Report: As rent and demand for apartments rise, so does fraud

Survey finds property managers are seeing more and more lease applications that include false information and fraudulent documents.

By Louis Llovio
| 5:30 p.m. July 26, 2022
| 0 Free Articles Remaining!

Property managers are seeing rising cases of applicants falsifying applications and providing fraudulent documents. (file photo)

Tampa Bay-Lakeland

While the demand for apartments and the cost of rent have been rising at alarming rates, so has fraud.

According to the 2022 Snappt State of Apartment Tenant Screening Survey, 85% of property managers nationwide say they have been targeted by fraudsters, up from 66% before the pandemic. These managers reported that at least 12.5% of applications, one out of eight, included some sort of altered documentation, whether it be a paycheck stub, ID or bank statement.