Moikka kaikille

I’m moving to Vantaa from another city and I chose to look for places on Qasa because I liked that you don’t need to pay a deposit and you can pay rent through their website for extra security.

I recently found an apartment through Qasa and spoke to the landlord on the phone. He seemed nice and said he’s rented to other people before. He also mentioned there’s going to be water pipe renovation from October to December, and he would half the rent during those months — which honestly made him sound more real and not like a scammer.

his personality:
we spoke on the phone. hes finnish and seems genuine. he's funny based on our short convo and he knows how to speak filipino a bit. that's why he said "tuloi kajo" which is tuloy kayo which is tagalog for asking me to come view it. hes an older finn, his profile says hes like 65+, and is a verified user. he is very reasonable and even lowered the rent for the first month.

He’s not rushing me to sign anything, but he’s asking for my full name and henkilötunnus so he can prepare the contract. He also said there’s no deposit needed, but I should pay the first month’s rent before getting the keys — either by bank transfer or directly to him.

I only came to Finland last year, and obviously got my apartment without seeing it first, but i paid through a housing company so it's safe.

This time I’m a bit nervous because I haven’t seen the place and I don't have time to go to Helsinki to see an apartment first — It's 4 hours away. I’m not sure if it’s okay to pay rent directly to a landlord like this, outside of Qasa. Qasa website itself says to be wary of people who don't pay through the website.

I’ll attach screenshots of the conversation (personal info removed).

Can anyone please tell me if this sounds safe? Is it normal here to pay rent like this without a deposit, and is it fine to send my henkilötunnus before seeing the apartment or contract? Or should I insist everything stays on Qasa? I dont know if he does bank transfer because he’s old and doesnt know how to use Qasa..?

Kiitos avustanne etukäteen!

by Ok_Yesterday_9337

7 comments

  1. Only thing I’m a bit worried is that they’re trying to get money from you around qasa. That’s usually sign of a scam.

  2. What kind of pipe renovation is it? If they renovate the whole line in the ”old” way, I dont think you want to live there during that. When it comes to your discussion with the landlord, you obviously need to see the contract before signing anything. Most landlords ask your henkilötunnus for making the contract. Personally, I would _never_ rent without seeing the landlord and the apartment, but you can take a calculated risk if you want. In your case the risk is 350 euroa and the upside is a condo you want.

  3. I once checked an appartment through casa. The landlord told me straight away that casa has nothing to do with the renting. So he used it only as a platform.

  4. I don’t really get it, isn’t a major point of using Qasa so you can pay and receive rent from Qasa directly?

    The fact that he wants relatively small payment upfront and outside of Qasa rings a few alarm bells for me. He could very well be legit, but I don’t understand why he would have to do this. Why wouldn’t he just receive the first months rent via Qasa like all of the other ones too.

    The ‘no deposit’ thing shouldn’t matter for this, right? If you as a renter can rent without deposit, if you wouldn’t pay or would suddenly disappear, isn’t the whole point that then Qasa would pay the landlord anyway, so he’s not in danger of losing money.

    I would probably contact Qasa to ask if this is normal practice. Qasas website says that the first months payment would be paid just 8 days after moving date, so it’s not like he’d have to wait very long.

    Personally I would never rent without seeing the place first, but I understand why some people are in situations where they kind of have to.

    I think him getting your henkilötunnus beforehand is pretty normal, as he probably needs it to make the contract.

  5. I don’t see a huge problem. Yes, he wants to work around any fees, but he has been offering to come see the place. Also, if you bring cash, sign the contract and get keys, that should be fine.

    The pipe renovations though. Half the rent seems decent, but living there for that time will suck. Personal choice, in the end. Good luck!

  6. Call Qasa about this, if nothing else. I would also pay via bank if possible so that you at least have a record of any payments

  7. Im finnish and have zero clue what qasa is but other than that.. renting in vantaa without a deposit? Mmkaay… possible but rare af.

    The pipe mayhem will be miserable, i’d live in a tent rather than having my bathroom and kitchen and probably the entire apartment blown up if theres radiators.

    He did say you can pay directly to him (cash??) While seeing it and getting the keys so might be legit?

    Personally i would definitely not send money upfront given the entire vibes i got from all this.

    Yes in my experience its normal (in direct contracts) for a landlord to ask a deposit and first months rent before u get the keys.

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