With the Tenancy Fraud Forum about to hold its November conference in Birmingham
The Tenancy Fraud Forum in Partnership with Anthony Collins Solicitors https://t.co/nocRPsgxXR
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) November 17, 2019
it is a good time to review the social housing fraud news since the last update in August.
Some cases
Grenfell Tower fraudster who stole from 'genuine victims' jailed https://t.co/OPwA4me3sl
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 6, 2019
Great work by North Ayrshire Council’s fraud team…demonstrates the importance of vigilance re the funding for a proposed right to buy#housingfraud #righttobuy #fundinghttps://t.co/22qc7E95X5
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 14, 2019
Brilliant work by the team ending in an outright order & #UPO Fantastic result for our #socialhousing client and sends a great message to would be fraudsters #tenancyfraud https://t.co/S5y0ZjJF9t
— lindsay felstead (@lindsayfelstead) October 3, 2019
Former @crawleybc tenant pleads guilty to a sub-letting offence under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 and is ordered to pay a £4,570 UPO and £1,970 costshttps://t.co/xBN8lTRNoO
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) October 21, 2019
Another sub-letting conviction and success for @OxfordCity … h/t @tenancyfraud https://t.co/AJbl93GsoM
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) October 21, 2019
Another successful Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 prosecution for @crawleybc…and property recovered #prosecution #socialhousing #fraud https://t.co/KkCKflbATW
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) October 30, 2019
Former council tenant pleads guilty to fraud by false representation after applying for the right to buy his 2-bed property (£28,000 discount) in Dewsbury when he was in fact living elsewherehttps://t.co/SBzFcAeINGhttps://t.co/IxXSWjrD5f
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) November 3, 2019
Another successful prosecution for a fraudulent right to buy application…great work @ManCityCouncil #righttobuy #fraud #prosecution
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) November 5, 2019
https://t.co/LbSvzrNsiI
“The judge also slapped an order on Harun to pay nearly £125,000 compensation to the housing authority for providing years of temporary accommodation that could have been used for a genuinely homeless family.”
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) November 15, 2019
https://t.co/vdPQ9iZrsH
Some fraud work, figures & research
Help us tackle fraud in Solihull. If you suspect something call 0800 028 8535 📲 or email antifraud@solihull.gov.uk 📩 pic.twitter.com/ReqLrpy1Mj
— Solihull Com Housing (@Solihullhousing) September 4, 2019
🔑 If you are a tenant in a Wandle home, it should be your principal or only home, and you cannot sublet the property to someone else. Find out more about the key amnesty: https://t.co/8MfQq0ZALv pic.twitter.com/t8AuHAO0RX
— Wandle HA (@WandleHA) August 29, 2019
Housing Benefit: debt recoveries and fraud data https://t.co/4ichAqU4pF
— GOV.UK stats (@mandarinautomat) September 4, 2019
Cifas research reveals false housing benefit claims third most prevalent fraud in UK & over £217m of housing fraud for local authorities in 2017/18 https://t.co/fbXnP25Z5x
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 11, 2019
Some fantastic work by Wolverhampton Council’s counter-fraud team. 9 cases of tenancy fraud worth around £695,000 stopped in 4 months. Unlawful sub-lettings, fraudulent right to buy applications, application fraud etchttps://t.co/dyi4zXYoXG
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 18, 2019
We've gathered new data showing that 1 in 7 council homes sold under the Right to Buy since discounts were raised in 2012 have been bought by a tenant on Housing Benefit.
— Nathaniel Barker (@NatBarkerIH) September 20, 2019
Why does this matter?
"In 2018/19 [Birmingham City Council's] corporate fraud team recovered 64 homes worth an estimated £6m in housing stock. They also cancelled 212 housing applications prior to letting and stopped two Right to Buy applications…"https://t.co/rmwyr0Uubk
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 26, 2019
Northumberland County Council’s counter-fraud work saved taxpayers a total of £2.8million in 2018/19
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) September 28, 2019
“…efforts in 2018-19 resulted in gross savings of £2,798,318 (£2,610,707 net), with the majority relating to checks on Right to Buy applications”https://t.co/X4bCxScBJq
One in seven council homes sold to tenants on housing benefit under Right to Buy https://t.co/rYtGC1QVk5
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) October 3, 2019
A fascinating look at the work of @BhamCityCouncil in tackling housing fraud.
— Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud (@CSHousingFraud) October 10, 2019
"There were 152 applications stopped before letting in 2017/18, increasing to 212 last year, while there have been more than 400 already in the current financial year"https://t.co/RbZL6tkt6X
Not only does #tenancyfraud stop those in need from getting the homes they deserve, temporary accommodation for homeless families costs councils approx. £18,000 per person per year. Find out more about our campaign and get involved https://t.co/pu8adONS7K #tfawareness19 pic.twitter.com/qOhv5dTbgQ
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 1, 2019
Tenancy fraud contributes to 1 billion pounds worth of public spending every year. Learn more about our campaign and help us to end #tenancyfraud https://t.co/gSvwHglftd #tfawareness19 @HantsTFF @sovereignha @RushmoorCouncil @BasingstokeGov @TadeOlalekan pic.twitter.com/4aJPQ2861A
— Radian (@radiangroup) November 1, 2019
We take tenancy fraud very seriously as there aren’t enough #socialhousing homes for the people who need them. HA's – your #customer facing teams play a huge role in identifying cases of #tenancyfraud. Learn how to spot the signs https://t.co/65QKjLYyZy #tfawareness19 @HantsTFF pic.twitter.com/B55DHpIXN9
— Radian (@radiangroup) November 4, 2019
#tfawareness19 is all about helping people to understand why #tenancyfraud is important, what it is, what the signs are and how people can report their suspicions 🔍 Join our campaign now! https://t.co/zdI3rr5FNs @HantsTFF @24housing_news @natfednews @insidehousing @TadeOlalekan pic.twitter.com/G4rY1TW9J3
— Radian (@radiangroup) November 7, 2019
Organisations can increase the number of #tenancyfraud leads from colleagues and customers simply by raising awareness of what tenancy fraud is and what the signs of tenancy fraud are. Join our campaign https://t.co/EyPu1mBtnX #tfawareness19 @natfednews @insidehousing @24housing pic.twitter.com/0ieJABYAD5
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 8, 2019
We're in the midst of a #housingcrisis. Recovering fraudulently let properties and re-letting them to those in genuine need is one way to help the 1.15m people on the waiting list for a social home. Join our campaign to end #tenancyfraud https://t.co/pb4fyTFbW3 #tfawareness19 pic.twitter.com/Y6vYVXrX8V
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 5, 2019
The key to catching #tenancyfraud is knowing what it is and what the signs are. Your customers and colleagues can play a huge role in stopping fraud if they know what to look out for. Join in with our campaign and help raise awareness https://t.co/6vrqMmMdiX #tfawareness19 pic.twitter.com/ITQTzUNUhS
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 4, 2019
Raising awareness of tenancy fraud to contractors is important… email with pictures from our gas contractor about a property with all the bedrooms having external locks with keys 🤭🤭🤭
— Sean Richards (@ASBOfficer18) November 8, 2019
We take tenancy #fraud very seriously as there aren’t enough #socialhousing homes for the people who need them. HA's – your #customer facing teams play a huge role in identifying cases of #tenancyfraud. Learn how to spot the signs https://t.co/65QKjLYyZy #tfawareness19 @HantsTFF pic.twitter.com/dadW1msk9i
— Radian (@radiangroup) November 8, 2019
Tackling #tenancyfraud is difficult but the results are always worth it. If the 50,000 fraudulently let homes in England were recovered, 50,000 families or individuals in genuine need could have a safe place to live. Join our campaign #tfawareness19 https://t.co/a0KWLMsEjO pic.twitter.com/U0rx8sbDEa
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 13, 2019
Could you and your colleagues name the six main types of #tenancyfraud? When the people in your organisation are aware of tenancy fraud, they are better equipped to spot it and report it. Join our campaign https://t.co/2u9gTDy4SL #tfawareness19 pic.twitter.com/QrbVCF9rJw
— Hampshire Tenancy Fraud Forum (@HantsTFF) November 15, 2019
…and some training
.@DeanUnderwood01 & @AndrewLane1962 @cornerstonebarr are running a seminar for @LBLegalAlliance on 10 September 2019 on The subject of “Tenancy Fraud in the Social Housing Sector”#Training #LBLA #HousingFraud pic.twitter.com/K27NSJ13HO
— Cornerstone Housing (@CstoneHousing) September 2, 2019
A packed seminar suite for the latest in our 2019 seminar programme, this time on social housing fraud. @AndrewLane1962 takes delegates through the a-z of evidence gathering. pic.twitter.com/HDbnRIhtWJ
— Cornerstone Housing (@CstoneHousing) September 10, 2019
Nearly sold out. Book your place now. #TFFamily #tacklingfraud https://t.co/xvrBzDtdyu
— Avril Drummond (@AvrilDrummond3) October 1, 2019
Getting ready to start the tenancy fraud seminar @hackneycouncil pic.twitter.com/e8JlnNctwH
— Andrew Lane (@AndrewLane1962) October 3, 2019
.@AndrewLane1962 and Riccardo Calzavara @cornerstonebarr are speaking today @mbl_seminars 2019 Residential Landlord & Tenant Conference on Tenancy Fraud – The Tactics and Recent Developments in Mandatory, Additional and Selective Licensing respectivelyhttps://t.co/fgP5iomDbP pic.twitter.com/oLyXnKwz2i
— Cornerstone Housing (@CstoneHousing) October 17, 2019
Author: Andrew Lane
I am a public law and housing barrister at Cornerstone Barristers and was called to the Bar in 1999. Before that I worked in the voluntary and statutory sectors in the welfare benefit, debt and housing fields. I was also, for 4 years, a local authority councillor on Oxford City Council, which included a spell as chair of the Housing Committee. I am the author of ‘Cornerstone on Social Housing Fraud’ and am presently writing the 3rd Edition. View all posts by Andrew Lane