Today in France, according to Easy file, nearly one French person out of 2 say they are ready to falsify their rental file in order to obtain housing. Indeed, the real estate market is tense and renters do not hesitate to use false documents to increase their chances of getting a rental. How does fraud in the rental file take place? What practices should be put in place to remedy this? We answer you in this article.
What is rental fraud?
Rental fraud is becoming more and more widespread and has now become a scourge that real estate agents must fight against. What do we call rental fraud?
When a candidate applies for a rental, he must submit a complete file including documents identity documents but also of its professional situation and of its revenues.
If fraud is developing more consistently nowadays, it is primarily thanks to digitalization. Previously, the file was submitted during the visit to the accommodation. Today, with the generalization of digital technology, documents are almost no longer transmitted by hand but electronically.
Although copies of physical documents may also be subject to forgery, it is still easier to defraud directly online, through computer tools.
👀 Good to know:
The Government has set up a service, Easy file, which helps candidates to put together their rental file by downloading the necessary supporting documents:
Identity document Proof of professional situation Proof of accommodation Proof of income Proof of income Tax notice
The 3 tips to avoid rental fraud
Tip 1: Examine document consistency
In order not to be duped by a tenant, you need to check their solvency. How? Care must be taken to ensure that one's income is sufficient to rent the unit and that all the documents provided are consistent. We'll tell you more in the rest of the article.
Monitor tenant income
Tenants who falsify their rental records are often tempted to change their income. It is therefore essential to check the correct correlation of the amounts declared, especially on the pay slips.
To help you out, here are a few things to pay particular attention to:
- Verify that the Cumulative salaries over the last three months Is logical
- Watch her consistency between monthly gross income and annual gross income. To check this, you can multiply the monthly gross income by the total number of months, which is 12
- Make sure that the amounts mentioned on the pay slip consistent with those present on the tax notice
What about the tax notice?
French tax notices are managed impots.gouv.fr.
To detect fraud in the rental file, you can therefore consult the Concordance between the tax number present on the tax notice provided by the tenant and the tenant registered by the tax authority.
💡 Did you know?
You will also be able to find external databases. In particular, they provide data relating to the social identity of companies, such as statutes, for example.
Tip 2: inquire directly with the tenant
Although often not used due to lack of time, Call the previous owner or The candidate's employer might be a good idea.
Indeed, by contacting the former owner, you can ensure that the candidate paid his rent on time and regularly. Regarding the employer, it is entirely possible to verify that the candidate is indeed employed by the company.
Tip 3: use a documentary anti-fraud solution
Using a documentary anti-fraud solution to combat rental fraud can be very interesting and even necessary.
Indeed, anti-fraud solutions are specially designed to detect false documents, whether they are falsified pay slips, counterfeit tax returns or other fraudulent supporting documents. They allow Save time And ofoptimize controls !
They can also help you comply with legal requirements for verifying tenant documentation.
At Finovox, we provide you with an anti-fraud solution, available in SaaS or API format.
This solution allows businesses to pinpointing And dTo analyze various forms of documentary fraud. Based on artificial intelligence, it analyzes the structure of data, metadata and the consistency of information extracted from documents for accurate and effective detection!
Interested? Contact our experts, they will be happy to provide you with information.
The FAQ around rental file fraud
What is the risk of a tenant who submits falsified documents?
French law severely punishes the transfer of falsified documents.
The fraudster risks being convicted of forgery and the use of forgeries. This act results in a Penalty Of imprisonment able to go up to three years And a amends able to rise at around 45,000€.
If the fraudster is prosecuted for fraud, he faces even greater penalties.
What is the real estate agent's responsibility in rental fraud?
In law, it is said that the real estate agent acts as a writer of acts: he must ensure legal effectiveness. This also means that the real estate agent can be held liable if he makes professional mistakes.
To do this, he must in particular check:
- The quality And the capacity of the various parties (seller, lessor)
- La legal situation of the property (consistency, essential characteristics, etc.)
- The consistency of real estate diagnostics (DPE, termites, etc.)
- La solvency of the tenant
The real estate agent must provide proof that he has made every effort to carry out his mission. To prove this, he must in particular verify the authenticity of the documents provided.
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