Experts say that fraud is more likely to happen to renters in the rental market
When Martene Sementilli and her husband bought a townhouse in Amherstburg, Ontario, they wanted to give their children an advantage in the housing market in the future.
Instead, the couple will sell their home this summer because their tenants allegedly stole from them, which led the Windsor Police Service to file criminal charges.The couple says that it has cost them a lot of money.
“The housing market has changed so much since we got into it, and we just wanted to give our kids something they could use when the time came,” said Sementilli, who owns the property with her husband Dan.
They bought the house in November 2021, and in October 2022, they signed a lease with the people who were already living there.
Sementilli said that their application for a rental looked good and that their references checked out.
“In fact, their former landlord gave them a great review…”I did check out their other references as well, but I put the most faith in their former landlord,” Sementilli said.
“At that point, we felt very at ease. Things started going wrong almost as soon as they moved in… So we started digging.”
Sementilli said that they got rent in November and December 2022, but both payments were late. Sementilli says they haven’t gotten any money since January 2023. CBC has asked the people who live there what they think about this story.
Even though they called the previous landlord and other references, Sementilli said she went to the previous rental in April and found that the “landlord” she had talked to wasn’t the owner of the property.
“Unfortunately, she had a story that was very similar to ours.”
Sementilli said that other stories turned out to be about different people answering the phone.
The Sementillis went to the Landlord and Tenant Board earlier this month for a hearing, where their tenants were given an order to move out. Sementilli said that they were able to get an early hearing because they could show that money was tight. This was more than four months after they filed their application.
Tenants accused of fraud worth more than $5,00
Sementilli said that they went to the Windsor Police Service because they thought the rental application was fake.A copy of a Windsor police report shows that fraud charges of more than $5,000 have been made.
“I wouldn’t have been able to file criminal charges against them if they hadn’t paid their rent but had filled out a correct application,” Sementilli said. “The only reason criminal charges could be brought was because they got the lease agreement by lying about what it was for.”
Because of this, the family now has to pay two mortgages, which Sementilli says is “unsustainable” in this economy.
“At this point, we have no choice but to sell our investment as soon as our tenants move out,” Sementilli said. “They made sure that the investment we worked so hard to get is already gone.
“We’re hoping to get our property back by the end of the month. But we’ve been through so much that we don’t really believe it until we see it.
Other more common types of rental fraud: Exper
But this isn’t the only way people cheat on their rent.
LaSalle police said earlier this month that a woman had been arrested for fraud after taking the first and last month’s rent from three different tenants. The alleged fraud was discovered when the tenants showed up on move-in day.
“These people all responded to an ad for a house for rent on Facebook Marketplace,” LaSalle police said in a statement.
One person who works to stop fraud said that what happened to the Sementillis was not very common.
Jeff Horncastle, an acting communications outreach officer with the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre, said that people who pretend to be landlords usually scam tenants.
Most rental fraud scams start when a house has just been on the market for sale and there are high-quality pictures online that fraudsters can use to make a rental ad.
From there, the rent is usually set below the average market price to make potential tenants feel like they need to move quickly in a tightening rental market.
“People will pay attention to the ads. “They are often asked to fill out forms with a lot of personal information, like their social insurance number or driver’s license, which puts them at risk for identity fraud,” Horncastle said.
“From the victim’s point of view, they’re in a hurry to try to get that rental unit, too, because there’s only so much housing available.”
Paul McNamara, who used to work for the Vancouver Police Department in financial crimes, fell for this kind of fraud.
McNamara said that a friend who was looking for a place to live saw that his house was for rent and got in touch with him. Horncastle said that this kind of thing happens all too often. McNamara had just put the house on the market.
McNamara said he complained to the rental platform and even talked to the people he thought were trying to scam him online.The listing for McNamara’s house was taken down in the end.
McNamara said that one of the best things people can do to stop rental fraud is to trust their own gut.
“Remember that we fight against social norms,” he said. McNamara said, “When you feel like you have to be nice to someone, you have to act a certain way to feel like you’re not, you know, weird.”
“I think most people can tell when something is wrong. But they don’t think about it.”
Horncastle said that rental scams cost Canadians $722,000 last year, which is less than the $884,000 they lost in 2021.
But, according to Horncastle, the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre says that only 5–10% of victims ever report their cases. This is likely because they feel ashamed.
He said that reports to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre show that there is no single group of people who are at risk.
Horncastle said, “It’s mostly because of how the market is right now, with a low number of rental units and a high demand.” “That’s a huge factor, but unfortunately, all groups are at risk.”
Once you’ve been scammed, it’s hard to get your money back. Horncastle said that making people aware is the best way to stop rental fraud.
Horncastle said, “This is another reason why fraud prevention and education are our top tools for fighting fraud.”