The tenancy management and referencing platform, looked at more than 300,000 applications from renters submitted during 2022 and a similar number in 2023.

It picked up an average of 2.9 cases of fraud per 1,000 applications in 2023, up from 1.2 per 1,000 in 2022.

The most common type of fraud was prospective tenants altering payslips to try and pass checks – accounting for 58% of all dishonest applications in 2023.

Goodlord says this is normally to exaggerate the amount of income they are receiving or change the company name.

Some forgeries were made using sophisticated photoshop skills, while others were only very rudimentary, it found.

Other forms of fraud detected include forged photos of passports, doctored bank statements, fake references and bogus claims of being employed by a company that does not exist.

Goodlord head of referencing Nishma Parekh says: “Fraud can come in many forms.

“In some instances, tenants who are desperate to secure a property think bumping up their salary will help seal the deal. 

“Given the current pressures on the housing market, it’s understandable as to why we’re seeing a rise in this type of fraud.“However, this is inadvisable as you could end up on the National Fraud Database, impacting future job prospects and other life events such as securing loans.”