Sono uno straniero che si trasferisce in Germania e sto cercando di affittare un appartamento in anticipo. Ho conosciuto questo proprietario su un gruppo Facebook. E mi ha mostrato le foto dell’appartamento, insieme all’indirizzo e ai dettagli. E dopo la negoziazione abbiamo firmato questo contratto.
Successivamente ho visto il post di una persona truffata dallo stesso "proprietario"per un appartamento che non esiste.
Non ho ancora pagato.
La mia domanda è: questo contratto è legale e vincolante? (A condizione che non sappiamo se l’appartamento esiste)
E ci sono ripercussioni legali se non pago la caparra prima di visionare l’appartamento?
Infine, gli ho fornito informazioni come il mio numero di telefono, e-mail e ID del passaporto. Come posso proteggermi dal furto di identità.
Mi rendo conto di essere stato più che ingenuo in questo affare, ho bisogno del tuo aiuto e grazie in anticipo.
https://www.reddit.com/gallery/1oprueo
di classic_lit
15 commenti
SCAM
Even if it was translated back to English, many sentences wouldn’t even make sense semantically.
That is a fake contract. The spelling is atrocious. There are random words in the middle of the text, and there are lots of things that don’t belong in a rental contract.
Edit: there’s some translation from another language involved, for instance with the “friedlicher Genuss” – that is “peaceful enjoyment” in English law, which is not a term we have here. The spelling etc. is too bad for full machine translation though. Possibly this thing went through multiple mutations, including some where it was typed off by hand by someone who knows no German.
And most importantly: As soon as someone rents to you without having met you, and without you seeing the place, and they demand a payment, it’s a scam. Edit: That goes even if you get a contract that is fully in accordance with German law. If I was a scammer, I’d get a contract template online or even in a stationery shop, and I’d fill it out perfectly with fake information.
The German flag is hilarious. We don’t do that here.
Don’t pay. They may threaten you with legal consequences. There will not be any. Don’t pay.
You can report to the police that scammers have a picture of your passport (I assume? “Passport id”, if by that you mean the number on the passport, cannot really be used for anything on its own). That way, you have some protection when the scammers use a picture of your passport to scam someone else.
“Der Mieter wird die gemieteten Plätze in dem Staat nehmen, wo Sie sich am Tag seines Eingangs befinden Genuss”
wtf?
That’s not even a sentence…
Edit: just to be clear, many things in that contract **sound** pretty standard but it’s completely unprofessional and screams ChatGPT.
Never pay before actually seeing the apartment and verifying this is real. Fotos and Facebook scream scam.
If you have to pay before viewing it’s a scam. By law he deposit is due three days after you move in.
I didn’t even read the whole thing but the plethora of blatant grammatical mistakes in the first couple of rows alone tells me that this is a scam.
Landlord has to show you appartment, not its photos. You also need to know an Energieeffizienzklasse.
General rule:
If you suspect it’s a scam you’re right.
If you haven’t seen the appartement **in person** and if you have not met the landlord there – don’t bother. THey’ll ask you for money, get it, then ghost you. It is a scam.
**DO NOT** send your passport. It will be used to scam other people.
In terms of content, the contract seems fine in principle. However, it contains some very strange wording such as “Genuss” and “usw.” in relation to the additional costs, which makes the whole thing a little suspicious. Furthermore, this is not a standard rental agreement as found in Germany. Some sections that are normally always included are missing, such as the number of rooms, keys, and a list of additional costs. It’s all a bit strange, and my gut feeling tells me it’s a scam.
> And are there any legal repercussions if I don’t pay the deposit before viewing the apartment?
Therefore immediately obvious as scam.
Just to add to the other comments: Even if the contract were in perfect German and a standard form, that in itself is meaningless if the whole apartment doesn’t exist and the “landlord” is a scammer who lied about everything, including their personal information.
Like, I can show you pics or even have a video call and show you some apartment and draw up a perfect contract. That doesn’t mean I have am apartment in the location I claim or that I am willing or able to rent it to you. The moment you pay me the “deposit” or “1st month rent” I disappear from your life and all you have is a worthless piece of paper. What you gonna do with it? None of the information on it is real, apart from your name.
ETA: I have to admit, though, if I wanted to scam people, never would I have gotten the idea to put the German flag on the contract. That is absolutely hilarious. Trust me, bro, look, there is even a flag!
Yes. Scam. Run!
I think I paid my deposit the day I got my keys. So anything that requires pay before you physically step on the house is likely a scam.
And contracts don’t usually have a big ass German flag
The quality is hilarious, especially the flag. Importantly, no real landlord would rent to you without seeing the apartment first. You are best to get a short term rental for like a month for your arrival and go from there
That’s not a contract, that’s a joke. It’s so bad it’s actually quite funny.
> How can I protect myself from Identity theft.
You can’t. Your information will be used to play landlord when scamming others, that’s just how this game works.
Report everything you have to the police online: https://portal.onlinewache.polizei.de/de/ – that way at least you have evidence if someone comes after you as a scammer in the future.
Book an airbnb for a month and search apartments here. Tenant protection laws in Germany are so strong that ***absolutely nobody*** will ever rent you a place without having met you face to face. Nobody. Ever.