Cash rent alone does not prove a scam, but you should pay only after you verify the room and the person’s authority, sign a written agreement, and receive the keys plus an immediate signed receipt.
“I am moving from Italy to NYC for two months and booked a room by paying a $200 deposit through PayPal Goods and Services. The landlord wants the monthly rent paid in cash once I arrive. Is this a common practice or a scam risk? Also, is it better to bring the rent money in cash from Italy or withdraw it from ATMs in NYC?”
Summary
Because the landlord wants the rent only after you arrive, you still control the most important part of the risk: do not produce the cash until the room, identity, authority, agreement, and keys all check out. Bring only a modest travel reserve and plan to obtain the rent in NYC after verification rather than carrying the full amount from Italy.
You have two legally possible ways to obtain the rent money, but only one lets you delay carrying cash until after you verify the room.
This is the recommended route: inspect the room, match the person’s ID and authority to rent it, sign the agreement, and then use a debit card at a bank ATM for the rent currently due. Review any ATM fee and markup; if your card has no foreign/currency-conversion fee, decline the ATM’s conversion and choose USD. Exchange the cash only for the keys and the immediate receipt required by N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-e.
This is legally possible if you obey both border rules, but it is not recommended because it makes you carry the money before you can verify the room. Declare €10,000 or more when leaving the EU and report more than $10,000 when entering the United States using ; test each threshold separately because they use different currencies and cutoffs.
Do not send another deposit or hand over rent merely because the listing looks real. New York’s Division of Consumer Protection says to avoid advance payments before an opportunity to inspect and to obtain receipts; the FTC says to inspect before signing or paying and to match a private landlord’s ID to property records.
Your exact ATM cost and withdrawal limit depend on your Italian card; the safer timing choice is still to obtain the rent only after verification.
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Watch out for
Next steps
These steps let you verify the room first, obtain the cash second, and leave a paper trail for every euro or dollar.
Now, before travel
Stop further payments and preserve your evidence
Send no more money before verification. Save the original listing and correspondence, and ask for a live video walk-through that shows the street number, entrance, apartment, and exact room; New York’s Division of Consumer Protection warns against advance fees or deposits before an opportunity to inspect.
Requirements
Before signing anything else
Verify the address and the person’s authority
Search the exact address in NYC Finance’s property lookup at https://www.nyc.gov/assets/finance/jump/nycproperty.html and HPD Online at https://hpdonline.nyc.gov/hpdonline/. If the person claims to own it, match the ID to the property record; if the person is a tenant, require the primary lease plus written owner/management permission or a lease term allowing the room rental. A mismatch that the recorded owner or managing agent will not confirm means no further payment; report a fake listing to its platform and https://reportfraud.ftc.gov/.
Requirements
Before obtaining the rent cash
Sign a complete two-month agreement
The agreement should identify who receives cash, require a receipt for every payment, and say whether the $200 is rent credit or a refundable . If it is a deposit or advance, N.Y. General Obligations Law § 7-108 ordinarily caps it at one month’s rent, subject to its seasonal-use and owner-occupied-cooperative exceptions.
Requirements
On arrival in NYC
Inspect first, then withdraw with a debit card
Meet at the address, inspect the exact room, and confirm the key works before obtaining the rent. Use a debit card at a bank ATM rather than a credit-card cash advance; the FDIC warns that credit-card ATM withdrawals can incur hefty fees and says debit may cost less. If offered , review the displayed rate and markup; when your card has no foreign-transaction or conversion fee, decline conversion and choose USD.
Requirements
At the handoff
Exchange cash for keys and an immediate receipt
Hand over cash only when the keys and signed receipt are handed to you. N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-e requires the receipt immediately for an in-person cash payment; photograph it and keep the original. After move-out, request the deposit itemization and balance in writing—N.Y. General Obligations Law § 7-108 sets a 14-day deadline.
Requirements
Legal sources
This answer is grounded in New York statutes and agency guidance, FTC and FDIC guidance, CBP and EU cash-control rules, and PayPal Italy and Visa terms.
N.Y. Real Property Law § 235-e
Cash rent is recognized, but an authorized collector must document an in-person payment immediately and include specific details.
