A would-be benefit cheat who attempted to fraudulently gain a council property by deception has been prosecuted for fraud.

Davina Gopala, 32, pleaded guilty to making a false homeless application to Barnet Council at Willesden Magistrates Court on 14 January 2014. This is the first time someone has been prosecuted for falsely declaring themselves homeless in Barnet.

The prosecution was bought by Barnet Council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team, in conjunction with Barnet Homes, under the 2006 Fraud Act.

The court heard that Miss Gopala presented herself as homeless to Barnet Homes in October 2011. Miss Gopala told officers that she was having to live with her mother but the property was overcrowded and she required accommodation for herself and her young daughter.

However concerns were raised by officers in the Housing Options Service about the facts in her application, which were robustly investigated in line with Barnet Homes’ approach for tackling fraud. Background checks with the Land Registry showed that instead of being homeless, Miss Gopala in fact owned a property in Wood Green. She had declared on the application form that she had previously rented this property.

Miss Gopala was given a 12-month community punishment order which means she will undertake 50 hours of unpaid work. She will also have to pay £800 legal costs.

This is the first time someone has been prosecuted for falsely declaring themselves homeless in Barnet.

Leader of Barnet Council, Councillor Richard Cornelius, said: “This prosecution is an important result and sends out a serious message about making sure properties are freed up for people in genuine housing need.

“Whilst we do not want to deprive anyone in genuine housing need, we will be carrying out careful checks to make sure people are who they say they are.”

This prosecution also follows on the recent successful key amnesty campaign, which saw 17 sets of keys to council properties handed back. This effectively generated the equivalent of just over £2m in capital and saved the taxpayer around £250,000 a year in temporary accommodation costs.