London police probe housing bribery in Barking and Dagenham
Bribes have been used to bypass the long waiting lists for affordable homes, according to the City of London Police, which has now launched an investigation into corrupt housing officers.
Two individuals have been arrested, and police state that "evidence exists" indicating that hundreds of homes have been allocated through fraudulent dealings in the east London borough of Barking and Dagenham.
Officers believe that homes were sometimes sublet by associates of housing officers. Investigators also believe there was blatant advertising on social media offering prospective tenants a way to skip the queue.
The force stated: "As part of this process, prospective tenants paid fraudsters ’finder’s fees’ and inflated rents.
"Some rents were partially paid to the London Borough of Barking and Dagenham Council, and some were not."
The council’s counter-corruption team is assisting in the investigation, stating it follows months of intelligence gathering.
The leader of the council, Dominic Twomey, said: "Every day, our fraud team works behind the scenes, investigating anything from corruption concerns to illegal subletting.
"Ultimately, their job is to ensure public money is being spent appropriately, so I’m really pleased their proactive work has contributed to today’s arrests."
Affordable housing is a system that offers below-market-rate homes to support lower-income households and priority groups, such as those with disabilities.
It is managed by local authorities, which set qualification requirements, such as residency periods and points-based systems to assess housing needs and wait times.
Waiting lists in England have been increasing over decades due to a shortage of social homes.
The latest government figures show the total number of households on the waiting list in 2023-24 was 1,330,611 - a six per cent rise on the year before.
In April, a study by the National Housing Federation found Barking and Dagenham is one of the 50 councils with the longest waiting times - where at current rates, it would take over 15 years for a family joining the back of the queue to be allocated a three-bedroom home.
In these conditions, this issue of corruption is likely to extend beyond one council, housing campaigner Kwajo Tweneboa told Sky News.
"I’ve had people far beyond Barking and Dagenham reach out to me about the exact same issue of corruption, some even saying it’s been going on for decades," he said.
"Let’s be clear, exploiting people who are already suffering, just so individuals in the public sector can line their own pockets, is disgraceful. It has to be exposed and rooted out."
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