False employment applications operate across the country in a competitive housing market

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False rental applications are on the rise across the country as the US rental market has become more expansive and competitive.
GreyStar, the country’s largest public house, told FOX Business that it has seen a clear increase in fraud programs across the country.
“Fraud in rental applications has become increasingly common across the industry, with some of the most advanced cases involving AI-generated documents and automated payment systems,” GreyStar said.
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A “Rentint” sign in front of a building in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, DC, on Aug. 12, 2025. (Al Dragon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Eric Taylor, to lead the reliability and safety of the free asset management platform, also sees FOX, telling FOX Business that about 75% of the apartment nationally last year, which is 40% on average.
“As rental prices rise, and affordable housing remains scarce, scammers are becoming more creative.
However, Greystar saw that work is common in certain areas of Atlanta, including midtown, downtown and Buckhead, which is an area known for high-end shopping, dining and luxury. In some of those neighborhoods, the company found that about half of the applications were flagged as fraudulent.
In other markets, such as Durham-Chapel Hill, North Carolina; Salt in the lake, say; Portland, Oregon; Charleston, South Carolina; and Boston, Massachusetts, the share of false claims generally ranges between 14% and 18%, according to GreyStar.
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Fraudulent apps have often been loaded with fake or stolen information designed to exploit the most common financial or financial backgrounds including pay stubs, bank statements and job verification letters. In some cases, people create completely fake identities created using stolen or stolen personal information.

Fake applications often contain frozen or stolen information designed to misrepresent the financial or financial background of the applicant. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)
“This issue has become more widespread as technology has made it easier to create fraud cases and as leasing processes have moved online,” said GreyStar.
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It’s a big challenge that GreyStar says it’s dealing with to bring back the help of many fraud detection providers. It also trains its teams regularly and embeds advanced security tools in our tenancy to protect both residents and communities. Greetystar has also implemented multiple layers of verification to identify and prevent fraud, protect our tenants and the integrity of the rental process.

The trend comes as the US housing market faces a liquidity crisis. (Al Dragon/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The company admitted that while there is no perfect system, its approach has ‘significantly reduced the number of bad claims’ in communities.
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“These efforts protect residents, improve housing sustainability, and help maintain the integrity of the rental process,” the company said.
The American Department Association said in a 2023 report that if a landlord receives false information about a rental arrangement after a tenant signs a lease, the tenant may be successful and may leave the property without notice.
If someone is fired for lying in a hiring process, the judgment will show up on future credit reports and background checks, giving them an edge when filling out future applications, the organization said.
Taylor said the increase in fraud has led to higher eviction rates, increased taxes and renewed financial losses throughout the rental market, affecting both employers and honest tenants.
“BackLog in refunds and employer protection laws means many employers fraudulently stay longer, lose out,” Taylor added.



