"I applied; I don't need a tour!"

[James Free]

One of the hallmarks of the COVID era has been rampant unemployment abuse, whereby employers find that large numbers of people apply for jobs even on the other side of the country and don't respond to callbacks because their only real reason for applying is to continue receiving unemployment insurance.

Is there something similar for tenants?

I ask because one of my rentals is coming vacant and since I advertised it for rent on a popular online platform, people have been submitting applications (which costs money!) and then declining when I ask if they want to actually see the property. This seems like foolish behavior and would only make sense to me if there was some sort of government incentive to do it.

Can anyone explain these applicants?

And no, I'm not leasing to any of them; I have better candidates, so no need to derail the thread with advice.