A Barnet tenant has handed back the keys to her Edgware house after fraud officers found she was publicly advertising the property to rent at more than £1,000 a month.
The tenant used a lettings agency to advertise the property on the internet at £1,100 per month while paying council rent of around £400 – raking in a potential profit of more than £8,000 a year.
Officers at Barnet Homes, which manages 15,000 tenanted and leasehold properties on behalf of Barnet Council, uncovered the fraud following a report of broken heating at the two-bedroom house.
The visiting gas engineer became suspicious that the woman who answered the door was not the registered tenant, and reported the issue to Barnet Homes’ fraud officers.
At a later interview, the resident told Barnet Homes investigators that she, her husband and parents-in-law had rented the property from a lettings agency at £1,100 a month. They were unaware it was a council home.
The actual tenant initially denied subletting the property, claming that she lived there with her daughter. However, none of the personal belongings at the house belonged to them, and she was later discovered to be living in Harrow. After Barnet Homes served Notices to Quit, the tenant returned the keys.
It is the 21st property recovered by Barnet Homes since a housing fraud campaign was launched in partnership with Barnet Council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team in February 2011.
Re-letting these properties to families currently living in temporary accommodation equates to an annual saving to taxpayers of almost £400,000 a year. Housing fraud nationally is estimated to cost taxpayers as much as £2billion annually.
The campaign is focusing on illegal subletting along with other instances of housing fraud, such as tenancy succession fraud and false benefit claims.
Barnet Homes Chief Executive, Tracey Lees, said: “This tenant was making a profit not only at the expense of the people renting her home, but also of the many individuals and families who are in desperate need of council housing in Barnet.
“It defies belief that she should have thought she could get away with having her house advertised publicly as a property for rent.
“The hard work goes on to uncover other cases of housing fraud and we hope that members of the public will continue to lend their support.”
Councillor Tom Davey, Barnet Council Cabinet Member for Housing, said: “This was a brazen attempt to illegally profit from subletting a property but I’m delighted this will now free up a home for a family in genuine housing need.
“Barnet Homes and Barnet Council will continue to take the action needed to thwart those who are intent on cheating the system.”
Anyone who suspects housing fraud is taking place at any council property in Barnet should call 020 8359 2929 or email talk2us@barnethomes.org. All information will be treated in confidence.