Council cracks down on tenancy fraud
Councils and housing providers across the North East of England are joining forces to fight social housing fraud, which is depriving families and vulnerable people getting the homes they need.
Six councils and nine social housing providers, including Gateshead Council, are working together to run Regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2023, from 9 to 13 October.
We are urging anyone who suspects a case of tenancy fraud to report it in confidence so that further checks can be made.
Members of the forum work year-round to tackle suspected social housing fraud. Collectively, in 2022-23 they recovered 69 properties which were the subject of suspected fraudulent activity. The homes were then used to house people in genuine need of a home.
Amy Hodgson, chair of the regional North East Tenancy Fraud Forum, said:
"The National Tenancy Fraud Forum calculate that the average cost to the taxpayer per detected tenancy fraud in the UK is £42,000 per property. This means that during the financial year 2022 to 2023, with the help of our residents, our fraud teams have been able to save the region £2.9 million (based on the national average).
A further 144 Right to Buy and Right to Acquire sales have been stopped through enhanced verification and anti-money laundering checks, saving the region an additional £5.4 million in discounts".
Tenancy fraud occurs when a council home is not occupied by the named tenant or is sublet, when a home has been obtained by deception, or when succession has been wrongly claimed following the death of the lawful tenant.
Councillor John Adams said:
"If you have a suspicion about a property near you or have noticed a house that has been abandoned for some time please get in touch. There is a possibility this could be for a genuine reason, but abandonment is one of the most common cases of tenancy fraud that we deal with, and our officers will investigate the circumstances."
James Mackie, Vice-Chair of the North East Tenancy Fraud Forum said: "Tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime and those that commit fraud and lie to gain access to our social housing do so at the expense of those in very real and genuine need.
"We take housing fraud very seriously and we will fully investigate every report of illegal subletting and tenancies obtained by deception. It is completely unfair that residents in desperate need of housing cannot have a home because of others abusing the system.
"If you are aware of someone trying to improve their position on the housing application list register by giving false information, or you are made aware of a property being misused, it is really important that you please let us know about it."
Anyone who suspects any type of tenancy fraud is urged to report it, in complete confidence, by contacting their local council's fraud team or the housing association who manage the property. Contact details are available on their websites and social media.
If you suspect something, make an immediate note of your concerns and report them using the fraud reporting form. You can also phone 0191 433 2805 or email fraudreporting@gateshead.gov.uk
Councils and housing providers across the North East of England are joining forces to fight social housing fraud, which is depriving families and vulnerable people getting the homes they need.
Six councils and nine social housing providers, including Gateshead Council, are working together to run Regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2023, from 9 to 13 October.
We are urging anyone who suspects a case of tenancy fraud to report it in confidence so that further checks can be made.
Members of the forum work year-round to tackle suspected social housing fraud. Collectively, in 2022-23 they recovered 69 properties which were the subject of suspected fraudulent activity. The homes were then used to house people in genuine need of a home.
Amy Hodgson, chair of the regional North East Tenancy Fraud Forum, said:
"The National Tenancy Fraud Forum calculate that the average cost to the taxpayer per detected tenancy fraud in the UK is £42,000 per property. This means that during the financial year 2022 to 2023, with the help of our residents, our fraud teams have been able to save the region £2.9 million (based on the national average).
A further 144 Right to Buy and Right to Acquire sales have been stopped through enhanced verification and anti-money laundering checks, saving the region an additional £5.4 million in discounts".
Tenancy fraud occurs when a council home is not occupied by the named tenant or is sublet, when a home has been obtained by deception, or when succession has been wrongly claimed following the death of the lawful tenant.
Councillor John Adams said:
"If you have a suspicion about a property near you or have noticed a house that has been abandoned for some time please get in touch. There is a possibility this could be for a genuine reason, but abandonment is one of the most common cases of tenancy fraud that we deal with, and our officers will investigate the circumstances."
James Mackie, Vice-Chair of the North East Tenancy Fraud Forum said: "Tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime and those that commit fraud and lie to gain access to our social housing do so at the expense of those in very real and genuine need.
"We take housing fraud very seriously and we will fully investigate every report of illegal subletting and tenancies obtained by deception. It is completely unfair that residents in desperate need of housing cannot have a home because of others abusing the system.
"If you are aware of someone trying to improve their position on the housing application list register by giving false information, or you are made aware of a property being misused, it is really important that you please let us know about it."
Anyone who suspects any type of tenancy fraud is urged to report it, in complete confidence, by contacting their local council's fraud team or the housing association who manage the property. Contact details are available on their websites and social media.
If you suspect something, make an immediate note of your concerns and report them using the fraud reporting form. You can also phone 0191 433 2805 or email fraudreporting@gateshead.gov.uk
