Experian Public Sector said without any effective data sharing between social housing providers, housing benefit fraud has become more widespread than thought.
A UK-wide data sharing initiative has been launched by Experian Public Sector to detect fraudsters claiming social housing from several local authorities or housing associations.
Its scheme will share data checks between all social housing providers and issue fraud alerts to help providers prioritize high risk cases and speed up investigations.
The service will cross match tenancy and waiting and temporary accommodation lists for evidence of the same tenant or co-occupant being resident in other providers’ housing.
Nick Mothershaw, director of identity and fraud at Experian UK and Ireland, said: “Too many fraudsters have been able to play the system by applying for and obtaining many social homes from different providers.
“Our experience suggests multiple tenancy fraud is more widespread than previously thought and until we have conducted proper analysis across all providers the full scale of it will remain unknown and continue unchecked.”
The London Borough of Hammersmith & Fulham supports the initiative, with Councillor Johnson saying: “Analysis of our own tenancy lists has detected a significant level of fraud, with unlawful subletting evident in as many as one in 20 homes.
“But this is only part of the picture and we believe much more can be achieved nationally through a joint approach with other UK social housing providers.”
