Goodlord says fraudulent tenancy applications could expose the private rented sector to as much as £4.1bn in direct losses each year, after analysing more than one million tenant references from the past 12 months. The lettings platform said 41 applications per 1,000 were flagged for suspected fraud between July 2025 and June 2026, keeping fraud well above historic levels even after the late-2024 peak.
The new point is not just that fraud remains elevated, but that the mix is changing. Goodlord says fake employment references rose 226.6 percent year-on-year in 2025, referee fraud climbed 146.4 percent and identity manipulation increased 140.4 percent, suggesting landlords and agents are dealing with more layered applications rather than simple forged documents alone.
For landlords, that matters now because the first loss is rarely just missed rent. Goodlord puts the average direct exposure from a fraudulent tenancy at £9,601 once arrears, legal costs, bailiff fees, void periods and property damage are counted. In a market where possession is slower and compliance errors are costlier, a bad tenancy can now become an expensive operational problem very quickly.
Tenant referencing is facing a more complex fraud mix
Goodlord’s latest fraud briefing says suspected fraud remained above historic levels across the 2025-26 period, with London recording the highest confirmed fraud rate and the West Midlands and North West also standing out. The company also found the most expensive rental homes were especially exposed, with properties above £10,000 a month showing confirmed fraud rates far above the wider market.
That matters because it weakens the old assumption that fraud is mainly a low-end affordability issue. Better-presented applications, stronger fake employment trails and fabricated referee details can slip into mainstream stock as well as premium lets. Goodlord’s current tenancy fraud briefing frames the shift as one from obvious document tampering toward multi-layered scams designed to pass traditional checks.
Landlord Knowledge has covered the fraud trend before, including BBC Panorama’s warning that criminal gangs were using fake tenant applications to seize rental homes and Goodlord’s own push to strengthen referencing checks with automated ID and sanctions screening. This follows Landlord Knowledge’s earlier fraud reporting, but the latest figures suggest the problem is not fading after the headlines – it is becoming more professional and potentially more expensive for landlords who still rely on document-only checks.
Landlords may need stronger checks before keys are released
One useful warning in the data is that suspected fraud has eased slightly from the worst point in late 2024 without returning to normal. That suggests the market is not in a short-lived spike. Instead, landlords may be facing a higher baseline level of fraud risk, especially where applications are processed quickly or where agents are under pressure to fill voids.
Goodlord’s wider guidance on tenant referencing and fraud prevention argues that visual checks on payslips and bank statements are no longer enough on their own. For self-managing landlords in particular, that is the practical story here. The bigger risk may not be spotting a bad document, but failing to test whether the wider application genuinely holds together.
There is also a timing issue. Many landlords are already reworking compliance processes after the Renters’ Rights Act and the first Making Tax Digital deadline. Fraud prevention can easily slide down the list when admin pressure rises. But the latest figures point the other way: screening discipline matters more when the operating environment is already slower, more formal and more expensive to recover from mistakes.
What this means for landlords
- If you self-manage: review whether you still rely mainly on tenant-supplied documents rather than independently verified checks.
- If you use an agent: ask how employment, identity and referee information are being verified before a tenancy is agreed.
- Watch for: higher fraud risk in premium lets, London deals and fast-turnaround instructions where pressure to fill a property is highest.
- Bottom line: tenancy fraud is no longer just about fake payslips – landlords need stronger screening before the keys change hands.
Editor’s view
The headline £4.1bn number is large, but the more important takeaway is that the fraud methods are becoming more believable. Landlords who still treat referencing as a paperwork exercise are leaving themselves exposed at exactly the point where a bad tenancy is hardest to unwind.
Author: Editorial Team – UK landlord & buy-to-let news, policy, and finance
Published: 10 August 2026
Sources: Goodlord, Goodlord NewsAgent webinar
Related reading: BBC Panorama warns landlords on fake-tenant fraud
