Nicky Budworth is the property expert  at Touchstone Education

For years, landlords have been told to do their homework on prospective tenants. 

The problem is that some of the documents they’ve traditionally relied on are becoming much easier to fake.

AI can now be used to create convincing payslips, references and even identities in a matter of minutes. Recent research from Goodlord suggests tenant fraud could expose the private rental sector to as much as £4.1 billion in losses each year, with 41 in every 1,000 tenancy applications reportedly flagged for suspected fraud between July 2025 and June 2026.

Fraudulent applications are nothing new, of course, but the tools available to those committing fraud have changed considerably. 

Historically, producing credible-looking fake documents required a certain level of technical knowledge and could be a cumbersome process. Generative AI has lowered that barrier, making sophisticated-looking content far more accessible and potentially much harder to identify by sight alone. That’s why landlords need to modernise the way they approach tenant checks. It is no longer enough to simply collect a payslip, bank statement and reference and consider the job done. 

The emphasis now needs to be on independently verifying the information behind those documents and looking at whether the application makes sense as a whole.

Identity checks are a good example of where landlords can modernise their approach. Rather than relying solely on copies of identification supplied by an applicant, landlords can use established digital identity verification services to help confirm that someone is who they claim to be. 

Used alongside wider referencing checks, this provides another layer of verification and assurance. 

The same principle applies to previous landlord references too. Rather than simply accepting a reference at face value, taking an extra step to establish that the applicant is genuinely connected to the property and that the person providing the reference appears legitimate can help identify inconsistencies that paperwork alone might not reveal.

Modernising the process also means making better use of technology. Open Banking is one example, allowing landlords or their referencing providers to securely access financial information directly from the applicant’s bank, with their consent. 

This can help establish whether the income being declared is actually being received and provide a clearer picture of affordability, rather than relying solely on documents uploaded by the applicant themselves.

The aim should be to build up a complete picture using several different sources of information. If somebody’s stated salary, employment history, previous addresses and financial information all correspond, a landlord can have much greater confidence in the application. 

If something does not add up, that should be a reason to investigate further rather than simply accepting the documents at face value.

This does not mean every landlord suddenly needs to become an expert in fraud detection. Established tenant referencing and identity verification services can carry out many of these checks on their behalf, which can be particularly useful for smaller landlords who may only go through the process occasionally. 

There may be an additional cost involved, but paying a little more for robust verification could save considerably more if fraudulent information leads to problems later in the tenancy.

For newer landlords in particular, I think there is an important comparison with the checks they carry out when buying an investment property. 

Most will spend considerable time looking at its condition and location and working through the numbers before deciding whether an investment stacks up. Tenant selection deserves the same level of care, because ultimately the success of that investment also depends on who is living in the property.

There can understandably be pressure to move quickly when a property is empty and every additional day represents lost rental income. However, modernising tenant checks is not about making the process unnecessarily complicated or lengthy. 

It is about making better use of the information and tools now available, so that landlords can make a more informed decision before entering into a tenancy.

That doesn’t mean landlords should be approaching every applicant with suspicion. The vast majority of prospective tenants will be genuine, and checks should always remain reasonable and proportionate. 

The issue is simply that the technology available to somebody who does want to commit fraud has moved forward, and landlords cannot afford for their own processes to stand still.

The technology available to fraudsters has moved on quickly. Landlords’ checks need to move with it. 

That means verifying information, cross-checking the details an applicant provides and taking the time to investigate when something doesn’t add up. 

A convincing-looking payslip or reference can no longer be the end of the conversation.

Nicky Budworth is the property expert  at Touchstone Education