Detection starts from a file the applicant controls, and AI-generated pay stubs increasingly pass visual and metadata checks. Source verification removes that contest: income and employment are confirmed in the payroll or bank system itself, so an edited PDF never enters the workflow. Detection still has a place for the documents you genuinely must accept, which is why Burnt labels fallback uploads for separate review.
Fraud prevention
Removing the document removes the fraud.
Document-fraud tools ask leasing teams to judge whether a file is real. Burnt removes the file from income and employment screening: applicants connect their payroll or bank account once, and verified results come back without a pay stub ever changing hands.
No pay stubs. No PDFs. Nothing to forge.
93%
of rental operators experienced application fraud in the past 12 months
NMHC Pulse Survey, 2024
~500%
increase in AI-generated fraudulent documents from April to December 2025
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38%
of property managers found out about fraud only after the renter moved in
TransUnion, 2023Why prevention beats detection.
Document-AI tools accept the upload, then estimate whether it is genuine. Source verification changes the input itself: the data comes from the payroll or bank system, not from a file the applicant prepared.
Nothing left to forge
Fake pay stubs are cheap to buy and AI-edited bank statements pass visual checks. Neither matters in a flow that never asks for the document.
Your ratios, your call
Burnt returns verified income and employment beside criteria you configure, like income-to-rent ratios. It never scores an applicant or recommends a decision; your team makes the call.
Minutes back on every file
No more forensic squints at fonts, pay dates, and bank logos. Verification completes in minutes after the applicant connects, and review time shifts to real exceptions.
Fallback that stays labeled
When a source connection is not possible, the document fallback is marked as unverified context and queued for review, never blended in as source verified.
Pay per screening, not per seat.
One full package covers source-verified income and employment, identity, and partner credit, background, and eviction: $39.99 per applicant, $20 during beta. Sending applications is free, and portfolio terms are custom.
Short answer
How can landlords prevent rental application fraud?
Rental application fraud drops when you stop collecting the documents fraudsters edit: pay stubs, bank statements, and employment letters. Detection tools inspect a file the applicant controls; source verification skips the file and confirms income and employment directly from payroll and bank systems. Burnt does this by having each applicant connect their payroll or bank account once, returning verified results to the property team in minutes, with no screenshot, PDF, or pay stub to forge.
Frequently asked questions.
Send the link.
Guide the renter.
Review one package.
Launch with screening links or talk through a portfolio workflow with the Burnt team.
