Tenancy fraud

Tenancy Fraud How it affects Accent and our residents

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Tenancy Fraud

It is estimated that over 95,000 homes in the UK are involved in some kind of tenancy fraud. This costs the government over £800 million each year.

Of those homes, over half were ‘unlawfully sublet’ and someone was living in them who shouldn’t have been.

To divide that figure between housing associations nationally, that means over 200 of Accent’s homes could be unlawfully sublet.

It’s a big problem and all housing associations take it very seriously, but it isn’t just about the money.

Tenancy Fraud

How it affects us Once a property is sublet, it becomes very difficult for us to manage it.

There is also a much greater risk of the property being used for illegal purposes. It’s harder for us to respond to anti-social behaviour, repairs and general neighbourhood issues and we can’t offer the property to someone who really needs it.

How it affects you Every year people on waiting lists have to wait longer, or are denied a home completely, because of others committing tenancy fraud.

Because we may not know who is in the property, we may not be able to resolve any issues that may be arising as effectively, such as dealing with anti-social behaviour. This could mean the right you have to enjoy your Accent Home and live in comfort and safety could be at risk.

These are some examples of tenancy fraud: • If the resident does not use the property as their ‘sole or principal home’ – in other words they live somewhere else most of the time • If the property has been abandoned and no one lives there • If the person living there has taken over the tenancy without our permission (after the legal resident has moved out or died, for example).

• All or part of the property, such as a room, is unlawfully sub-let – regardless for how long. For example, renting out a room for just a night still counts as tenancy fraud.

• If the resident was given the property after supplying false information or documents.

• If the resident falsely claimed to be homeless, or claimed for, or left out, other household members.

• If the resident claimed to be someone else.

• If the resident paid money to exchange properties.

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Tenancy Fraud

How we will stop tenancy fraud When someone applies to us for housing, we will check their details.

This includes who they are, what tenancies they have held in the past and their household circumstances. As part of these checks, we may ask for supporting information from other organisations, such as local councils, other housing associations, credit reference agencies and utility companies. To help stop fraud across the country, we share the information we hold on our residents with the National Fraud Initiative and local anti-fraud partnerships.

We now take a photograph of new residents when they move in so we have evidence of who they are for the future. We may also wish to take an up-to-date photo from time to time.

When the resident has moved in, certain signs would serve as a warning that something may not be right: • If rent is always paid months in advance or in cash.

• If the name on the direct debit does not match the name of the legal resident.

• If we cannot gain access to the property to carry out gas servicing and other safety checks.

• If there have been no repair calls or customer contact for a long time.

• If the tenant appears to never be at home when we visit and doesn’t respond to requests for contact.

Our staff also keep an eye on tenancies where someone has asked if they can sub-let their property and we have refused.

Tenancy Fraud

When fraud has been committed If someone has got their tenancy by being untruthful or misleading us, they are committing a crime and we will take action to get the property back from them.

We will ask the resident to give up the property or, if they refuse, we will go to court for a possession order. We may also work with the local council and the police to try and prosecute those responsible.

To try and encourage the householder to give the keys back, we may consider an ‘amnesty’ in which they can do this without fear of prosecution. This would be the best solution for everyone.

How you can help As our resident living next door or close by, you will probably be the first person to suspect something isn’t right. If you ever have a reason to suspect something, please tell us – it doesn’t matter if turns out to be nothing, we’d much rather investigate your concerns rather than not know about it at all.

Tenancy fraud is a crime The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 created a new criminal offense of subletting or parting with possession of a socially rented home.

Penalties for tenancy fraud can be severe and you could lose your right be housed in the future.

If someone ‘knowingly’ commits tenancy fraud, they can be fined up to £5,000. If someone is found to be ‘dishonestly’ committing tenancy fraud – where they knew their actions were illegal and have deliberately meant to defraud us and make a profit through subletting, they could face an unlimited fine and up to two years imprisonment. The court can also award an ‘unlawful profit order’ for any profits gained.

Please talk to us if you think a property has been abandoned or someone is committing tenancy fraud.

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Stay in touch T: 0345 678 0555 E: customerservices@accentgroup.org @accenthousing Office addresses and opening times are available on our website AG08

www.accentgroup.org Issue 2 – November 2017