Housing Fraud

 

What is housing fraud?

There are different types of housing fraud; here are some of the most common:

Unlawful subletting

When a tenant lets out their housing association home without the knowledge or permission of their landlord they are unlawfully subletting.

They often continue to pay the rent for the property directly to their Landlord, but charge the person they are subletting to a much higher rate. It is not fair to sublet and to profit from a property which could be given to someone in greater need.

Obtaining housing by deception

When a person gets a housing association home by giving false information in their application, for example, not telling the landlord they are renting another housing association property, they are committing housing fraud.

Wrongly claimed succession

When a tenant dies, they are rules that say what should be done with the tenancy. Wrongly claimed succession is when someone, who is not entitled, tries to take over the tenancy. For example, they might say they lived with the tenant before they died, when in fact they were living elsewhere.

What can you do to help?

Your help in reporting housing fraud is important because you can see what’s going on in your neighbourhood.

• You might know that somebody has a home the landlord doesn’t know about or has given false information in their housing application
• You might suspect someone of housing fraud having seen them collect rent from your neighbours
• You might be suspicious because the tenants of a property keep changing

If you suspect someone is a housing cheat, let your landlord know. It could make a real difference.