We are working together to prevent, detect and stop housing fraud

Did you know it’s International Fraud Awareness Week from Sunday 17 November 2024 to Saturday 23 November 2024? In April 2023, a report by the Tenancy Fraud Forum and Fraud Advisory Panel estimated that 148,000 social housing homes in England are fraudulently occupied which is equivalent to a town the size of Middlesbrough. This puts a huge strain on local councils, leaving many people on lengthy housing waiting lists and increasing the risks of people becoming homeless because homes are not available to those who need them.

Throughout the year our Tenancy Officers and the council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team (CAFT) work together to prevent and detect housing fraud that happens at the expense of the council, borough and the wider community. This is to make sure public funds go to those who genuinely need it. 

Between 1 April and November 2024, the council has achieved the following results:

• Recovered 37 properties where there’s an allegation of tenancy fraud. 
• Prevented 10 illegal housing succession applications. 
• Pursued 43 properties which are awaiting civil legal court action, including 9 properties are awaiting eviction.
• Stopped five fraudulent Right-to-Buy applications, with a total discount value of £682,000. 

Recent success includes where we found one tenant owned and lived in her own home, while illegally subletting her two-bedroom social rented home and claiming housing benefit and council tax reduction. We took her to court, were awarded possession of the property, and have since re-let the home to a family in need, who were previously in temporary accommodation.

In another case, we conducted checks on a Right to Buy (RTB) application to purchase the tenants council property and found that the property was being sublet and that the tenant lived with their partner in a property they owned. The tenant was interviewed under caution and agreed they had been subletting their council property and had provided false income. The tenant gave back the keys to the property and the RTB application was stopped.

Cllr Ahsan Khan, Deputy Leader and Cabinet Member for Housing and Regeneration, said: 

Waltham Forest Council takes the allegations of fraud extremely seriously and is committed to preventing, detecting and thoroughly investigating any fraud, corruption and dishonesty. Combatting housing fraud is high on our agenda, making sure that homes are made available for those who genuinely need them. These positive outcomes are the testament to the hard work of our diligent CAFT and Tenancy Officers working together to ensure that the people who live in our properties are the lawful tenants.

There are many different types of housing fraud, such as unlawful subletting, housing application fraud, wrongful succession, abandonment and Right to Buy. Some cases are deliberate and committed purely for profit, while others occur when family or friends try to help each other out through bypassing application processes or providing misleading information. 

Every unlawfully sublet council property deprives a genuine Waltham Forest housing applicant the chance of a home. Help us stamp it out. If you have a genuine suspicion that a council property is being used for fraudulent activity, you can report this anonymously to a member of our Corporate Anti-Fraud Team by using the link below.