The National Fraud Authority (NFA) and the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) today published a blueprint for tackling social housing tenancy fraud, which takes up to 50,000 homes away from low income households and costs the public purse nearly £1 billion per year.

Key recommendations within the report include:

• Provision of specialist investigation teams

• Increased prevention activity

• Data sharing

Government and local authorities have already begun to take to combat unlawful sub-letting, which is a large element of housing tenancy fraud, but these recommendations should form part of a comprehensive multi-layered approach to reducing housing tenancy fraud even further.

The Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) announced today that £20 million would be distributed across local authorities to carry on work combating housing tenancy fraud.

Findings from the report, which are based on a series of workshops with local authorities and registered providers of social housing will help local authorities to use this money in the most cost effective manner to counter-fraud.

During the workshops, NFA found that the local authorities which had dedicated specialist investigation teams had higher levels of success in the recovery of unlawfully held properties. Due to the complexity of the cases and the determination of the fraudsters to conceal their activity, specialist investigators have more success in uncovering fraud than teams which relied on general housing officers to do this work.

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It also found that fraud prevention activity is critical. Those authorities who photographed new tenants and carried out credit checks as part of their due diligence before issuing housing places were better able to prevent and deter fraud.

Another crucial factor in fraud reduction is the ability and willingness of councils to share information, for example on existing tenancies and waiting lists with other bodies, such as housing associations. As part of this to ensure the quality of the supplied data, the NFA is currently working with Government to set up standard contracts for councils to agree with credit reference agencies, at standard prices, to lower the costs of using their services.

Dr Bernard Herdan, CEO, National Fraud Authority said: “Social housing is a valuable national asset which must be protected to provide homes for those who need them the most. In a time where demand is outstripping supply, it is imperative we tackle the fraudsters denying low income families access to proper accommodation.

“The NFA is dedicated to working with Government and local authorities to reduce the impact fraud has on the public sector and more specifically, the impact it has on society.”

Sarah Webb, CIH Chief Executive said: "Unlawful subletting and occupation of scarce affordable housing is worse than theft and means that some families are missing out on a decent, affordable home and all that this can bring. The new recommendations will give local authorities practical guidance to support them to clamp down on these unlawful practices.

“A new national action team announced today by Grant Shapps will be based at CIH. The team will also support social landlords and housing professionals to tackle unlawful subletting and to make the most of their existing housing stock.”

Joanne Kent-Smith, Senior Policy and Practice Officer at CIH, said: “In market areas where private rents are significantly higher than social rents the risk of unlawful subletting increases. Substantial profits can be made, particularly in situations involving organised criminal activity. Social landlords should therefore have robust processes in place to ensure the tenants they believe are residing in their properties really are.”

(GK)