The California Dept. of Real Estate (DRE) issued a consumer alert and fraud warning because of the growing number of scams being perpetrated against consumers seeking to rent homes and apartments by persons offering rental lists for a fee and businesses operating Prepaid Rental Listing Services (PRLS) companies.
As a result of the current economic climate, a significant number of consumers need to move into residential rental properties due to income and/or credit issues, foreclosures, short sales, or some other inability to own a home or maintain homeownership. Moreover, some existing renters are forced to look for alternative rental space due to foreclosure of their existing rental properties. These realities have created an environment perfect for PRLS scams.
PRLS companies offer a list of available rentals in exchange for an upfront fee. A typical scam involves the promise of a list of available rentals in a location and price range desired by the prospective tenant; however, the prospective tenant must pay an upfront fee in order to obtain the list. The list paid for by the prospective tenant however, often proves fruitless or useless, and the list provider refuses to give a refund to the victim.
