Rental Scams in Sacramento

Where to report rental fraud in Sacramento

If you have lost money or handed over personal information to a fake landlord, file a police report with the Sacramento Police Department. Their non-emergency dispatch line is 916-808-5471 (dial 911 only for an emergency in progress); the department also accepts many reports through its online reporting system. A report number is often required before a bank, wire service, or payment app will consider reversing a fraudulent transfer.

Because rental scams are a consumer-protection matter, also file with the California Attorney General's Office. You can submit a consumer complaint online at oag.ca.gov/report, by phone at 1-800-952-5225, or by mail to the California Department of Justice, Public Inquiry Unit, P.O. Box 944255, Sacramento, CA 94244-2550. Filing is free. The DOJ uses these complaints to spot patterns of fraud across listings and landlords, which is how coordinated scam operations eventually get flagged for enforcement.

For scams that crossed state lines or moved money electronically, add a report to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov, and dispute the charge with your bank or card issuer as soon as possible.

Verify the property and owner before you pay

Before sending a deposit, confirm that the person collecting rent is actually connected to the property. The Sacramento County Assessor maintains public ownership records: secured owner names are not shown on the online Parcel Viewer, but you can request the owner of a specific address or parcel by emailing assessor@saccounty.gov or calling (916) 875-0700, and staff will look up ownership for up to two parcels per day per requester. Self-service computers with fuller records are available in person at the Assessor's Office, 3636 American River Drive, Suite 200.

If the name the 'landlord' gave you does not match the record, or they refuse to let you see the interior in person, treat it as a red flag. A classic Sacramento pattern is a scammer copying a real for-sale or genuinely-rented listing and posing as an out-of-town owner who cannot meet you. Cross-check the same address and photos against other listing sites: duplicate listings at conflicting prices usually mean at least one is fraudulent.

California rules that protect your deposit and fees

California caps security deposits at one month's rent for most landlords as of July 1, 2024 under AB 12. In practical Sacramento terms, that means a lawful deposit is roughly 1,300 dollars for a studio, 1,600 for a one-bedroom, 2,000 for a two-bedroom, and 2,500 for a three-bedroom. A small-landlord exception allows up to two months' rent when the owner is a natural person (or an LLC of natural persons) who owns no more than two rental properties totaling four units or fewer; active-duty service members are always capped at one month. Anyone demanding two or three months up front on an ordinary apartment is either breaking the law or running a scam.

Application screening fees are limited by Civil Code 1950.6. The base cap adjusts with inflation and is roughly 65 dollars per applicant as of recent years, and the landlord may only charge their actual out-of-pocket screening costs. If they do not run a credit check or reference check, they must refund the unused portion. Be wary of any 'holding fee,' 'processing fee,' or deposit demanded before you have seen the unit or signed a lease, and never pay by gift card, cryptocurrency, or irreversible wire transfer, which are the payment methods fraudsters prefer precisely because they cannot be clawed back.