November 4, 2025
The number of fraudulent rental applications is increasing nationwide in a rental market already burdened by high costs and unaffordability.
The number of fake rental applications is rising across the U.S. as the rental market grows increasingly unaffordable for the average American.
Industry insiders report a nationwide rise in fraudulent rental applications, with applicants submitting doctored pay stubs, fake employment letters, and even AI-generated credit profiles, Fox Business reports. Major cities are seeing the sharpest increases, with Atlanta neighborhoods like Midtown, Downtown, and Buckhead among the hardest hit.
“Fraud in rental applications has become increasingly sophisticated across the industry, with some of the most advanced cases involving AI-generated documents and fabricated payroll systems,” said Greystar, the country’s largest apartment landlord.
Fake rental applications typically use falsified or stolen information to misrepresent an applicant’s financial or personal background. Common tactics include forged pay stubs, bank statements, and employment verification letters.
In some cases, applicants create entirely fabricated identities using stolen or manipulated personal data.
Eric Taylor, head of trust and safety at TurboTenant, a free online property management platform, has also noticed a surge in fraudulent applications. Nearly 75% of landlords nationwide reported a significant increase last year, an average rise of about 40%.
“As rental prices rise, and affordable housing remains scarce, scammers are getting more sophisticated,” Taylor said. “They’ve actually begun using doctored pay stubs, fake employment letters, and even AI-generated credit profiles to qualify for luxury apartments they can’t afford.”
In Atlanta neighborhoods with the highest incidence of fake applications, Greystar found that roughly half of all submissions were flagged as fraudulent.
In other markets, including Durham-Chapel Hill, NC; Salt Lake City, UT; Portland, OR; Charleston, SC; and Boston, MA, the proportion of fake applications generally ranges from 14% to 18%.
To address the problem, Greystar employs multiple fraud detection providers, regularly trains its teams, and integrates advanced verification tools into the leasing process to safeguard both residents and communities. The company has implemented several layers of checks to identify and prevent fraudulent applications, maintaining the integrity of the leasing process. While acknowledging that no system is foolproof, Greystar says its approach has “significantly reduced the number of bad applications” across its communities.
However, the rise in rental fraud is driving higher eviction rates, pushing up rents, and causing financial losses that ripple through the market, impacting both landlords and honest tenants.
“The backlog in evictions and tenant protection laws means many fraudulent tenants stay longer, compounding losses,” Taylor said.
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