In April 2026, NAFN met with Chris Keesing, Head of Counter Fraud & Investigations at the City of London Corporation, to discuss the organisation’s experience using the Social Housing Tenancy Verification (SHTV) service. The City Corporation has recovered £120,000 in social housing, highlighting the growing value of structured data‑matching in helping authorities identify tenancy fraud and protect valuable housing stock.
“We utilise NAFN services across numerous departments here at the City of London Corporation, with significant use in supporting our investigations into social housing tenancy fraud. The City Corporation owns and manages social housing across seven London Boroughs and our collaboration with NAFN to utilise powerful credit reference agency data to tackle fraud across our social housing estates, at a significantly lower cost than previous exercises with other providers, was an easy decision.
The data is returned for investigation swiftly and provides analysis of mortgage data, deceased records, alternative addresses and subject links. The sift between very high risk, high risk and medium and low risk allows my tenancy fraud specialists to easily focus on the most urgent cases and I am delighted with the outcomes secured to date.”
A targeted approach to tenancy fraud
The City Corporation manages more than 2,000 homes across seven London boroughs, including high‑value properties in prime central London locations. With a small team and increasing pressure on social housing, officers needed a more efficient way to identify tenancy fraud risks and ensure homes were occupied by those legitimately entitled to them.
Manual checks could only go so far and high‑value properties overlooking Tower Bridge and the Thames were particularly vulnerable to unlawful subletting. The SHTV service provided a structured, data‑driven approach to prioritise investigations and protect housing stock.
Key findings from the verification exercise
The City Corporation submitted a full housing tenancy list (2000+), enabling a complete review of their social housing tenanted properties. The SHTV service categorised all properties into Very High, High, Medium and Low Risk, giving the team a clear starting point.
Key insights included:
- 14 Very High‑Risk properties identified
- 6 deceased tenants flagged, including one previously unknown
- Indicators of undisclosed mortgages
- Links between individuals and multiple addresses
- Evidence suggesting tenants may be living elsewhere
All results were cross‑checked with National Fraud Initiative matches to validate findings.
Operational benefits
The risk‑based outputs enabled significant time savings by allowing officers to focus on the highest‑risk cases first. One officer could lead on Very High‑Risk cases while housing officers carried out tenancy checks, helping embed a stronger fraud‑aware culture within the team. The clear, well‑structured outputs also ensured the workload remained manageable despite limited staff capacity.
Strong value for money
The City Corporation had previously paid approximately £1 per unit for a similar tool. NAFN’s 31p‑per‑line pricing represented a substantial saving and enabled a full tenancy list to be checked cost‑effectively.
As of March 2026:
- 2 properties recovered, worth £119,252
- 4 further tenancies under active investigation
- 6 deceased tenants flagged (1 previously unknown)
This activity delivered a strong return on investment – for every £1 spent, social housing tenancy fraud valued at approximately £178 was identified. Given the low cost and high financial return, the service delivered strong value for money.
Supporting fair and lawful allocation
The City Corporation’s experience demonstrates the benefits of combining local knowledge with structured data‑matching tools. The Experian verification service provided through NAFN helped the team focus their efforts, protect valuable housing stock and support fair and lawful allocation across their properties.
For more information on how to utilise Experian’s SHTV tool through NAFN, or to be sent the full case study, please contact: membership@nafn.gov.uk