Trust & Safety

Rwanda's only physically-verified rental platform.

Rental scams are common in Kigali. Fake listings, fake landlords, deposits collected by people who don't own the property — they happen every week on WhatsApp groups and social media. Here's how we make sure that never happens on Umutuzo.

Every home is physically verified

A local Umutuzo agent visits each property, confirms ownership documents, photographs the home, and only then publishes the listing. No agent visit, no listing.

Verified landlords, not anonymous posters

We collect a national ID and proof of ownership from every landlord before they can publish. The badge on every listing means a real person on our side has met them.

Payments stay on the platform

Bookings flow through Flutterwave (MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, card) so you have a verifiable digital receipt. We never ask renters to pay deposits to private accounts before viewing.

Lease templates that follow Rwandan law

We provide standard residential lease templates compliant with Law N° 30/2012 — three-month notice, deposit rules, repair responsibilities. No surprises at signing.

WhatsApp support, real humans

Questions before or after move-in go straight to our Kigali team on WhatsApp. We don't outsource trust.

Red flags to watch for anywhere

Even outside Umutuzo, these patterns almost always mean a scam:

  • A landlord asks for a deposit before you've visited the property in person.
  • Photos look stock or appear on multiple unrelated listings across Facebook and WhatsApp groups.
  • The “owner” will only communicate through one channel and refuses video calls.
  • Price is far below market for the neighborhood — by 30% or more.
  • Payment is requested by Western Union, cryptocurrency, or to a personal account abroad.

Report a problem

If anything feels wrong — a listing photo you've seen elsewhere, a landlord asking for cash off-platform, a scam attempt — message us on WhatsApp. We investigate every report within one business day and remove bad actors immediately.