A wave of rental-application fraud is sweeping Atlanta, as rising rents and a glut of luxury apartments push desperate renters to fake their way into high-end buildings. Influencers on TikTok openly promote doctored pay stubs, fake Social Security numbers, and other fraudulent documents created using generative artificial intelligence—sometimes selling "rental application packages" for more than $1,000—to help applicants land apartments they otherwise couldn't afford, per the Wall Street Journal. The nation's largest landlord, Greystar, says as many as half of all applications at some Atlanta properties may be fraudulent.
The surge in fraud comes as Atlanta's housing market faces a perfect storm: a boom in luxury apartment construction, a cooling job market, and a shrinking supply of affordable rentals. The city has added more than 111,000 new apartments since 2020, but between 2018 and 2023, it lost more than 230,000 units priced $1,500 or less. With rents now averaging around $2,000 for a two-bedroom apartment, many residents say they're left with little choice but to game the system. Similar tactics have spread to other cities like Houston and Washington, DC.
In Atlanta, leasing agents initially prioritized occupancy over scrutiny. The fraud was sometimes only discovered months after scammers moved in and then stopped paying, leading to more evictions and trashed units. While legal consequences are real, landlords rarely pursue charges, focusing instead on removing nonpaying tenants. They face mounting bad debt, while legitimate tenants see prices rise as fake demand skews the market. Landlords are quickly adapting with new fraud-detection software that makes use of AI, Bisnow reported earlier this year, but the problem is far from contained.
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