Berlin Man Accused of Renting One Flat 39 Times and Pocketing €124,000 in Deposits

A 51-year-old man appeared before Berlin's Landgericht on 21 October 2026 facing extensive fraud charges. According to the prosecution, he advertised a one-bedroom flat with a terrace near Friedrichstraße in central Berlin 39 times to different prospective tenants, each time presenting a manipulated identity document during the viewing to pose as the flat's registered occupant — a property he neither owned nor was authorised to let. He allegedly collected a security deposit of approximately €3,400 per victim — comprising two months' rent at €800 plus the first month's rent and €1,000 for kitchen fixtures — totalling around €124,000, without ever delivering keys or possession. In a separate set of charges, he is accused of defrauding four buyers in a fictitious home-sale scheme in December 2024, involving €490,000 in cash. The defendant, who has been in pre-trial detention for four months, denied the allegations in court and claimed a business partner was responsible, contradicting himself repeatedly under questioning. Trial proceedings continue through 26 November 2026. The case illustrates the acute vulnerability of apartment-seekers in Berlin's severely tight rental market, where hundreds of applicants can compete for a single listing.