How to avoid rental scams in Las Terrenas

Renting remotely, before you even arrive in Las Terrenas, is convenient, but it is also where scammers thrive. One rule protects you from most traps: never send a deposit, an advance or a “booking fee” before viewing the rental or checking it. Casa Terrenas asks you for no payment at this stage.

Red flags

Paying before viewing. You are asked for an advance, a deposit or an “application” or booking fee to “hold” the rental before any viewing.
Pressure. “Several people are interested”, “you need to pay today”: urgency is used to stop you from checking.
A price that is too good. The rent is clearly lower than for comparable rentals in the same neighborhood, or the amenities look exceptional for the price.
No video call. The advertiser refuses a live video call or always has an excuse: they are abroad, someone else has the keys, the place is “occupied”.
Payment methods that are hard to trace. Money transfers (Western Union, MoneyGram), gift cards, cryptocurrency, or a transfer to the personal account of someone with no link to the agency or owner.
A copied listing. The photos or description come from another listing, published elsewhere with different contact details. This is a common trick: the scammer copies a real listing and swaps in their own contact details.
No written lease, or a lease that does not state who the landlord is, which property it covers or the dates.
A contact person who is hard to pin down and will not give their full name or their agency's name.

How to check a rental remotely

Ask for a live video viewing, not a recorded video. Ask to see the entrance, the street, the meters or a specific detail you choose during the call.
Check who is renting it out. For an agency: its name, its presence in Las Terrenas and, if it is a company, its legal name and RNC (Dominican taxpayer number); contact it through its official channels rather than a number you received in a message. For a private owner: ask for proof that they are entitled to rent the property.
Insist on a written lease before paying, and read it. Dominican Law No. 85-25 on rentals provides for a written lease stating, among other things, who the parties are, a description of the property and the start and end dates. Our guide to deposits and lease agreements lists the points to check.
Pay against a receipt showing the amount, what it is for (rent, deposit, agency fee), the date and the payee, ideally by a traceable method in the name of the landlord or agency named in the lease.
Search for the photos online (reverse image search) to spot a copied listing.
Compare the rent with similar rentals in our listings and read the neighborhoods page.

What Casa Terrenas does

We show the source of each listing and its check date, and flag those that need to be reconfirmed.
We do not publish advertisers' contact details: your requests go through our team.
Before passing your request on to an agency or owner (if you agreed to this) or arranging a viewing, we check the rental and its advertiser.
We can arrange an in-person or video viewing.
We review every report and may hide a suspicious listing.

What Casa Terrenas does not do

We ask for no payment at this stage: no advance, no deposit and no fee, whether on the site or by message. We also do not ask for your passport, bank card or proof of income. If someone asks you for money in the name of Casa Terrenas, do not pay and let us know.
We cannot guarantee from a distance the identity of an advertiser on a public portal or the actual condition of a rental: a viewing or a check remains essential.
We are not a party to the lease you sign with an agency or owner.

Reporting a suspicious listing

On each listing, use the “Report this listing” button and choose the reason “Suspected scam”. You can leave a WhatsApp number or an email address if you would like a reply (optional).
You can also write to us using our contact form, including about a listing you saw somewhere other than our site.

If you have already paid

Gather the evidence (messages, the listing, receipts, payment references), contact your bank or the money transfer service you used without delay, and file a complaint with the police. Also report the listing to the platform where you saw it. In the Dominican Republic, Pro Consumidor, the national consumer protection institute, receives consumer complaints and has already referred files relating to a property fraud to the public prosecutor's office.

To learn more about how we work, read how it works and our FAQ.