Safety & Anti-Fraud Policy

Last updated: 14 July 2026 · Version 2

Rental fraud is real in every Indian city. This page describes what StayLocal does structurally, and what you must still do yourself. Nothing here transfers your due-diligence responsibility to us — see the Disclaimer.

What StayLocal does

• Human review of every listing before publication (Verification Process).
• OTP verification of every published call number — unreachable numbers cannot list.
• Duplicate detection — address and photo-fingerprint matching against existing listings.
• Availability enforcement — stale listings lose ranking and are automatically unlisted, killing the classic "long-dead listing" scam surface.
• Report buttons on every listing, a 48-hour moderation SLA, and evidence preservation for law enforcement (Law Enforcement Request Policy).
• Labelled promotions — paid placement is disclosed and capped; money cannot dress a listing up as organically top-ranked.

What you must always do (seekers)

1. Visit in person before paying anything. No exceptions — not for "great deals", not under time pressure.
2. Verify documents: ownership proof (registry/index II, latest electricity bill, property-tax receipt) or the broker's/manager's written authority; match names against the ID of the person you're dealing with.
3. Written agreement first, payment second. Prefer traceable payment (bank/UPI to the verified counterparty's name) over cash; insist on receipts.
4. Red flags — stop and report: price far below market; "pay a token to reserve before visiting"; refusal of a video call or site visit; urgency and pressure tactics; requests to move to untraceable payments or to communicate off-platform immediately; "I'm abroad, my agent will handle it"; asking for your OTP or ID documents before any legitimate need.

What you must always do (listers)

Meet seekers safely; never hand over keys against promises; verify tenant identity before agreements; report suspicious "seekers" harvesting listings at /report.

What StayLocal never does

We never call to collect payments, "confirm bookings", or take deposits on anyone's behalf; our staff never ask for OTPs or passwords. Anyone claiming otherwise is a fraudster — report them immediately.

If you were defrauded

1. Report the listing/user at /report — we suspend fast and preserve evidence.
2. File a complaint at your local police station or the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal — cybercrime.gov.in / helpline 1930 (financial fraud).
3. We cooperate fully with law enforcement per our published policy.