What is tenancy fraud?
There are lots of different ways someone can be committing tenancy fraud. The most common types are:
- When a social housing tenant has rented out the whole of their property and they are not living there themselves
- When someone tries to take over a tenancy after the tenant’s death and they are not entitled to do so.
- When someone has or is attempting to get social housing based on false information
- When a tenant fails to disclose information or knowingly provides false information when applying to buy a property under the Right to Buy scheme.
What action can we take?
We take tenancy fraud very seriously. The action we take will depend on the type and scale of the fraud committed. Some of the options available to us include:
- Possession orders to recover the property and evict the tenant who has committed fraud. Someone who has been evicted because they committed tenancy fraud is very unlikely to be given a social housing tenancy again.
- Criminal prosecution, usually under The Fraud Act 2006 or The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013. This can result in a prison sentence.
Report it
If you have any information about tenancy fraud, you can report it anonymously to us so we can investigate it.
Throughout February we’re offering people committing tenancy fraud the chance to do the right thing.
From now until 27 February if you hand your keys in to either the White Moss Road or Cheetham Hill Housing Office, no action will be taken.
