Islington Council Recovers £5.9 Million in Prevented Tenancy Fraud Losses

Islington Council has recovered over £5.9 million in prevented fraud loss through its Housing Investigations Team (HIT) in the 2025-2026 financial year, the Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee heard. The team's efforts also led to the recovery of £259,614.52 in unlawful profits and compensation from fraudsters during the same period.

Tenancy fraud is a significant issue, with an estimated 1,300 Islington properties potentially affected. The council's HIT recovered 90 properties during the last financial year, directly contributing to the allocation of these homes to households on the waiting list and reducing the reliance on costly temporary accommodation. This recovery of properties is a key outcome, as 17,000 households are currently on the waiting list and 1,800 are in temporary accommodation.

Councillor Hannah McHugh, Chair of the Homes & Communities Scrutiny Committee, highlighted the importance of tackling tenancy fraud, stating that tackling tenancy fraud is crucial for allocating scarce social housing to those in genuine need.

Types of Tenancy Fraud

The meeting information indicates that several types of tenancy fraud are prevalent in Islington:

• Illegal subletting: This is explicitly mentioned as a criminal offence under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. A pilot data matching exercise with Airbnb is underway to proactively identify illegal short-term subletting. This partnership is described as the first of its kind globally and is expected to be a gamechanger for social housing providers in tackling illegal short-term subletting in our housing stock.
• False succession claims: In one case, a tenant claimed the right to succeed to a tenancy despite living abroad, and the property was also being sublet.
• False Right to Buy applications: An investigation revealed a tenant had moved out and was living elsewhere, while attempting a false Right to Buy application to gain a significant discount, preventing a potential benefit of £136,000.
• Unlawful absence and subletting: A case involved a property being sublet for a significant monthly rent, with the tenant making an estimated £50,000 to £100,000 in unlawful profit.

The team also conducts anti-fraud checks on all succession applications, Right to Buy applications, and non-access gas safety checks.

Identifying and Investigating Fraud

Islington's Housing Investigations Team (HIT) identifies potential tenancy fraud through various channels:

• Referrals: They receive referrals from diverse sources including hotline calls, staff (Councillors, Residents, Housing Officers, Income officers, Housing Needs, Police, Caretakers, Maintenance staff), and mandatory and proactive data matching drives.
• Anti-Fraud Checks: Proactive checks are conducted on all succession applications, Right to Buy applications, and non-access gas safety checks.
• National Fraud Initiative (NFI): The Council participates in this mandatory national data matching exercise, which generates around 2,000 matches every two years for the HIT.
• London Fraud Hub: The Council has joined this initiative, which provides more up-to-date data and opportunities for pilots.
• Airbnb Pilot Initiative: A pilot data matching exercise with Airbnb is underway to proactively identify illegal subletting.
• Housing Association Partnerships: HIT accepts referrals from Housing Association partners, assisting with their investigations in return for nomination rights.
• Targeted Occupancy Audits: In addition to tenancy audits, HIT has conducted targeted occupancy audits, which have already identified cases under investigation.

Potential cases are triaged, and if a concern is raised, they are allocated to an investigator based on priority.

Consequences of Tenancy Fraud

Individuals found guilty of tenancy fraud in Islington can face several consequences:

• Property Recovery: The primary goal is to recover the property for allocation to households in genuine need. In 2025-2026, Islington's Housing Investigations Team (HIT) recovered 90 properties.
• Recovery of Unlawful Profits and Compensation: The team seeks to recover unlawful profits and compensation from offenders. In 2025-2026, the team recovered £259,614.52 in total.

  

• Prosecution: Offenders may face prosecution, particularly for criminal offences such as subletting social property (under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013) or deliberately misleading the Council to obtain a home (under the Fraud Act 2006). A case example shows a fraudster ordered to pay £90,000 in compensation and prosecuted under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act.

Sinem Yanik, Assistant Director of Housing Management, presented the findings, emphasizing that the team is viewed as a national leader in tenancy fraud detection and has provided training to other councils and government departments. The team's proactive approach includes data matching, pilot initiatives like the Airbnb partnership to identify illegal subletting, and targeted occupancy audits.

The average national cost to the taxpayer per detected tenancy fraud equates to £42,000, with this figure rising to approximately £64,000 for London boroughs due to higher temporary accommodation costs. In 2025-2026, the fraud loss value of the 90 properties recovered equated to over £5.7m.

More information on the committee's discussions can be found in the Public reports pack for the Homes and Communities Scrutiny Committee.