Fake rental applications surge nationwide in competitive housing market

Fake rental applications are proliferating across the country as the U.S. rental market has become increasingly unaffordable and competitive.

Greystar, the country’s largest apartment landlord, told FOX Business that it has seen a clear increase in fraudulent applications nationwide.

“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,” Greystar said. 

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A “For Rent” sign in front of a building in the Capitol Hill neighborhood of Washington, DC, on Aug. 12, 2025. (Al Drago/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

Eric Taylor, lead for trust and safety at TurboTenant, a free online property management platform, is also seeing an uptick, telling FOX Business that nearly 75% of apartment owners across the nation reported a sharp rise in falsified applications last year, which is up about 40% on average.

“As rental prices rise, and affordable housing remains scarce, scammers are getting more sophisticated. 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,” Taylor said.

However, Greystar noticed that the activity is prevalent in certain areas of Atlanta, including Midtown, Downtown, and Buckhead, which is an area known for high-end shopping, dining and luxury living. In some of those neighborhoods, the company discovered that around half of applications were flagged as fraudulent.

In other markets, such as Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Salt Lake City, Utah; Portland, Oregon; Charleston, South Carolina; and Boston, Massachusetts, the share of fake applications typically ranges between 14% and 18%, according to Greystar.

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Fake applications generally have falsified or stolen information designed to misrepresent an applicant’s financial or personal background with the most common forms including forged pay stubs, bank statements and employment verification letters. In some cases, people create entirely fabricated identities created using stolen or manipulated personal information.

Fake applications generally have falsified or stolen information designed to misrepresent an applicant’s financial or personal background. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

“This issue has become more prevalent as technology has made it easier to create convincing forgeries and as more leasing processes have moved online,” Greystar said. 

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It is a serious challenge that Greystar said it is confronting by enlisting the help of multiple fraud detection providers. It is also training its teams regularly and embedding…