The Tenancy Fraud Forum, in partnership with the London Boroughs Fraud Investigators Group, G15 housing associations, and funded by the Counter Fraud Professional Awards Board, have published a new report, Tenancy Fraud London 2025, learning the lessons.
The report focuses on tenancy fraud detection by both London boroughs and, for the first time ever, housing associations, identifying the barriers and the actions needed to recover more homes from tenancy fraudsters. Lessons that are equally applicable to every region in England and nations across the UK.
London has historically taken a leading role in the fight against tenancy fraud and boroughs continue to be effective. However, the report highlights the generally detrimental impact on tenancy fraud detections by London boroughs in the last 10 years arising from central government policy, reduced funding and declining transparency over the last ten years on recovery of homes from tenancy fraudsters by London boroughs.
Where housing associations have invested in tackling this type of fraud, they have been at least as effective as the better London boroughs in detecting it. However, the research concludes that this commitment to tackling tenancy fraud is far from universal across housing associations and demonstrates that there is more that London social housing providers can do to recover homes for those in genuine need and genuine entitlement.
London boroughs are facing severe financial pressures and London has the most homeless families in temporary accommodation across England. Both are driven, in part, by tenancy fraud (often called social housing fraud). Tackling tenancy fraud more effectively will not solve London’s housing crisis alone nor address public sector funding shortfalls but can play an important part in how they are resolved.
Alan Bryce, Tenancy Fraud Forum Non-Executive Director, and author of the report says:
“There are nearly 50,000 tenancy frauds in London. Tackling this type of fraud is quicker and more cost effective than building the new homes needed to accommodate the approximately 70,000 London families in temporary accommodation or the over 300,000 families on the London housing waiting list. We call on the Regulator of Social Housing to provide leadership in this fight against tenancy fraud. Our research also found a very quick and effective way for over 1,000 London social homes to be made available for those in genuine need - by the short term, online holiday letting platforms such as Air BnB and Booking.com adopting basic fraud prevention practices before advertising properties on their web sites and sharing information to support the recovery of homes from fraudsters. That they seem reluctant to do so, putting profit before communities, is to the detriment of all Londoners”.
The lessons and recommendations in this report are as equally applicable to every English region and other UK nations. We encourage others to replicate this research.
For further information on the data collection survey that underpins this research, including a copy of the survey questions, please contact admin@tenancyfraudforum.org.uk