The Tenancy Fraud Forum (TFF) held its annual conference at the BMA in London on Wednesday, 3 October 2018:
The TFF was launched in April 2012 and arose out of a recognition that there was an increasing need for a fraud forum that focused solely on tenancy fraud issues because of the complex law that surrounds such matters, and the requirement for niche investigations. The Executive Committee of TFF is made up of fraud specialists from local authorities and housing associations.
The annual event was as ever well attended and I was privileged to be asked to give the keynote speech, and focused on the need for greater understanding of the extent of fraud ‘in the system’, the litigation tools at the disposal of landlords and the need to consider widening the local authority investigation powers to be found in the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Power to Require Information) (England) Regulations 2014/899 and the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud (Detection of Fraud) (Wales) 2014/826 beyond the suspected fraud and their family.
The lasting impression I got from listening to some excellent speakers on topics such as money laundering, surveillance and right to buy fraud – and speaking to many delegates – was that there was some tremendous work going on in the social housing sector to detect fraud and an increasing cross-working practice in the sector, alongside an acknowledgement that there is a long way to go:
The TFF is a an important organisation led by the brilliant and indefatigable Katrina Robinson MBE…I’m already looking forward to the 2019 Conference!