According to a report that has recently been published, the lettings industry is facing a surge in fraud. This is regarding the use of fake documents and falsified applications, like altered bank statements and tax returns, to obtain tenant agreements. Those that are likely to lie on their applications are also known to be the mostly to default on their rent. The cost then to evict the tenants becomes a slow and expensive process for the landlord.

According to the report 73% of the fraudsters who were intercepted by the company when checking the references were men. 49% said they were from the UK, and the remaining were from 36 different nations. Youngest person was 20 and the oldest 70 years old.

In terms of areas London was the most prolific unsurprisingly, with Manchester second and Essex/Surry being the next popular areas.

Make sure your checks are robust and thorough.