Most UK landlords believe tenant fraud has become more common over the last three years.
LegalforLandlords surveyed 1,000 UK landlords and found that 77% believe tenant fraud has worsened.
One in 10 landlords have fallen victim to tenant fraud, with deliberate non-payment of rent after providing misleading application information the most common incident, accounting for 34% of cases.
Almost one in five (19%) say they had unknowingly seen their property used for criminal activity, while 10% experienced unauthorised rent-to-rent or subletting.
False employment or income information and undisclosed occupants each accounted for 9% of the most significant incidents reported.
The financial consequences can be considerable.
Almost a quarter (24%) of landlords who had experienced tenant fraud said the most significant incident cost them £5,000 or more, while a further 22% reported losses of between £2,500 and £4,999. Just 2% said they suffered no financial loss.
Recovering those losses also remains a significant challenge. Nearly a third (31%) of landlords said they ultimately absorbed the financial loss with no recovery, while 22% resolved the matter through formal eviction proceedings.
More than one in 10 (12%) said the issue remains unresolved.
While most landlords who had experienced tenant fraud said it had happened once during the last five years (69%), almost one in three reported multiple incidents, suggesting that fraudulent tenancies continue to present an ongoing risk for many property owners.
Sim Sekhon, chief executive of LegalforLandlords, comments: “Most tenants are genuine, but the financial impact when fraud does occur can be significant.
“Whether it’s misleading affordability information, undisclosed occupants, fraudulent identities or organised criminal activity, landlords often don’t discover there’s a problem until after the tenancy has begun, when resolving the issue becomes considerably more expensive and time-consuming.
“The most effective defence is prevention.
“Thorough tenant referencing, robust identity and affordability checks, and the right legal protections can dramatically reduce the likelihood of fraud succeeding in the first place. As fraud becomes increasingly sophisticated, landlords need to ensure their due diligence evolves alongside it.”
