Landlords do ask for proof of income, which is a common way to verify rental applications. The landlord just wants to be sure that the applicant can pay rent on time throughout their lease. However, circumstances may force you to fake pay stubs to rent apartment, and probably get away with it. For example, a landlord may require proof of income at 3x the monthly rent – that might be outrageous for you. But faking a pay stub is perfectly illegal and attracts a fine if you get caught.
While a pay stub is a common proof of income most landlords verify during the tenant screening process, it can be faked. You might need some if to secure apartments if you do not have any reliable source of income. Sometimes, you just do not feel comfortable sharing your earnings with your potential landlord. Whatever the case, this post explains the steps to fake pay stubs to rent apartment and not get caught.
Do Fake Pay Stubs Work for Apartments?
Fake check stubs work for apartments if they look real enough. Even legit websites such as Shopify.com allow you to download and print pay stubs for free. However, these are intended for authentic use. Most legit websites do not encourage faking pay stubs. Besides, some employers use these online services to print and issue check stubs to requesting employees.
What makes a fake pay stub fake is the falsified information you provide. Therefore, websites offering paid or free pay stub download services operate perfectly legally.
When you fake a pay stub, you prevent your potential landlord from seeing your rent-to-income ratio. Thus, faking your pay stub may be OK if you are hiding your income from the landlord but can afford the rent. Some tenants claim that landlords tend to increase the rent when they realize that they are financially capable.
In some cities such as New York, a property management company requires your annual salary to be 40 times the rent for approval. So, if you can afford the rent but prefer to hide your earnings from the landlord, then faking the figures on your pay stub is the way to go.
How to Fake Pay Stubs to Rent Apartment

1. Pick a Fake Pay Stub Company
First, decide what company or pay stub generator to use to get away with using fake pay stubs. You need to choose a large company and call them, pretending to be a prospective landlord, and ask about a made-up person (could be yourself). If the company can check the employee records, not a good company to use.
Larger organizations do not typically know their employees, so they are not bothered about any random phone calls asking about their employees. Most of them decline any information about their employees.
Alternatively, you can get someone to pretend to be your employee, this is fraudulent though. Some pay stub websites can offer this service. Even a family member or your friend can pretend to be your employer to help you rent with fake pay stubs.
2. Be Careful When Using Pay Stub Generator
Some landlords are familiar with the standard fake pay stub templates available on various websites. They might not take your application seriously if they find out that you use them. Also, your potential landlord might even find it amusing and consider your application fee a bonus for free pizza.
Some people have used fabricated documents to meet the high-income requirements set by landlords, especially in places like Florida where the rent can be quite high. A lot have never faced any repercussions as long as the fake pay stubs are consistent and contain accurate details.
There are also claims of people creating false documents for years without any issues. The general belief is that as long as you are a responsible tenant and pay your rent on time, landlords won’t question the authenticity of your documents. So, yes, it is possible to get away with using fake pay stubs as a good tenant.
3. Find a Realtor Who Isn’t Strict
You can even find a realtor who is willing to overlook the discrepancies in your fake pay stub. If you are someone with with cash-based income, you can use such realtors to secure a rental apartment.
However, remember that providing faking pay stub information can lead to lease termination and eviction if you are caught by your landlord. But if you do believe that you have the ability to pay the rent, you can show other income verifications such as income statements, and bank account statements, or use a co-signer.
Another good method to fake pay stubs to rent apartment is using software such as Adobe Pro. If you have the skills, you can edit the text and adjust the numbers on your existing pay stubs. Make sure to update the dates and ensure that the numbers make sense.
4. Present the Pay Stubs to the Landlord
During your tenant application, note that a landlord can ask your bank if the check you gave them can cover the rent. However, the landlord cannot ask to see your bank account balance. If you have sufficient funds, the bank may inform the landlord that you can afford the rent but won’t reveal your bank account balance.
It will be an added advantage if you have a good landlord reference from your previous landlord. Your potential landlord will be convinced if you used to pay rent early and kept the previous place in good condition.
Free Fake Pay Stub Generator for Employment Verification
If you search the internet, you will see several free fake pay stub generator websites that let you fill and print fake pay stubs. However, as I mentioned earlier, some landlords are already familiar with some of these templates. So, you have to be unique when customizing your fake pay stub for apartment rental.
Usually, you want to make sure to add a company logo to make your fake pay stub look real for rent. Some free pay stub templates for apartment include.
Below are the steps to fake pay stubs to rent an apartment:
Paystubs.net

The first online Paystub website we used for this guide is Paystub.net. This website features several templates and gives you the option to select your state.
It is simple, to use Paystub.net to fill, submit and download your fake pay stub information. The cost of this service is $8 only.
Follow the steps below:
- Go to https://www.paystubs.net/.
- Click Choose Your State for a drop-down list of states to select from.
- Click Generate Pay Stubs Now.
- On the new page, enter the company details, including company name, logo, full address, phone number, EIN, or SSN. Click Proceed.
- Enter your employee information on the next page, including your name, last 4 digits of your SSN, and optional information (address, ID, federal and state filing status, and total allowance. Click Proceed.
- Enter your salary information, annual salary, payment frequency, pay date, and email address. Click Proceed.
Finally, select your preferred pay stub template from the list. There will be a watermark on your pay stub if you try to print it without paying. After payment, you will be redirected to another page to download your stubs.
ThePayStubs

