From Reddit
That’s a scam.
This is how the property rental identity theft scammers operate. They probably don’t have access to the property they’re advertising. If they’re legit, then you can fill out the form in person, at the property. If they get defensive about showing you the inside of the property, it’s because they can’t. Pictures of the interior prove nothing.
Sometimes there’s an application fee, sometimes there isn’t. Getting $30 from you isn’t the point of the scam, it’s getting personal info they can use to set up credit cards or w/e in your name, or use your current address to run other scams &etc. Don’t ever give out anything more than your email address (maybe phone number but I’d still be cautious with that) until they can prove they control the property. Definitely don’t send them a credit report - hand them a print in person if they need it.
While landlords often aren’t great, they aren’t to blame for this sort of thing.
Rental scam for sure
Don’t know where you are in Canada (which I’m assuming based on “Social Insurance Number” and “Prov.” fields in the form), but at least here in BC much of what they’re asking for here is illegal to even request in the first place.
Your Drivers License, and banking info are all personal private information which are covered by the Personal Information Protection Act (PIPA). This guidance document from the Office of the Information and Privacy Commissioner of BC outlines what a perspective landlord can ask for, and what they can’t.
This is either a scam, or a really shitty landlord. Either way, don’t deal with them. You can open a complaint with the OIPC if you want (probably most useful if you’re sure they’re legit; not too useful if it’s a scam).
Always see the property first before you give any form besides your contact information.
The problem is that needing to go through arduous checks is so normalized renting in many parts that it makes it easy to fall into a scam. Luckily BC has a standard application form, but this apply to a lot of aspects in life including banks (See How data privacy expert Cory Doctorow got scammed), on how the way systems are set up make personal vigilance difficult. (E.g. why do you only need 7 of the 16 digits of your debit card to get access to your credit union account)
That’s gonna be a nope from me
don’t worry, it’s all “““confidential”””
all landlords are bastards
So when i bought a house and married my wife who owned a house we should have sold one? Turning the time and money spent on that property to dead money? Especially if the property sold for less then owed due to the current financial systems?
I don’t think land lords are the problem its the industry that arose around renting that’s the issue.
Every 6 months we can’t letters from the realestate agent who “manages” the property insisting we raise rent because we can. We keep saying no, because why increase the hardship on someone else when we didnt see any increase in costs.
The only time we have raised rent was when interest rates increased ad we raised less then it cost us.
But you’re right all bastards.
While te realestate management companies pocket money from the rent try to increase rent to increase their profits, and dont do a decent job half the time anyway.
