Inflation, undersupply, high demand and exorbitant home prices are often reasons cited for why rents are high. But there’s another few people talk about, rampant fraud.
Since the pandemic, rental fraud has exploded nationwide. Nearly all respondents (93.3%) to a survey of members of the National Multifamily Housing Council (NMHC) and the National Apartment Association (NAA) representing 75 leading apartment owners, developers and managers, reported experiencing fraud in the past twelve months, according to the NMHC poll taken between November and January.
The fraud occurs when people use false identities to rent an apartment under false pretenses or for criminal purposes, owners and property managers say.
Fraud is bad for everyone. Landlords lose money and time evicting fraudsters, and honest renters may experience rent increases to compensate, property managers and industry experts said. Even worse, honest renters and staff may have to deal with unruly and sometimes, dangerous neighbors.
“It hurts everyone in the building, and everyone has to pay,” said Sharon Geno, president of NMHC, a nonprofit trade and advocacy group for the apartment industry.
Danger and damage
Fraudsters aren’t usually faking identities “to get in to house a family,” said Erin Outtrim, director of compliance and rent administration at Bernstein Management, a regional owner and property manager in Washington DC. “It’s usually for nefarious reasons.”
Property managers have reported…
