HOUSING SCAMS
Although crime-rates in Denmark are low, scams unfortunately do occur. Please make sure to prepare against scams by researching online.
Scammers
To help home seekers steer free of the most obvious pitfalls - these TIPS were issued by the Copenhagen Police:
- Get a Dane to help you check the quality of the website where you found the advert for renting a room/apartment. Does the website seem odd, is it written in bad and faulty Danish, or is the graphic design of bad quality?
- You can try calling the person mentioned or the company contact person to double-check the information.
- Meet your potential landlord face to face, never pay up the deposit without having a signed contract; this is also important if you have only had mail or phone contacts. Ask for a picture ID from the landlord, this can be a passport, or a driver’s licence, check that the picture resembles the person you are meeting.
- With the exact address of the apartment/house, you can check who is the actual owner of a property on the site www.tinglysning.dk or at www.boligejer.dk
- If your contact person asks for the deposit to be paid in cash or to a foreign account then you should be very careful, many of these fake landlords have foreign accounts. Transfers to foreign accounts are virtually impossible to get back. Remember: If you made the transfer as a regular transfer, you cannot claim the money back from the bank as fraud, but are accountable for it yourself and thus risk losing your money.
- Use your good sense, don’t let anyone put you under pressure and remember the saying – if something appears too good to be true – it probably is.
- Many websites list the warning signs for rental scams, make sure to do your research.
LEGAL HELP
If you need legal aid with contracts or other issues, you can contact Copenhagen Legal Aid. Copenhagen Legal Aid provides free legal advice.
There are also other services in Copenhagen where you can get advice free of charge. Some of the sites are only in Danish, but they speak English - contact them and inquire directly through email or phone:
www.lejerens-fr.dk/
digura.dk/en/
www.socialeretshjaelp.dk/
borgerretshjaelpen.dk
You can go online and check who owns the apartment, building or facilieties at www.boligejer.dk the site is primarily in Danish, but you can search on properties and find more information on house owners. The same owner or company (that officially owns the building/apartment/house) should be mentioned in your rental contract by name.