A county council says that old and new methods are helping it free social housing homes for those in genuine need.
In the last nine months, Wiltshire Council’s corporate investigation team have focused on tenancy fraud, including illegal subletting and abandonment. Through tenancy profiling software and information from the public, 15 properties have been regained, six of which belong to the council. These properties have been offered to applicants on the housing waiting list.
A council property in Bemerton Heath, Salisbury was handed back to the landlord Wiltshire Council when investigators found that the tenant had not been resident for a number of years. The tenant had been living with his partner elsewhere and had sublet his one-bed flat to his friend. When challenged, the tenant surrendered his keys to the council and terminated his tenancy.
Cases of this nature can be taken to criminal prosecution as offences have been committed under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. Anyone who is found guilty of illegally subletting parts or the whole of their home could be fined up to £50,000, receive a criminal record and could be sent to prison upon conviction.
The main tool for the identification and detection of the tenancy fraud is through the use of tenancy profiling software from Housing Partners called ‘Insight.’ This flags up where council properties may be occupied by someone other than the council tenant or that the tenant may be living elsewhere. Using this intelligence, further investigations are carried out to gather evidence to determine the facts and take appropriate action.
Dick Tonge, Wiltshire’s cabinet member for finance said: “Although technology is an effective tool to help identify fraud, we still need people to let us know if they suspect fraud is happening almost half of the fraud cases investigated have started with tip-offs from the public.”
Visit: http://housingpartners.co.uk/.
Picture by Mark Rowe; Stonehenge.