(a), (c)
(a) Upon the receipt of the payment of rent for residential premises in the form of cash, or any instrument other than the personal check of the lessee, it shall be the duty of the lessor, or any agent of the lessor authorized to receive rent, to provide the lessee with a written receipt containing the following: 1. The date; 2. The amount; 3. The identity of the premises and period for which paid; and 4. The signature and title of the person receiving the rent. (c) If a payment of rent is personally transmitted to a lessor, or an agent of a lessor authorized to receive rent, the receipt for such payment shall be issued immediately to a lessee.
N.Y. General Obligations Law § 7-108
This sets the ordinary one-month cap and the 14-day itemization-and-return deadline, while naming two cap exceptions.
(1-a)(a), (e)
(a) No deposit or advance shall exceed the amount of one month's rent, unless the deposit or advance is for a seasonal use dwelling unit as provided for in subdivisions four and five of this section, or unless the deposit or advance is for an owner-occupied cooperative apartment as provided for in subdivision six of this section. (e) Within fourteen days after the tenant has vacated the premises, the landlord shall provide the tenant with an itemized statement indicating the basis for the amount of the deposit retained, if any, and shall return any remaining portion of the deposit to the tenant.
NY Department of State Rental Scams Consumer Alert
New York’s consumer agency says to inspect before advance payments and to avoid payment methods that are difficult to trace.
Avoid completing background checks, signing a lease agreement or paying any advance fees or deposits before having an opportunity to inspect the premises. Be suspicious if asked to use payment methods that are untraceable. Scammers generally conduct transactions by phone, text message or email and often ask for payment by wire transfer, prepaid debit card, money-transfer app, cryptocurrency, or other methods of payment that are not easily traceable. Instead, pay by check or credit card and get receipts for any payments.
FTC Rental Listing Scams
The FTC gives the verification sequence for a private rental: inspect, find the owner in official property records, and match identification.
If you can, look at the property before you sign or pay. Dealing with a private landlord? Search city or county tax assessment websites to learn who owns a property, then check the landlord’s ID to be sure it matches the records. Check that the address of the property really exists.
Programma Protezione acquisti PayPal
PayPal Italy’s own terms exclude real estate, including residential property, from Buyer Protection eligibility.
Articoli e transazioni non idonei
Immobili, inclusi immobili residenziali.
FDIC Travel Tips: Bon Voyage
FDIC guidance explains why the exact ATM cost is card-specific and when to choose the local currency.
Before you travel, ask your bank about any fees, such as an ATM or foreign transaction fees, they may charge for using your debit or credit card at your destination. If your card does not have foreign transaction and/or currency conversion fees when making purchases or taking money out of an ATM, choose the local currency during the process. Let your financial institution do the currency exchange, which will be more in your favor than if you convert the currency at the time of checkout.
Visa Dynamic Currency Conversion
Visa requires an ATM offering DCC to disclose the rate and markup and leave the conversion choice to you.
Recognizing that many cardholders may be unfamiliar or may not fully understand what DCC entails, Visa requires merchants and ATMs to clearly display the following details on the screen and receipts: Purchase/withdrawal amount in the local and cardholder’s currency. Amounts with both currency symbols. Exchange rate used for the currency conversion. Additional fees or markup assessed. Merchants and ATMs should give you a choice to accept or decline currency conversion and must not choose on your behalf.
FinCEN Form 105 (CMIR)
CBP establishes the U.S. reporting threshold and identifies electronic FinCEN Form 105 filing as the recommended method.
Federal law mandates that when entering or leaving the United States you must report amounts exceeding $10,000 to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Anyone who brings, sends, or receives currency or monetary instruments totaling more than $10,000 at one time, either into or out of the United States, must report it. This includes individuals who transport, mail, or ship these items for themselves or on behalf of another person or business. You have several options for filing FinCEN Form 105. Filing electronically is the recommended and quickest approach.
EU Cash Declaration Form
The EU requires a cash declaration when leaving with €10,000 or more, including its equivalent in another currency.
If you plan to enter or leave the EU with €10 000 in cash (or its equivalent in other currencies) or carry one or more of the commodities listed below (to the value of €10 000) you must declare it to the customs authorities in the EU country you are entering or leaving, using the EU cash declaration form.
These are the official rules and issuer terms as published on the cited dates; laws, guidance, and contract terms can change.
This is general information about official processes, not legal advice, and SettleKit is not a law firm.
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