There’s a claim that criminal gangs may be behind substantial council and private rental fraud.
According to a story provided by the Local Democracy Reporting Service and run by the BBC, “hundreds” of Barking and Dagenham council-owned homes could have been fraudulently allocated by “corrupt housing officers for personal gain”.
The City of London police force is investigating the problem.
The Labour-controlled council says the investigation is solely linked to properties operated by a private housing company owned by the authority itself.
A Labour councillor quoted in the report claims some people used false documents to apply for homes. Some others using legitimate documents, had “the sole intention of using that property for various things other than living there” including putting properties on Airbnb.
The councillor continues: “If they’re being used for every possible criminal use, it suggests to me that we’re heading down the route of organised crime here.
“You see it with private tenanted properties – some of them turn up, they’re being used as cannabis farms. Some of them are being used for illicit uses as well – completely unethical and immoral uses.”
A representative of the City of London Police’s Domestic Corruption Unit (DCU) says inquiries are ongoing and “focused on identifying the key players involved”.
“Investigations into large-scale fraud are complex and can take time, particularly where there are many individuals and large volumes of material to examine” he tells the BBC.
You can see the story in full here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cddg3830nr3o
This article is taken from Landlord Today