Some landlords are using AI to screen rental applications. Here are some dos and don'ts to avoid rejection
- Artificial intelligence is being used to process applications more quickly and spot fraud
- Be sure to format your documents correctly and ensure names and addresses match up
Computers are better than humans at spotting subtle tells in falsified documents according to a founder of a digital tenant screening platform.
iStock
As artificial intelligence becomes more powerful, some New York landlords are using AI tools to automate their review of rental applications.
Instead of tasking a human leasing agent with poring over income documents and pulling credit reports, some property owners have turned to new digital platforms like OneApp and VERO so they can process applications more quickly or better detect fraud.
Computers are better than humans at spotting discrepancies or subtle tells in falsified documents, according to Steve Carroll, founder of digital tenant screening platform Findigs.
Still, Carroll said that even when an application is flagged for potential fraud, his platform won’t decline that applicant without a human’s involvement.
“Some of these things can happen really innocently. You can mistype information, you can include the wrong document,” he said. “We want the models to be very sensitive to those things, but we also don't want to shut people out because of honest mistakes that they could be making.”
Even with those safeguards, rental applicants should set themselves up for success by gathering all documents ahead of time or bringing supporting paperwork like a landlord reference letter or a pet resume to tours.
Here are some specific tips from experts about how to make your rental application more AI-friendly.
Check for consistency
A good starting point is making sure that your sources of identification are consistent, according to Joe Ben-Zvi, founder of OneApp, a product that uses various data sources to verify a tenants identity, income, assets and employment.
“Phenomenal renters who don't have phenomenal documents unfortunately fall into a bucket that looks like fraud,” Ben-Zvi said.
Making sure your application doesn’t raise any alarms starts with checking the most basic information first: your name. You should make sure your legal name on your government identification is an exact match with your name on employment documents and bank statements.
Many New Yorkers use driver’s licenses or state IDs with older addresses, another possible trouble spot. Be sure to update your address on your records ahead of applying for apartments.
It’s also a good idea to do a check for other potential inconsistencies across your documents, according to Brian Hourigan, senior managing director at BOND New York, which offers consulting services to renters to help improve their applications.
"If you’re an applicant with either non-traditional or multiple sources of income—like a consultant, gig worker, or independent contractor—you should submit pay stubs which verify earnings that align with the amount of income reported on your tax return or are reflected in other available public records,” Hourigan said.
Consider other public information
Some AI platforms that review applications might pull in data from publicly available sources, including your social media profiles. You should check for any possible inconsistencies between your social media presence and your rental application.
For example, if you recently started a new job, update your LinkedIn to include the new position so it matches the pay stubs you submit.
Be wary of posting Instagram photos of wild parties or TikTok videos of loud pets that might give a landlord pause. That’s especially true for younger renters who don’t have long rental histories or landlord references.
“You want to have a social media presence that portrays you as both an upstanding citizen and a model prospective member of the building community,” Hourigan said.
Pay attention to formatting
Make sure your documents are in formats that are accessible (not password protected!) and easy for either a human or a computer to read. Don’t use complicated formatting and be sure to follow any directions.
"Prospective tenants should curate their application to be as easily digestible as possible, so the AI doesn’t flag perceived discrepancies,” Hourigan said.
Ben-Zvi added that you should submit documents separately instead of merging them into a single file, since some automated systems could interpret that change as a doctored document.
“You’re repackaging your document. And repackaging is indistinguishable in the metadata of the file as being altered,” he said.
Use original copies of files that you download on a desktop computer, not your phone. Always scan documents or use downloads instead of taking photos of documents, since a photo of a document provides no forensic fingerprint for a computer to track.
Understand your credit history
Sometimes renters habitually freeze their credit cards to prevent identity theft or fraud. Make sure to unfreeze them before submitting a rental application so a machine—or a human—can pull your credit reports from the various agencies, Ben-Zvi suggested.
You should understand your credit history and be able to explain any fluctuations, including a high credit balance, or dates when your rent payments went out on regular dates of the month.
Because the 2019 New York State rent reforms prevent landlords from using applicants’ past evictions against them, landlords may look for signals that someone’s rental history is spotty. Being able to account for anything that looks troubling from the outside will help you avoid being unfairly flagged as a risky tenant.
