The Illegal Money Lending Team - England (IMLT) has published a
Best Practice guide for housing providers interested in protecting
tenants and communities from illegal money lenders. This was
produced under the Stop Loan Sharks initiative.
Loan Sharks are people who lend money without the required
permissions from the Financial Conduct Authority (FSA). The victims
of illegal money lenders are very often tenants - 83% of victims
helped by the ILMT in the first half of 2015 lived in rented
accommodation.
The impact of zero hour contracts, insecure employment and
benefit caps may drive more people into using loan sharks. The Best
Practice guide may help councils develop a strategy to identify and
tackle operations in their area which could:
- Reduce rent arrears.
- Reduce abandoned tenancies.
- Help build a picture of what is going in in the area.
- Tackle financial exclusion.
Download
the IMLT Best Practice guide.
More information on how to report a Loan
Shark.