Housing fraud exposed - false Right to Buy applications
The Right to Buy scheme allows eligible council tenants to purchase their homes at a discount. Until recently, the maximum discount in London was a massive £136,400 – but the government has now reduced this significantly to £16,000.
To qualify, applicants must be secure tenants. As part of our internal verification process, the Tenancy Audit team has uncovered several fraudulent applications, where tenants have tried to buy a home they actually have no tenancy rights on, because it is no longer their main residence:
- a tenant was found to be working in Canada while subletting the Lewisham property - the tenancy was voluntarily ended following investigation
- another tenant was discovered living on the south coast with her partner, while her son occupied the Lewisham property - unable to justify the arrangement, she also ended the tenancy
- an elderly tenant applied jointly with his son, who was found to be subletting the property to others - this case is now subject to legal proceedings, expected to conclude within 4-6 months
In each of these cases, the tenants should have handed back the flat to us when their living arrangements changed, but it wasn’t until the Right to Buy application that we got a hint something wasn’t quite right. This means there are many more examples out there of tenants either subletting or holding on to the Council flat as a second home when they live elsewhere.
These properties should be used to provide secure housing for someone on our waiting list – a potential life-changing opportunity for a family in need.
If you suspect someone is committing housing fraud, let us know. Our experience shows that residents are best placed to know what is taking place on the estates they live on. We value and welcome all referrals.
All reports will be kept confidential and you can remain anonymous.
Find out more about tenancy fraud and how to report it.