Last November we launched a campaign aimed at raising awareness of tenancy fraud. We want to help people understand the implications of fraudulently using a property. Not only is it illegal, but it has huge implications for people on the waiting list for a social home. Approximately 50,000 homes are being lived in illegally, homes which should be being used by 50,000 individuals and families desperately in need of an affordable, safe and secure place to live.
I’ve been with Abri for sixteen years, with 12 of those as a Housing Manager. I’m Abri's lead for tenancy fraud. I also chair the Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum and also sit on a Tenancy Fraud Forum committee in London.
It’s important to raise awareness of tenancy fraud because many people do not fully understand their obligations and the law – that committing tenancy fraud is a criminal offence. It is a serious issue. Like any form of fraud, if you’re not looking for it, you’re not going to know it’s there. We as landlords have a duty to protect the public purse and provide homes to those who really need them.
Our new campaign is supported by a number of local authorities and other housing associations. We’ve promoted it via leafleting and a social media campaign which has had an amazing response. We’ve had a lot of reports come in, a number of which we are now investigating fully. We are continuing to receive reports and hope to keep up this momentum past November.
Understanding the law
Under the terms and conditions of a tenancy, residents are meant to use the property as their main and principle home. If they are not using the home in this manner, customers may be committing tenancy fraud.
Some of the more obvious signs of tenancy fraud are things like no request for repairs over a long period of time, or no contact between the landlord and the tenants. For example, we often find a customer decides to move out of their home to live with a partner, leaving the home empty or leaving adult children in the home, which is a breach of tenancy and a huge waste of resources.
Providing false documentation or lying about personal circumstances is also a breach of tenancy. Subletting is another well-known breach of tenancy (this recently made headlines as another landlord’s tenant sublet a council flat on Airbnb, incurring major fines once detected).
Being aware
We detect tenancy fraud in a variety of ways; often residents will report that they haven’t seen their neighbours for quite some time or explain that different people keep moving into and out of the property.
Raising awareness of the signs of tenancy fraud among not only our customers but our colleagues too is key to tackling tenancy fraud.
Taking action
Throughout the campaign we offered a key amnesty. This means we give people who are committing fraud the opportunity to surrender the property.
We’re not necessarily expecting to receive a lot of keys, but it is another way of raising awareness. It may also encourage people to report things to us.
Ultimately, we want to make sure that our homes are being used by those with a genuine housing need. We hope the campaign will go some way to achieving this.
Housing Manager