Tenancy Fraud

The most common forms of tenancy fraud are –

Unlawful subletting -

  • when a council tenant lets out the whole of their home without our knowledge or permission

Obtaining housing by deception - 

  • when a person is awarded a council home by giving false information in their application

Wrongly claimed succession - 

  • when someone who is not entitled tries to take over the tenancy when a tenant dies

Swapping homes

  • when 2 council tenants swap homes without our consent

We take tenancy fraud seriously

If you have committed social housing fraud, on conviction, you would need to -

  • pay back the profits of unlawful subletting

It is a criminal offence to -

  • sublet the whole of your property
  • part with possession of the property

If you commit tenancy fraud or obtain social housing property by deception –

  • we may take further action by asking the court for possession of your home
  • we have powers of prosecution to act against offenders

Report

Report suspected tenancy fraud of council and housing association properties. You can make a report anonymously.

We will investigate your report. We cannot tell you the result of our investigations due to data protection. 

Report tenancy fraud