Landlords are heading into 2026 squeezed from both sides. Operating costs are at all-time highs just as renters face record financial strain: recent Harvard and Census data suggest roughly half of U.S. renter households—more than 22 million—are cost‑burdened, spending at least 30% of income on housing.¹ ² Another analysis finds that about 65% of working‑age renters are struggling to afford basic expenses after paying rent.³
That financial strain is visible in rent performance. In independently owned rentals, late‑payment rates rose from 8.8% in mid‑2024 to 11.7% by June 2025, even though total collections stayed roughly flat.⁴ Consumer delinquencies on credit cards and auto loans have climbed back toward Great Financial Crisis levels, signaling thinner financial cushions for many households.⁵ For landlords, that means even if collections look stable today, rising financial strain on individual renters could begin to show up as more late, partial, or missed payments in 2026, so it’s smart to plan for more volatility rather than assume current performance will hold.
At the same time, the downside of a mistake is getting larger. Landlord and property insurance premiums have increased by around 8% on average since 2021, with some states seeing jumps above 20%.⁶ Eviction filings in tracked jurisdictions topped one million cases in 2024.⁷
Why standard screening feels shakier
Most independent landlords still lean on the familiar toolkit: a credit score cutoff, an income multiple (often 3x rent), and an online background check. Those tools rarely capture today’s mix of variable gig income, heavy consumer borrowing, and higher non‑housing expenses. An applicant who clears your income rule can still be stretched thin if they are juggling maxed‑out cards and an expensive car loan.
What a “bad approval” really costs
Approving the wrong renter can wipe out a year’s profit on a unit–or more–even when the renters technically “pass” your criteria. Industry estimates put a typical eviction around $3,500 in legal fees, court costs, and lost rent, with the process often taking several months, at the least.⁸ Once you add turnover, repairs, and vacancy, the total hit can easily run into five figures for a single unit.
A tighter, still‑simple screening playbook for 2026
You don’t need an institutional underwriting desk; you need a sharper checklist and a bit of extra protection:
Focus on resilience, not just income. Verify recent pay stubs or bank statements and look at total obligations (credit cards, auto, student loans) alongside gross income. For example, a renter with modest debt and a small cash buffer is often safer than a higher earner living paycheck to paycheck.⁵
Instead of relying on verbal landlord references—which are hard to verify and easy for a determined applicant to spoof—tighten history checks with data. Use full credit reports to see how they’ve handled obligations over time, and layer in income and employment verification through services that tap payroll and employer databases (for example, The Work Number) so you’re confirming ability to pay directly from the source, not from whatever is typed on an application. A consistent record of on‑time payments across credit accounts, plus verified income that comfortably supports the rent, is one of the strongest signals you can get and much more reliable than a single phone call.
Fraud checks should now be a standard part of that process. Document‑editing tools and AI have made it cheap and simple for applicants to generate realistic‑looking fake pay stubs, bank statements, and IDs, which means “eyeballing” documents is no longer enough. One large fraud‑detection provider, Snappt, found that 6.4% of rental applications it reviewed in 2024—more than 80,000 cases—contained manipulated documents, and industry surveys show application fraud up around 40% in just a year.⁹ For independent landlords, using document‑screening platforms (such as Snappt) that scan uploads for signs of tampering and identity mismatches can weed out a meaningful share of bad applications before they ever become non‑paying tenants.
Add structure and protection. Put your minimum standards for credit, income, and prior evictions on a single page and apply the same rubric to every applicant. For borderline cases—strong history and current income but limited savings—pair that rubric with third‑party risk‑mitigation tools that can cover lost rent or legal costs if things go wrong.
Even the best renters can experience unexpected life events—job loss, health issues, or breakups—that can disrupt rent payments and your ability to meet your mortgage payments. Consider pairing your screening with TheGuarantors’ lease guarantee, a product that allows you to say yes to renters with confidence and minimize financial loss due to missed rent payments, vacancy, skips, no-shows and more. It’s free for independent landlords, property owners, and managers. The renter applicant pays the policy fee to access the home of their choice, while you retain the coverage you need against potential financial risk.
Approving the wrong renter with too little downside protection can be more dangerous than leaving a unit vacant. A streamlined, data‑aware screening process, backed by risk‑sharing tools, can cut surprises and help keep your rental income steadier without turning your property into a second full‑time job.
Footnotes
Harvard Joint Center for Housing Studies, The State of the Nation’s Housing 2025 (via National Low Income Housing Coalition summary, June 2025).
U.S. Census Bureau, “Nearly Half of Renter Households Are Cost‑Burdened,” Sept. 12, 2024 (data for 2023).
Investopedia, summarizing Harvard JCHS analysis: 65% of working‑age renters struggle to afford basic living costs after rent (2025).
Credaily, “Late Rent Trends Show Financial Strain Among US Renters,” showing late payments in independently owned rentals rising from 8.8% to 11.7% between mid‑2024 and June 2025.
Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, “A Note on Recent Dynamics of Consumer Delinquency Rates,” FEDS Notes, Nov. 24, 2025.
Steadily, “Where Landlord Insurance Premiums Are Rising Nationwide,” and related federal research on rising insurance costs for apartment buildings, 2025.
Princeton University Eviction Lab, “Preliminary Analysis: Eviction Filing Patterns in 2024,” reporting just over one million eviction cases in tracked jurisdictions.
YourLandlordResource.com, “How Much Do Evictions Actually Cost Landlords?” 2025 estimate of average eviction cost and timelines.
Snappt 2024 Fraud Report: Data, Trends, and Strategies for 2025
