‘The landlord told me I had to pay $200 before I even inspected the property’

“I’m trying to know if you’re ready so I won’t lease for another person.”

A Melbourne woman has issued a stark warning to others as she was almost scammed while hunting for a rental. 

The Victorian woman began her search for a new place to rent online and soon turned to Facebook for something affordable.

When she found a private rental ad, she contacted the owner to find out more about the listing.  

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The Melbourne woman had an uneasy feeling about the "reservation fee." Source: 7News

Landlord demanded $200 “reservation fee” to inspect property

The property owner had listed the place privately so they could avoid paying agency fees and having a closer eye on issues with the property. 

When the Melbourne woman requested to inspect the property, the owner told her she had to make a down payment of $200 as a “reservation fee.” 

In screenshots shared with 7News, the potential renter began questioning the landlord’s motive. 

“If you take the money now and I don’t like the apartment, then what happens?” the Melbourne woman asked. 

The landlord reassured the woman it was a “refundable fee”, and all details could be found in the application form. 

“I got many people who are interested in the apartment ready to make their reservations,” the owner explained. “I’m trying to know if you’re ready so I won’t lease for another person.”

Despite the reassurance from the landlord, the Melbourne woman still had a funny feeling about the down payment, so she told the landlord she didn’t mind if someone else inspected the property and signed a lease. 

“But I won’t be paying money to reserve,” she added. “Thank you for your time.” 

The landlord responded with a simple “OK” and then blocked her on Facebook. 

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The Melbourne woman was told she had nearly fallen for a horrific scam. Source: iStock

“Stop engaging with them immediately”

The woman shared the screenshots on Facebook, wondering if this was a standard expectation when finding a place to rent. 

“Has anyone encountered this? I was asked to inspect the property and they ask for a reservation fee of $200,” she captioned the post. 

“She said it will be counted towards the rent and if I didn’t like the apartment, then I get a refund.” 

Little did the Melbourne resident know, she had nearly fallen into the hands of an insidious scam, as many people pointed out. 

“Scam. I’ve seen ones recently where someone will post a house for private rental, usually restrict comments on the post and ask for DM enquiry then ask for a ‘holding fee’ then disappear,” someone wrote. 

“Property was never theirs so when you show up some poor resident is very confused.” 

Others warned the woman to “stop engaging with them immediately” and to never “provide any personal details or money to this person.”

It is not standard practice to pay a “reservation fee” for a standard property inspection. However, there are certain circumstances where a potential renter will pay the agent a small fee to secure an inspection. 

These are called  “key fees”, where the potential renter will pay a small fee, usually about $50, to secure the key from the property agent and inspect the property alone. 

“I had an inspection with a $50 bond for the keys — they said I just had to pick up the property keys, go have a look on my own, then come back and return the keys for my $50 back,” someone wrote. 

“Was fine. Didn’t end up applying to the place but I thought it was different.”

Originally published as ‘The landlord told me I had to pay $200 before I even inspected the property’