet, and a deposit before you have seen anything. Our warning-sign rules work in any country, and local verify and report steps cover the UK, US, Europe, India, Australia and the UAE.
Warning signs, anywhere
Money before viewing, personal accounts, gift cards, crypto, payment apps, keys by courier — the patterns police and consumer agencies warn about worldwide.
Local verify and report steps
Deposit protection, agent and licence checks, lease registration and where to report — for the UK, US, Europe (Netherlands, Germany, France), India, Australia and the UAE, linking to each service's own site.
Market-specific checks
Each market adds its own signals: deposit-protection schemes in the UK and Australia, agent licensing in the US and India, ad permits and lease registration in the UAE.
Listings, not people
We check the text of a listing or message. We never rate, score or look up a person.
How it works
Paste
Copy the listing, the WhatsApp message or the payment request and paste it in. Add rent and area if you have them.
See the warning signs
Fixed, published rules look for known scam patterns. Each warning sign comes with a plain-language reason and a quote.
Verify before you pay
Get a short checklist with links to the services where the property is — for example deposit protection, agent licence, ownership and lease registration.
What we look for
Six families of warning signs drawn from public police and consumer-protection guidance in the UK, US, Europe, India, Australia and the UAE.
Money before viewing
Holding deposits, booking fees, token advances, personal accounts, gift cards, crypto, payment apps, cash only, overpayment refunds.
Pressure
“Many people interested”, “today only”, an owner abroad, keys by courier, moving you to WhatsApp.
Early document requests
Passport, Emirates ID, national ID or payslips before any viewing — or a paid “credit-check link”.
Listing details
Rent far below the usual range, vague address, brand-new websites, known scam wording.
Local verify gaps
Missing the local proof a real listing has — no protected deposit, no licensed agent, no ownership record, no registered lease (in the UAE: ad permit, Madmoun QR, Ejari).
Hidden instructions
Text that tries to trick automated checkers. We flag it and ignore it — results come from fixed rules.
Verify guides
Verify and report steps for the UK, US, Europe, India, Australia and the UAE (with a guide for each emirate) — each linking to the official site.
Open the guidesLandlord or rental operator?
Rentalsafe Operator is in private beta for landlords and small rental offices in the UAE and the US — properties, leases, rent records, deposits, notices and maintenance in one place, plus a “verify me” pack that shows renters your listing is real.
Questions
What does Rentalsafe check?
Rentalsafe looks for common scam warning signs in the text of a rental listing, chat message or payment request, and lists the steps to verify before you pay. Rentalsafe checks listings and messages, never people. It does no credit, criminal, eviction, identity or income lookups and gives no score for any person.
Which countries does it cover?
The warning-sign check works for rentals anywhere. Local verify and report steps cover the UK, US, Europe (Netherlands, Germany, France), India, Australia and the UAE (with steps for each emirate); everywhere else gets the core verify-before-you-pay steps.
Does it cost anything?
The check is free for renters, with no sign-up.
Is Rentalsafe run by a government body?
Rentalsafe is independent. It is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting for any government authority, police force or listing platform. It links to their websites so you can check for yourself.
Does "few warning signs" mean I can pay?
A result is information, not a guarantee. "Few warning signs" does not mean a listing is fine; verify before you pay anything.