Fraud is still an issue for the rental housing industry. New data from RealPage shows properties are fighting fraud and that it's a top priority for companies. The study dives into trends, how fraud impacts business, reporting tools and other challenges when facing fraud.
"To help leasing staff make the best-informed decisions and enable a corporate office to set and enforce policy, visibility and transparency of assessment details is essential," said Josh Albrechtsen, RealPage SVP and GM, Front Office, in a release. "With fraud coming from multiple directions, effective solutions must offer multifaceted verification, across data, device, document and biometrics, leveraging AI and machine learning."
Six out of every seven respondents said fraud "currently reduces income and/or increases costs by at least 10%." Meanwhile, fake or manipulated identities was the top form of fraud seen by 58% of the study, just ahead of misrepresenting income (57%).
Despite fraud being omnipresent and a top priority for many (97%), only 17% have portfolio-wide fraud protection, and less than a quarter have a formal metric to track fraud and its effect on business. Almost three-fourths of respondents said fraud was discovered following resident move-in.
Learn more about fraud and resources from the National Apartment Association.