Council cracks down on tenancy fraud
03 Feb 2020 ARCHIVED (over 3 months old) - view latest news
Northumberland County Council is joining forces with partners across the region to warn people of the harm caused by tenancy fraud which is depriving families and vulnerable people on housing waiting lists of a home.
The council has teamed up with neighbouring local authorities and social housing providers for Regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week which will run from 3 February, during which the authority will be urging anyone who suspects a case of tenancy fraud to report it.
Tenancy fraud is when a council home is not occupied by the named tenant and it has either been abandoned or sublet, when a home has been obtained by deception or when succession has been wrongly claimed following the death of the lawful tenant.
A social housing tenant must give their landlord the correct notice if they wish to end their tenancy and not leave the property empty or let anyone else live there illegally. This ensures that properties can be re-let quickly to another family in genuine need.
Tenancy fraud is a criminal offence and the council’s fraud team investigates all complaints , which may involve gathering evidence from third parties and visiting tenants or investigating applicants on the housing waiting list to confirm the information given is correct. The council’s fraud team also investigate all right to buy applications to make sure properties are only sold to those entitled to buy them and that the money used to fund the purchase is from a legitimate source. If fraud is uncovered then further action is taken.
Over the past year (18/19), Northumberland County Council received 93 Right To Buy Applications, and as a result of the enhanced verification work 43 of these were withdrawn saving the authority £1,934,155.00 in discounts.
A further five council properties have been recovered due to the tenants being non-resident and as a result of the team’s intervention the keys were returned for the property to be re-let.
Northumberland County Councillor Nick Oliver, cabinet member with responsibility for corporate services said:
“ Tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime and those that commit fraud to gain access to our social housing do so at the expense of those in real need. If you are aware of someone trying to jump the housing waiting list or you are made aware of a property being misused, please let us know about it.”
The North East Tenancy Fraud Forum membership includes registered social landlords and local authorities from across the North East: Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle, Durham, South Tyneside and North Tyneside councils, County Durham Housing Group, Johnnie Johnson, Home Group, North Star, Livin Housing, Gentoo Group, Karbon Homes, The Guinness Partnership and Your Homes Newcastle.
Anyone who suspects any type of tenancy fraud is urged to report it, in complete confidence, to the Northumberland County Council Fraud Hotline on 01670 624359, email fraudline@northumberland.gov.uk