Advisory: Precautionary Tips for Renting or Buying Property
To ensure your safety and protect your financial interests, please take the following precautions when renting or buying a property:
Online Transfers: Always transfer money for down payments, bookings, or deposits to a verified property agency, not directly to an agent or an individual.
Cheque Payments: Make cheques payable to the property agency, not the agent or an individual.
Avoid Cash Transactions: Avoid making cash payments for property transactions.
How to verify if the property agency is legitimate?
Take the following steps to verify the legitimacy of a property agency in Malaysia before you engage in any transactions:
Go to the Lembaga Penilai, Pentaksir, Ejen Harta Tanah dan Pengurus Harta (LPPEH) [Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers] website here: https://search.lppeh.gov.my/
Select Search for Firm.
Enter the property agency’s name in the Name field and click Search.
Review the name of the property agency that you will transact with against the results from LPPEH’s website record. Additionally, you may also call the phone number of the property agency listed on LPPEH’s website to verify.
How to verify if the property agent is legitimate?
Take the following steps to verify the legitimacy of a property agent in Malaysia before you engage in any transactions:
Go to the Lembaga Penilai, Pentaksir, Ejen Harta Tanah dan Pengurus Harta (LPPEH) [Board of Valuers, Appraisers, Estate Agents and Property Managers] website here: https://search.lppeh.gov.my/
Select Search for Negotiator for Real Estate Negotiator (REN) or Search for Member for Real Estate Agent (REA).
Enter the agent’s name and REN/Registration Number in the Name and REN/Registration Number fields, respectively, and click Search. Additionally, you may also search by the agent’s IC Number or Mobile Number for REN only.
Review the details of the property agent that you are dealing with against the results from LPPEH’s website record. Ensure that the details match.
If in doubt, please DO NOT proceed to engage or transact with the individual without further verification/validation of their identity.
If you or anyone you know falls victim to an illegitimate property agency or agent, you may:
File a report with the Polis Diraja Malaysia (PRDM) at the nearest police station.
Contact LPPEH here: Contact Us – Lembaga Penilai, Pentaksir & Ejen Harta Tanah Malaysia (lppeh.gov.my)
File a report with the National Scam Response Center (NSRC) by calling 997. Find out more about NSRC here: About NSRC (jpm.gov.my)
