How can you avoid rental scams in Latvia in 2026?

Treat these as hard stops until verified:

• Deposit or rent required before a viewing and signed contract
• Landlord claims to be abroad and can only courier keys after a transfer
• Price far below comparable Quiet Centre, Centrs, or Majori asks: Rent in Latvia
• Pressure to decide within hours because “many foreigners want it”
• Refusal to meet on video with the real street visible behind them
• Deposit above two months’ rent or payment to a personal foreign account only

Pull a Land Register (Zemesgrāmata) extract and match the lessor’s identity to the registered owner. If a company lets the flat, check basic company details. Prefer bank transfers to a named Latvian account after the lease is signed: Open a bank account.

Search on ss.lv and city24.lv, treat Facebook leads as suspect until verified, and never skip the in-person walk-through: How to rent a home. Use a written īres līgums with clear deposit and utility rules: Rental contracts and deposits. Tourist furnished bridges can still be scams if they ask for wire-first “keys by post”: Furnished rentals.

Keep passport and personas kods ready for legitimate screening, but do not send scans to strangers who have not shown ownership. Address declaration comes after a real lease: Register address.