Hammersmith & Fulham (Parliament Politics Magazine) – Hammersmith & Fulham Council’s Anti-Fraud Team busted 26 scammers, preventing over £475,000 in housing fraud tied to illegal subletting schemes.
In one instance, the team was notified that someone was unlawfully subletting their three-bedroom home on Strode Road in Hammersmith & Fulham.
They discovered that the tenant lived in east London and that family members who were residing in the SW6 property had paid rent on their bank bills.
Due to the substantial evidence against them, the renter relinquished the property prior to the court proceedings.
The Anti-Fraud Team has retrieved more than 25 properties in the past year. Families in actual need now reside in each of these.
Cllr Rowan Ree, Cabinet Member for Finance and Reform, said:
‘‘We will not tolerate people exploiting council homes in this way. Our council homes are there to support residents in genuine need. We will not stop in our fight against housing fraudsters as we make H&F a stronger, safer, kinder place.’’
In a different instance, when gas safety inspectors discovered three men residing on the property, they issued an alarm.
The team found bank statements and power bills that demonstrated the tenant had left W14 after relocating to Ethiopia in 2019.
After the matter went to court, the council was able to reclaim the land and donate it to a worthy cause.
Additionally, the team was notified that a renter was subletting their apartment while residing in a Waltham Abbey home they own.
According to the tenant, who denied subletting, his wife was residing in the apartment while he was living in Waltham Abbey following their split.
However, they couldn’t find any proof that one of them was still residing in the Shepherd’s Bush apartment.
They gave up the two-bedroom flat due to the amount of evidence against them.
The team had suspicions that a woman was no longer living in her three-bedroom flat in Shepherd’s Bush.
Their investigation revealed she lived in Surbiton while her daughter lived in the flat.
The council helped the daughter get a one-bedroom property and reallocated the three-bedroom flat to a larger family.
Cllr Frances Umeh, Cabinet Member for Housing and Homelessness commented:
‘‘We’re determined to put fairness at the heart of housing in H&F. We’ll continue rooting out fraud wherever it hides, so that families waiting patiently and rightfully have a safe place to call home.’’
In an effort to lower the risk of fraud, bribery, and corruption, the Anti-Fraud Team looks into suspicious situations.
To combat fraud, the council recently introduced a new program called FRED (Fraud, Error and Recovery Hub).
It investigates cases more quickly by using automation and data-matching.
FRED has already assisted in identifying 70 potential tenancy fraud instances. Tenants who may have moved into care, passed away, or are living somewhere else can be identified by its software.
The National Fraud Initiative also includes H&F. With its ingenious algorithm that can identify anomalous data and indicate possible fraud in real-time, this hub can assist in combating fraud.
How did the Anti-Fraud Team identify and catch the 26 housing scammers?
The operation involved a high-profile campaign encouraging residents to report suspected fraud. One significant case was triggered by a resident’s tip-off after seeing the council’s zero-tolerance campaign in local news.
Investigators monitored properties where the original tenant was not living, often confirmed through physical visits where no one answered doors or suspicious patterns were noted, such as frequent tenant changes or disruptive behavior.
They leveraged government data-sharing initiatives like the National Fraud Initiative, which allows housing associations to share tenant information with local councils to cross-check discrepancies.