Beware of illegal subletting: Maria was evicted

Maria and her husband were evicted because the apartment had been illegally sublet to them. When the owner discovered what had happened, he took the case to the Court. Always check who actually owns a property before signing a tenancy agreement and paying any money.

Every year, many people – particularly young people and foreigners – are conned out of their deposits by fake landlords who claim to be renting out homes they neither own nor have the right to let.

It is happening right now as students begin the new academic year. LLO always recommends checking who the actual owner is by searching the address at www.tinglysning.dk before signing a contract and making any payment.

Maria and her husband were unaware of that advice. They assumed everything was in order when a Danish rental agent, who makes a living helping mainly foreign clients find rental homes, helped them find an apartment in Copenhagen.

The couple are expats. They experienced the darker side of Copenhagen’s housing market, where scams and fraud are widespread.

Maria was recommended the Danish agent, who found the couple a 95 m² apartment in Islands Brygge, Copenhagen, through a property portal for DKK 18,000 a month. Both the landlord and the agent were present when Maria and her husband viewed the apartment. A few days later, they signed the tenancy agreement and moved in in June last year.

But six months later – in January this year – a letter suddenly appeared on their doormat addressed to their landlord, with his name on the envelope. It had been sent by a lawyer acting on behalf of the owner.

DEVASTATED AND DISTRAUGHT
Maria opened it. She had the letter translated into English and discovered that something was wrong. Her landlord was not the owner of the apartment at all, but a tenant – and he had no right to sublet the property to anyone else. The actual owner terminated his tenancy after the fake landlord failed to pay the rent for January.

“We were absolutely devastated. We panicked when we found out that he had no right to sublet the apartment to us. I didn’t know that you should always check who actually owns the property and has the right to rent it out. I assumed the agent had taken care of that. I became so stressed that I was unable to do my job,” Maria says.

The owner offered to let Maria and her husband remain in the apartment – but only if the rent increased to no less than DKK 21,700 a month. This is stated in an email sent by his lawyer to LLO Hovedstaden, which the couple subsequently joined. LLO’s magazine Vi Lejere (We Tenants) contacted the owner for comment, but he did not respond.

“The owner told me not to pay rent to the fake landlord. So we didn’t pay him rent for February and March. We asked whether we could stay in the apartment. He said we could, but the rent would then increase to DKK 21,700. On top of that, we would have to pay his legal costs of DKK 24,750. We refused, and the owner took the case to the Enforcement Court (Bailiff’s Court. In Danish: Fogedretten) to have both us and the other tenant evicted.”

LLO has documentation in the form of a letter from the owner’s lawyer containing the offer, which the couple rejected. The Bailiff’s Court ruled that the couple and the other tenant had to vacate the property. Before the ruling, LLO had advised Maria to find another home and not to appeal the decision. The case was lost.

The Danish agent who had arranged the apartment for Maria and her husband subsequently chose to pay DKK 4,750 on the couple’s behalf to the owner of the apartment towards his legal costs and the court fee for the Bailiff’s Court proceedings. The agent makes a living arranging rental accommodation for, among others, foreign employees. She does not wish to be identified in this article, but explains that she believed the apartment could legally be sublet to the couple, even though tinglysning.dk showed that it was owned by someone else.

SUBTENANTS ARE IN A WEAK POSITION
Henriette Grage, an adviser at LLO Hovedstaden, helped Maria and her husband with their case.

“They were in a very difficult position because they were subletting the apartment from the original tenant, who did not have permission to sublet it. When his tenancy is terminated, the subtenant also has to leave the property,” Henriette Grage explains.

As a subtenant, you cannot acquire stronger rights than the tenant you are subletting from. If that tenant’s tenancy is terminated – for example because the rent is not paid or because the subletting arrangement is unlawful – the subtenant, in this case Maria and her husband, will also lose the right to remain in the property and can be evicted.

Despite all the problems, the couple are grateful for LLO’s help.

“I’ve received so much help, and Henriette has supported me throughout the case and given me such good advice. I’m extremely grateful and would recommend anyone in this situation to contact LLO Hovedstaden,” Maria says.

HAVE LOST DKK 72,000
Maria and her husband are now fighting to recover their deposit, equivalent to three months’ rent, plus one month’s rent – around DKK 72,000 in total – from the tenant who illegally sublet the apartment to them. We have attempted to contact him for comment, but he has not responded. It has since emerged that he has been involved in several similar cases in which other tenants have been deceived. LLO is aware of at least one other case.

Maria and her husband moved into a new apartment in April, which they found online through a property portal. Before signing the tenancy agreement, they asked LLO to review it.

“We now live in Ørestad on Amager and pay DKK 20,000 a month in rent, including water and heating. With electricity and internet, it comes to around DKK 21,000. That is a lot of money for us. But this time, the landlord is a large, professional company,” Maria says.

Maria is not her real name. She wishes to remain anonymous because of her job, but has chosen to tell her story as a warning to others.

“I hope nobody else ends up in the same unfortunate situation as us. Always check who you are actually renting from by searching online before you sign anything. Lawyers are so expensive in this country, so join LLO and get them to help you,” Maria advises.

LLO knows her real identity.