Tenancy Fraud

What is tenancy fraud?  

Tenancy fraud is when a tenant provides false information to gain a property, sublets the property to someone else, or does not use the property as their only or main home.  

  There are many types of tenancy fraud, including:  

  • ‘Social Housing Fraud’ is defined as a tenant, who in breach of a term of their tenancy sub-lets the whole of the property and no longer resides at the property    

  • Unlawful Occupation where someone seeks to occupy a property without consent  

  • Subletting or key selling where tenants try to obtain an unlawful gain  

  • Obtaining a property by deception or fraud through the local allocations process  

  • Obtaining tenancies by deception or misrepresenting housing need to obtain greater priority for housing  

  • Unlawful subletting  

  • Succession and assignment fraud – misrepresenting circumstances to meet the legal criteria in place to succeed to a tenancy previously held by another family member  

  • Key selling – where the tenant moves out and is paid to hand over the tenancy to someone else  

  • Right to Buy/Acquire – falsely claiming the Right to Buy/Acquire and associated discounts because of misrepresenting who lives in the property  

  • Not using the property as the only or main home  

  • Not notifying when the tenant dies or moves out

Investigating ‘Social Housing Fraud’

Where ‘Social Housing Fraud’ (as defined in the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013) is suspected we will work with other agencies including but not limited to, the Police, Local Authorities and the Department of Work and Pensions. 

We will request that the Police/Local Authorities pursue prosecution of such cases in line with the Act. Prosecution of the offender with a request for an ‘unlawful profit order’ to be obtained as appropriate, in line with the provisions of the Act.

If investigations find sufficient evidence that tenancy fraud has occurred or the tenant has sub-let the whole of the tenancy, we will seek possession of the property in line with our breach of tenancy procedure.

In cases where the tenant has sub-let the whole of the property and moved out a notice to quit would be served. Possession proceedings would then be instigated once the notice to quit has expired to gain vacant possession of the property.