Key amnesty to reduce housing fraud

Tenants' Link 01.11.20

Key amnesty to reduce housing fraud

We are holding a ‘key amnesty’ throughout November when tenants breaking the law by subletting their council property have the chance to hand their keys back in order to avoid legal action. The aim is to reclaim council homes that are being illegally sublet so we can ensure they are given to people on our waiting list who are in desperate need of social housing.

We are investing more resources into rooting out housing cheats and have recently recruited two dedicated Tenancy Fraud Officers to investigate and track down people who:

Make illegal profits by subletting their council home to others
Cheat the system by making a fraudulent Right to Buy claim
Try to jump the queue by lying on their housing application (for example by claiming to have children when this is not the case)
Live in a property after someone has died without permission to do so

Usually housing fraud carries serious penalties including a hefty fine or a prison sentence and the prospect of being barred from applying for social housing in the future. But this month’s key amnesty gives housing cheats the opportunity to hand back their keys to their Local Housing Office without facing any further action.

People can simply put the keys in an envelope with the address of the property written on and drop this through the post box of Local Housing Offices in Central, Shirley, Woolston or Thornhill. If you are committing housing fraud this is your last chance to hand back keys anonymously before we find you.

The month-long key amnesty coincides with National Tenancy Fraud week which takes place 15- 21 November to raise awareness of how housing fraud costs the public purse millions and denies people in genuine need out of a home. This is a national initiative and all authorities and agencies have agreed to share data in order to tackle housing fraud.

We also rely on tenants and leaseholders to help us identify incidents of housing fraud. Please contact your Local Housing Office or email us if you have suspicions about anyone in your neighbourhood. You may have seen a tenant moving out, or noticed a property where the occupants seem to change regularly. Maybe you have seen 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.

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