How to Avoid Rental Scams When Renting an Apartment in Lebanon
Real warning signs of rental scams in Lebanon, and how to protect yourself when renting an apartment — especially if you're arranging things remotely.
Why this matters more in Lebanon right now
Rental listings on general classifieds sites and social media groups are common, and so are scams — fake photos, listings for apartments that don't exist or aren't actually available, and "landlords" who ask for a deposit before you've seen anything real. This is especially risky for students arranging housing from outside Lebanon, who can't easily verify a listing in person before sending money.
Warning signs to watch for
A landlord who refuses a video call or asks for money before showing you real, unedited photos of the specific unit (not stock photos). Pressure to pay quickly "because someone else wants it." A price that's noticeably lower than everything else in the same neighborhood — often a sign the listing isn't real. No verifiable identity or ownership information at all, and reluctance to answer basic questions about the building or documents.
What to actually check
Ask for a video walkthrough of the specific unit, not just photos — scammers reuse the same photos across multiple fake listings, but a live video is much harder to fake. Ask how long they've had the listing up and whether other people have viewed it. If a platform offers landlord verification (checking identity or ownership documents), prefer listings that have it — it's not a guarantee, but it's a real signal that someone has actually checked.
How Dormee handles this
Every landlord on Dormee goes through identity verification once, and every listing can additionally be verified against ownership documents for that specific property — shown as two separate, distinct badges so you know exactly what's been checked. There are no agents and no listing fees, so there's no financial incentive for anyone to push you toward a deal that isn't right for you.