Is it usual to pay rent to a fellow tenant?

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

To be honest, I don't know if it's unusual.  If I wasn't aware of some of the stories we have heard on this forum, I'd say why not, but it's incredible the lengths some scammers go to.

My advice is to be careful and not hand over any money until you have the key in your hand and have checked the drawers/cupboards to make sure nobody else is living in your new rooms, but even then, I've heard of people getting scammed there.

My advice would be to use something like AirBnb, where if you do get scammed, you can get your money back.

Just my opinion - but hope it helps.

Cynic
Expat Team

HI Cynic, and thanks for your answer! You're right, no money from afar should ever be paid ha ha. The thing is I am looking for something permanent, to directly move in and quarantine at home. But maybe I'll have to fall back on AirBnb, we'll see

This is a strange situation... if the fellow-tenant wanted to cheat you it would be very easy to pretend to be the landlord, so this might not be a scam. Having said that, you need to ensure that you have the landlord's permission to live there and make payments strictly as instructed by the landlord. Do a little detective work online: see if you can make contact with the landlord and make arrangements directly. And to take the pressure off, arrange to stay in an Air BnB for the first month so that you can view rooms in person.

Serfouette wrote:

HI Cynic, and thanks for your answer! You're right, no money from afar should ever be paid ha ha. The thing is I am looking for something permanent, to directly move in and quarantine at home. But maybe I'll have to fall back on AirBnb, we'll see

Go with an AirBnB first, get you settled first and then you can choose. Its been a while since I was in your shoes and even Airbnb was not around. But I would go with that.

SimCityAT
Expat team

hi sir, i'm from indonesia
may you help me to show how to work in UK, because i have plan to work in UK

I'm not sure from what you say if this place is just for you to quarantine in or if it's long-term. How long is this contract you've signed?
I don't think it's that unusual to pay the rent (and presumably the deposit) to one of the tenants. I've had this experience myself. This tenant will be someone who's been there a long time whereas the others come and go. They will kind of manage the property for the landlord who will probably be quite hands-off.
There're tons of rental scams though, some of which can be really convincing. What site did you find this place on? How are you sending the money to the tenant? Is it by bank transfer? Is it HSBC, Barclays, etc. or is it an online bank like Monzo? Do you feel like you've got a bargain? If so, it might be a scam. Have another look at the ad you replied to. If it's a scam, it will usually say something very generic that's been copy and pasted from an estate agent's site. Have you had any contact with the landlord or just the tenant? You can see who owns the property by consulting the title register online.