ThePayStubs.com is an instant online pay stub generator tested for this pay stub printing guide. this website gives authentic pay stubs, so what makes the printed pay stub fake is the falsified information you provide to rent an apartment.
Follow the steps below to generate and print paid pay stubs with fake figures:
- Go to https://www.thepaystubs.com/.
- Click Create a Pay Stub Now.
- On the new page, enter your state of residency, your employee information, employer/company information, salary information, check numbers, and your correct work email address.
- Click Submit Information.
Select your preferred stub template and checkout with PayPal, or your debit or credit card. the cost of printing pay stubs on ThePayStubs is $9 only.
Check Stub Maker

The Check Stub Maker lets you easily fake your pay stub to rent an apartment. The check stub template from this website (like some others) handles all math and calculations needed for your pay stub to convince the landlord to give you the apartment.
The cost of getting a pay stub to fake from the Check Stub Maker is $9. Follow the steps below to create your pay stub for rent:
- Go to https://checkstubmaker.com/build-your-pay-stub/.
- Fill out the form on this page, which requires your employee information, employer information, and salary to be calculated.
- After filling, click Preview.
- On the new page, you may click EDIT to modify your information or SUBMIT after entering your correct email address.
- Provide your address and ZIP, and click Payment Info.
- Finally, pay with your debit or credit card.
When you are done, preview your pay stub before you proceed with the download. A copy of the pay stub is sent to the email you provide when you complete your purchase.
You may be able to contact Check Stub Maker to play the role of your manager when your prospective landlord calls to verify your employment.
FormPros

With FormPros, you can access a $9 check stub you use to get a rent approval with forged wages and salary information.
FormPros is an authentic website, so faking the information you provide on their pay stub template does not make them an illegal website (like others).
Print your falsified pay stub on FormPros following the steps below:
- Go to https://www.formpros.com/tax-forms/create-paystub/.
- Click Create Pay Stub Now.
- Enter your state and email address.
- Enter your fake company info.
- Enter your employee info.
- Provide fake information on how you are paid.
- Click Create Pay Stub to complete your payment and print the fake pay stub.
Shopify

Shopify offers a free pay stub generator tool you can use to instantly create a pay stub for your prospective landlord.
All you have to do is to provide the required personal and financial information in the fields. Fields with asterisks are not necessary.
Follow the steps below to create and download a free pay stub from Shopify.com:
- Go to https://www.shopify.com/tools/pay-stub-generator
- Enter the company information.
- Enter your employee information.
- Fill in your income information.
- Enter your deductions information.
- Click Create Pay Stub. Shopify will email a link to your pay stub.
Your customized pay stub will be emailed to you via the email address you provide.
PayStubCreator

PayStubCreator is another check stub maker you can use to forge your financial information to get an apartment rent approval.
PayStubCreator is built by professional accountants, so you can expect accurate calculations when you supply your financial figures.
The pay stub payment is instant, so you do not have to subscribe to download. $9 is the cost of using PayStubCreator. Do the following to download and use PayStubCreator check stub:
- Go to https://www.paystubcreator.net/.
- Click Create Your Pay Stub Now.
- Provide the company information on this page and then click Employee Information.
- Fill out the employee information and click Salary Information.
- Fill out the payment information and click Review Your Stub.
Finally, select your preferred pay stub and complete the payment using PayPal or your debit/credit card.
Can You Go to Jail for Fake Pay Stubs for Apartment?
How Do landlords Verify Pay Stubs?
Prospective landlords use the following tactics to spot fake pay stubs:
The math
Miscalculations or wrong figures are a sign that the pay stub is fake.
Doing the stub math may be tedious if the landlord is not a math whiz. Moreover, authentic check stub websites already have professionals solve the math in their stub generators.
This makes it difficult for an accountant to spot errors when calculating the earnings and deductions on the pay stub.
Attention to detail
A closer look may reveal that a pay stub is fake. Thus, a prospective landlord may spend some minutes looking for signs to tell that a pay stub document has been forged.
The detail that prospective landlords typically focus on include print numbers, lines, and characters, misaligning decimals, unnecessary or unusual fanciful font, misspelled words, and illegibility.
Other details that can be used to detect a fake pay stub looking at detail including the figures. A pay stub that uses the letter “O” instead of the number ‘0’ is a red flag to the landlord.
Also, if the monthly earnings and other numbers on the check stub are not perfectly rounded, it shows fakeness. Typically, the net pay on the pay stub may not be rounded figures. Therefore, rounded figures such as $3,500 instead of $3,423.89 may be a red flag.
Requesting Form W-2
Form W-2 contains important information for completing an employee’s tax return, it is completed by the employer and tougher to fake and get away with. It contains gross earnings, taxes, and deductions, so a prospective landlord may use this to tell if you lied in the pay stub.
Requesting Bank Statement
A landlord can verify if the figures on a pay stub are accurate by referring to the prospective tenant’s bank statement. If the bank statement report does not match the income on the check stub, it shows that the stub is fake.
Nonetheless, you may still be able to create a real fake bank statement that shows a prospective landlord your bank account how you want it. This also prevents the landlord from knowing your bank account balance.
Requesting Form 4506
A landlord can request Form 4506 from a prospective tenant to verify their income. Form 4506 shows a transcript of a prospective tenant’s federal tax record.
Final Thoughts
The websites listed in this guide will produce fake stubs that look real to get you an apartment rent approval. However, this does not take away the fakeness because you falsified the figures to hide your financial information.
Read also: Is Walmart receipt easy to fake for returns?