Warning: fraudulent rental ads and tenancy agreements

Statement from the Department of Housing, Local Government and Heritage.

Department officials have become aware of a number of false rental property listings which, upon application by an individual, give rise to the issuing of and request for completion of a ‘rental application’ form/residential tenancy agreement with what purports to contain a departmental letterhead and logo, and a fake gov.ie email address.

The individual is requested to complete this ‘rental application’ form/residential tenancy agreement and provide personal information for registration.

It requests completion of the documentation and exchange of deposit and first month’s rent to ‘hold unit’.

Department officials point out that the department does not require or engage with registrations for private rental properties and therefore does not ask members of the public to provide personal information as requested in these advertisements.

This form purporting to be issued with a department or Gov.ie logo and a gov.ie email address is fraudulent and officials strongly advise prospective renters that it should not be completed.

If an individual responds to a private rental advertisement and receives forms purporting to be from the Department of Housing in return, they should not engage further with the vendor.

Anyone who believes they have mistakenly provided personal information or paid a deposit in response to these types of fraudulent advertisements and false rental applications or tenancy agreements calls should immediately alert An Garda Síochána.