This publication explains how to fake rental history and get away with it. You need to be the perfect con man to outsmart your potential landlord.
It is standard practice for landlords to contact the previous landlord to verify your reference during tenant screening. Landlords want to know if paid the rent on time, followed property rules (such as not keeping pets, etc.), or if you are worth renting to.
If you have a poor relationship with your current or previous landlord, you want to fake the reference to get past a bad landlord reference. In some cases, potential tenants without renting records also falsify their rental records on the rental application.
How to fake rental history
There are not many ways to fake your rental history. You just need a reference to pretend to be your previous/current landlord.
Do the following to fake your rental history for an apartment:
Have someone pretend to be your previous landlord
Choose a friend or your family member to pretend to be your previous or current landlord to meet the tenant screening requirements.
You can go a step further to fake your rental history by conniving with your accomplice to set up a fake listing.
The purpose of the ad or listing is not for filling vacancies or hosting open houses and other methods to attract renters. It is to make the faked rental history look real enough to thwart the potential landlord’s attempt to verify if your claim is legit.
The ad should contain high-quality photos of the interior and exterior. Your accomplice can use photographs of their current home and pretend to be a private landlord who previously rented their apartment to you.
Use an agency
Some online agencies will help you fake your rental history by pretending to be your current or previous landlord.
It is simple – search “fake landlord reference service” online for a list of websites offering this service.
Pick one with unlimited consulting and assistance with a team dedicated to your project, and can play the role of your current or former landlord without getting caught. The agency should also offer to play the role of your employer if you decide to lie about your income for the apartment.
Request to fake past or present rental history and your character qualities. The fake rental history vendor will review and rehearse your requirements, which will be provided over the phone to a reference checking service or your prospective landlord.
The fake rental history service should have a dedicated phone line or voicemail with your preferred area code.
After the fake rental reference service makes contact with your prospective landlord or reference checking service, you should be sent a summary of the call.
Landlord reference services typically cost between $50 and $100 and may include 30 days of taking and making contacts on your behalf, depending on the plan you sign up for.
How a landlord checks if rental reference or history is fake
Landlords bust prospective renters with falsified rental history using the following tips:
Contacting the number on your application
A landlord will pretend to be looking for an apartment by contacting the number of your former landlord listed on your application.
Thus, the person answering or pretending to be your previous landlord must admit that they offer rental properties but none at the time.
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Since the person is not truly a landlord, they may say they do not know what the caller is talking about, which gets you busted. So, your fake reference must be aware that your prospective landlord can call pretending to be a renter to verify your rental history.
Reviewing the reference’s responses
Your prospective landlord will listen carefully to your fake reference’s response to know if you are lying about your rental history.
The reference should put up the act of a real landlord or just say “sorry, no rentals at the moment” to cut the conversation short.
Responses such as “yeah, that sounds right” are a red flag. The reference must be confident when speaking to the landlord.
Requesting personal information for verification
A landlord calling to confirm your rental history will request and confirm personal information from your rental application with the reference.
In this case, prepare a script of typical tenant records, including birthdates, move-in/move-out dates, and Social Security number (SSN).
The prospective landlord may question why you moved from the recent apartment. Your reference should avoid using negative remark, such as those some landlords use when they try to get a tenant to want to leave.
The assessment should not also be too perfect. It should be in the form of a simple recommendation.
Checking tax records
The prospective landlord will try to match the name of your fake reference with public records to know if they are the owner of the property.
If the current owner is different, the landlord will know that you are faking your rental history. But this can also mean that your reference is no longer the owner of the property.
However, the landlord will also expect your fake reference to know the name of the current owner. They will ask for the name of the current owner to know if your reference is legit.
Cross referencing phone numbers
Your prospective landlord may research the phone number of your fake references by name, business, or tax records to check if it matches the one you provided in the application.
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The landlord may also search your reference’s phone number or try to visit their website (since they pretend to be a landlord).
Some landlords will suspect that you fake your rental history if they cannot find your fake reference’s website or craigslist ad posting a rental.
The solution is to list a fake ad or the fake reference can create a new ad profile. The phone number in the ad should be similar to what you provide in the rental application. Note that some states have online real estate tax information showing property owners.
Checking your previous address
Your prospective landlord will check your previous address in the application to see if it matches your credit report addresses.
Your credit report may show your address – past or present h you listed on an account registered in your name, even if you did not live there. This may include post office boxes, home addresses, work addresses or the address of someone you have a joint account with. Landlorda also use this information to know whether you’re hiding a bad rental history or not.
Final thoughts
When faking a rental history, just make sure not to get caught. Otherwise, your landlord can evict you for lying on your rental application. This means you will also have an eviction on your record.
