Housing cheat gets the boot

Following an investigation by our Housing Fraud Officers, we discovered the female tenant had been unlawfully subletting her one-bedroom council flat. Not only was she making money illegally, but she was denying a much-needed home to people in genuine housing need on our waiting list.

Our investigators found the tenant was not living at the tenancy address and had in fact purchased another property. Searches showed the names of other people living in her council home over a period of several years. Despite the tenant’s claims that she was continuing to live there, we were able to prove that she was illegally subletting the property and was in breach of her tenancy agreement.

Rather than face prosecution, the tenant returned the keys to us during our recent Key Amnesty. Had the case gone to court, she would have faced a hefty fine and possibly even a prison sentence. Plus, an Unlawful Profit Order would have forced her to pay back the illegal rent money she made.

This is the latest example of how we are working hard to root out housing cheats, allowing us to ensure a genuine eligible applicant from the housing register can now be housed. We’ve saved the public purse around £18,000 with this case alone.

As well as investigating and tracking tenants who sublet their council property to others, we are also cracking down on fraudsters who make fraudulent Right to Buy claims, try to jump the queue by lying on their housing application, or live in a council home without proper permission.

Anyone found guilty of housing fraud faces legal action and the prospect of being barred from applying for social housing in the future.

We also rely on tenants and leaseholders to help us identify incidents of housing fraud. Please contact your Local Housing Office, email us or call our Tenancy Fraud team on 023 8091 7610 if you have suspicions about anyone in your neighbourhood. Have you noticed a property where the occupants seem to change regularly or spotted someone collecting rent from subtenants? If you know of someone who is committing housing fraud, please let us know. All reports will be treated in the strictest confidence and can be made anonymously.