Housing fraudster gets their just desserts

After the Local Housing Office received an anonymous tip off about a flat in the west of the city, we set to work investigating allegations of housing fraud.Our searches showed that the flat was being unlawfully sublet and the person living there was not the official occupant. The original tenant who had applied for council housing was in fact living elsewhere and making a profit from renting out their council address. Not only were they in breach of their tenancy agreement and making money illegally, but they were denying a council home to those in genuine need on the waiting list.

In cases like this where we find evidence of housing fraud, we not only reclaim the property, but we can take the culprit to court where they will face a hefty fine or even a prison sentence. Housing fraudsters also face the prospect of being barred from applying for social housing in the future.

In this instance, the housing cheat was offered the opportunity to return the keys to us straight away rather than go to court. Had we taken legal action, we would have looked to issue an ‘unlawful profit order’ which would have required the tenant to repay us every penny made in illegal rent.

This is just one of the latest success stories for our Tenancy Fraud Team who are now looking to take future cases to court, where housing fraudsters will face the full force of the law.

As well as investigating and tracking tenants who sublet their council property, 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.

We 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.