Trust your instincts – Tenancy fraud

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Tenancy fraud is when someone lies or cheats to get or keep a home they’re not entitled to.

A report by the Tenancy Fraud Forum and Fraud Advisory Panel estimated that 148,000 social housing homes in England are fraudulently occupied which is equivalent to a town the size of Middlesbrough. This puts a huge strain on local authorities, leaving many people on lengthy housing waiting lists and increasing the risks of people becoming homeless because homes are not available to those who need them.

Types of social housing tenancy fraud (as defined by the Tenancy Fraud Forum) include:

  • Subletting – This occurs when a resident sublets part or the whole of a home even if that is to a family member without profit.
  • Non-occupation by resident as their principal home & abandonment – Where the resident stops using their tenancy as their main or principal home, allowing another person to live there without permission, or, to move out and leave it empty without telling the landlord is also tenancy fraud as it’s failing to notify them of a change in circumstances.
  • Misrepresentation – If a person a lie in order to be granted a home or to be transferred to a larger home, then they are misrepresenting facts and this is a criminal offence which can lead to a prison sentence and or a fine.
  • Wrongly claimed succession – When a resident dies and a person claims the right to succeed by saying they have lived there for the required period when they in fact haven’t.
  • Unauthorised assignment – Unlawfully passing the home to a relative or friend
  • Joint tenancy fraud – The scenario is usually when a sole resident says that their partner has moved in and they would like to be joint tenants with that person. As soon as the joint tenancy is created, the original resident moves out which means the remaining resident (who often wouldn’t be regarded as having a social need) remains in the home alone.
  • Benefit fraud – This could be claiming government benefits to which you are not entitled, either by providing false information or failing to report a change in your circumstances. Examples include not declaring work, a partner moving in, or undeclared savings. It could also be where a false tenancy agreement is created to claim housing benefits.

To ensure that we can provide homes to those who need them, we may visit your home to carry out a tenancy audit. You can find out more about here. You can also use the form on this page anonymously to report tenancy fraud to us.

Here are some recent case studies

Tenancy agreement fraud




This case started when West Suffolk Council’s Housing Options team got in touch with us.

They had received a support request for someone who was going to be evicted from their home and they needed help looking at alternative options.

When we spoke to our resident, they claimed to own the home themselves. Further checks revealed that they had drawn up their own tenancy agreement and were subletting the home to someone else. This had been going on since their starter tenancy began.

To make sure we had a clear picture of what had happened, the case was referred to the Anglia Revenues Partnership (ARP). Their investigation uncovered a wealth of evidence showing exactly how the sublet had been set up, arranged and managed. The resident was then invited to an interview under caution with ARP and their housing officer.

Following this, ARP were instructed to begin criminal proceedings on our behalf for tenancy fraud. The case was taken to the Magistrates’ Court, where the resident pleaded guilty to the offence and was convicted under Section 2(1) of the Fraud Act 2006.

They were ordered to pay a fine of £615 (increased as an alternative to a community order), £250 towards costs, and a £246 victim surcharge. This totalled £1,111, to be repaid at £50 per month with the first payment due within 14 days.

From the first report through to the conclusion of the investigation, the whole process took 15 months. It was a complex case, but a strong example of how partnership working and thorough investigation can lead to a fair and just outcome.

Subletting and benefit fraud




This case first came to light when a resident told us that they had been subletting their home to a family member. The family member was refusing to leave the home and the resident had been staying elsewhere, but they now wanted to end their tenancy with us.

When investigating the situation, it became clear that the resident had been claiming housing costs whilst not living at the home.

To make sure everything was handled properly, the case was referred to the local Jobcentre.

 They acted quickly and suspended the resident’s benefit claim straight away. We also made it clear that we wouldn’t accept housing costs again until we were satisfied that the resident had returned to the home and the family member had left.

The outcome of the case depends on how you look at it. For us, it was positive, the fraud was identified early, and we successfully appealed three assessment periods, recovering the overpaid amount directly from the resident. For the resident, it was a reminder of the importance of being honest about who is living in the home and following the terms of their tenancy agreement.

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