What is unlawful subletting of social housing?

Social housing is a vital part of our society’s fabric. Our communities across Britain are supported by social tenancies so that people who need extra help can access a proper home.  But what happens when these homes are exploited for personal gain? We find out the truth.

The latest report from the Tenancy Fraud Forum (TFF) completed alongside the Fraud Advisory Panel (FAP) suggests that in England there are approximately 150,000 social housing homes being occupied illegally.¹ The data also demonstrates that 1 in 20 London homes are allegedly subject to tenancy fraud. Outside London, it’s thought the number is 1 in 30.¹ Empirical evidence gathered from a show of hands at numerous HTFI training events prior to the release of the paper suggested from a sample of hundreds of housing offices the figure was also one in 20.

In total, the report states that fraudulent occupation of social housing costs us £155 million of public money, with each property estimated to take £42,000 out of the public purse.² 

As a result, social housing fraud is a significant problem for housing associations, local authorities, the government and for those people looking to find a decent home. Many families are on waiting lists, which are becoming longer and more complex due to housing tenancy fraud.

According to recent government statistics, the housing waiting list in March 2021 had 1.2 million households in the queue for social housing.³ It’s important for housing associations and councils to weed out ineligible applicants so they can focus on those with genuine need and house the families that need housing the most. As a society we should not be turning a blind eye to this supposed victimless crime when the victim’s are clear to see in temporary accommodation while greedy tenants profit from their misery.

What is housing tenancy fraud?

Tenancy fraud is when a social housing property is illegally occupied. This can take a number of forms, such as:

• Subletting to another person who’s not entitled to live there for profit.
• Submitting false information with a tenancy application.
• The property isn’t occupied by the original tenant.
• The property isn’t the primary home.
• Selling the key to another person.

Subletting a social housing property for profit is an example of tenancy fraud and is a crime under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.⁴

The negative impacts of illegal subletting

Social housing is a national asset that we all need to protect and preserve for people who need it now and for generations to come. When there’s not enough social housing available, fraudulent occupation slows down waiting lists.

This means that families entitled to social housing continue to live in temporary accommodation, sometimes miles away from family, community, friends or even people who spean a common language or share a common culture and from essential amenities, such as schools.

As independent specialist investigators, we have come across many examples of unlawful subletting that have damaging effects for those waiting for housing.

Two case studies have come to light recently, bringing into sharp focus the realities of social housing fraud and its negative consequences for everyone involved.

Illegal subletting case study 1

One of our London-based teams uncovered a major social housing fraud in a leafy London suburb. The tenant who had occupancy rights as part of their tenancy agreement decided to sublet the property illegally for a number of years while they lived elsewhere.

This tenant made significant profits on this unlawful subletting scenario. They were only caught out when we investigated and discovered they weren’t living at the property full time.

We supplied the relevant housing association with this information and the original tenant had to pay back substantial sums due to their unlawful profits.

Once this had been resolved, we helped this particular housing association to clarify and strengthen their vetting procedures to support a more robust and evidence-based approach to existing and future tenancy applications.

Illegal subletting case study 2

Another case we have just come across is a really interesting one that reveals just how people use a lack of communication to create illegal profits. In this instance, we discovered a person who claimed to be the tenant in two different social houses they were actually unlawfully subletting.

Unbelievably, they had managed to convince two different housing authorities in two areas that they needed a social housing property. As there wasn’t enough clear communication between the housing associations, information wasn’t shared, and the fraudulent party managed to get away with this for a while.

Once we identified this individual, both housing associations removed the houses and made the fraudulent party pay back the money they had illegally taken. We continue to support this authority with their vetting process and investigations into illegal subletting.

Our work with housing associations

We aren’t just investigators, but offer a range of supportive services for housing associations. We are experienced in helping housing associations with vetting processes and we help protect them from fraud vulnerabilities.

Our protocols help strengthen the social housing vetting process so that we support local authorities and housing associations in avoiding fraudulent actions.

How we can help

Here at HTFI – Housing Tenancy Fraud Investigations, we are a highly skilled team made up of professionals with extensive experience, including ex-police officers, investigators, those with detailed knowledge of the law, housing associations and local authorities in order to deliver social housing fraud prevention.

As a result, we are specialists in the provision of support for social housing providers so that they can accurately identify a wide range of fraudulent situations, such as social housing fraud, housing benefit fraud, illegal subletting, occupancy fraud and false representation of housing needs.

Supporting housing associations and social landlords, the skilled team at HTFI ensure that their properties are being used as the tenants ‘only and principal home’.

We help landlords to regain control of misused properties, enabling them to move genuine would-be tenants off the waiting list.

If you suspect any aspect of social housing fraud or related issues, please get in touch with us.

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References

^{1 https://www.tenancyfraudforum.org.uk/}

^{2 https://www.tenancyfraudforum.org.uk/tenancy-fraud-detection}

^{3 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/national-fraud-initiative-reports/national-fraud-initiative-report-december-2022-html}

^{4 https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2013/3/contents}