Just over two years since Labour called time on tenancy cheats, Housing Minister Grant Shapps has promised to prosecute tenants who sub-let their social home without permission.
By aligning tenancy fraud with housing benefit fraud, Mr Shapps hopes social landlords will “wake up to the problem” and make increased use of existing and proposed powers to free up social homes for people in
housing need.
The DCLG’s consultation proposes a number of considered measures including:
- a maximum penalty for tenancy fraud of two years imprisonment and/or a fine of £50,000
- allowing investigators to compel third parties (eg employers, banks and utility companies) to provide reasonable information
- confiscation of profits and restitutionary payments to landlords
- extending local authorities’ powers of prosecution to cover tenancy fraud related issues – though not housing associations
- a proper definition of ‘intention to return’
- bringing assured tenancies into line with secure tenancies, so status cannot be regained once the whole of the property has been sublet.
No accurate data exists on how many properties are affected, but the DCLG reckons the number to be between the Audit Commission’s 50,000 and Experian’s 160,000
estimates.