Signing Lease Agreement with Private Owner

[Nukey]

Question for those of you more experienced with leasing and rentals. I'm looking for a condo to lease and several of the ones I'm interested in have been posted by private owners. How do I protect myself when signing a lease agreement with a private owner? How do I know they won't take my deposit cheque and run? How do I know they're even the owner and not just the current tenant?

Thanks,

[0xffff]

No idea.. but if you have concerns you could contact the property management company of the building to confirm everything is on the up and up.

[NorthYorker]

How do I protect myself when signing a lease agreement with a private owner? How do I know they won't take my deposit cheque and run? How do I know they're even the owner and not just the current tenant?
There are special kits sold in Grand&Toy for standard lease agreement.
Yes, risk of not returning the deposit is always there. On the flip side, LL risks you trashing his property and leaving. I dunno what to suggest.
You can request to see ownership papers to ensure that you're dealing with an owner or somebody acting on his/her behalf (in this case person would have Power of Attorney too). Besides, management company have ownership data on file.