Couple issues warning after falling victim to Cork rental scam

The couple were left out of pocket after a scam in 2018 and are warning people to be wary as it is a particularly busy time of year for new rental agreements

Abby Ní Loingsigh and her partner Stephen O'Dea have warned people in Cork to be aware of potential rental scams following their own experience.

A couple has warned people to be aware of potential rental scams following their own experience while living in a rental property they believe did not belong to their landlord.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and her fiancé fell victim to what appeared to be a rental scam in the Douglas area in 2018.

The couple were living abroad while searching for a room to rent in Cork and had sent family members to view a house on their behalf.

However, after moving in, it transpired the woman who was posing as their landlord had not been entirely honest with the couple.

Ms Ní Loingsigh said they have since had others come to them with similar stories that seem to involve the same woman.

When searching for a room ahead of their move to Cork, Ms Ní Loingsigh received a message from the woman, who said she had a room available.

After her parents checked out the property, which appeared to be “lovely”, Ms Ní Loingsigh and her partner paid a deposit which was the equivalent of one month’s rent.

“When we got there, we found out that she was after moving beds into both of the downstairs living rooms and she had people staying in those as well,” said Ms Ní Loingsigh.

“So instead of there being six people in the house, there was actually about 13 of us.” 

After a month living there, Ms Ní Loingsigh said it transpired the house appeared to no longer belong to the woman who was posing as their landlord. They believe it had been sold to another individual.

Abby Ní Loingsigh and Stephen O'Dea lost a month's rent after falling victim to a scam in the Douglas area in 2018.

Following this discovery, the couple started to look for a new place to live and requested their deposit back.

“Only then I got a text saying she had to leave the county unexpectedly and then after that she blocked my number and I never heard from her again.

She ran away with a month’s rent.” 

Ms Ní Loingsigh has advised people to “always double and triple check the property”.

“Make sure you have the keys in your hand before you ever hand over any rent and ask for references from a previous tenant for anyone that is not working with a company.”

Gardaí confirmed they investigated a number of fraud incidents in the Douglas area on October 16, 2018. 

In this particular incident, it was alleged the woman who was renting a property in the area, purported to be the owner of this property.

It is alleged she then charged rent for other people to reside at the location and the matter later came to the attention of the actual homeowner.

A file was prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions, which later advised no further action be taken.