Former Ipswich council tenant sentenced over false social housing application

His application stated that he and his wife had no capital, savings and investments, meaning they could not afford to rent privately.

Mr Dagdelen also applied for temporary housing after stating that his family would become homeless at the end of the private tenancy, and was given accommodation in April 2017.

In January 2018, Mr Dagdelen was given the tenancy of a council-owned three-bedroom home, based on the circumstances he had declared in his housing applications.

The offences came to light when the council’s fraud team spotted that, just 13 months after his tenancy had been granted, Mr Dagdelen had submitted an application to purchase the property at a substantial discount under the Right to Buy.

This application revealed that he had secured a mortgage and had savings which he intended to use to fund the purchase. It later emerged that Mr Dagdelen jointly owned the leasehold of three commercial units in Ipswich, purchased outright in 2016.

Mr Dagdelen had failed to declare ownership of these leases and the rental income from the tenants in the three units in his housing application. Had he done so, he would have been expected to find privately rented accommodation, the council said.

Mr Dagdelen cost the council £158,000, which is the cost of keeping a family in temporary accommodation who could have occupied the accommodation he was granted.

As a result of the investigation, Mr Dagdelen was served notice on his council tenancy and vacated the property in July 2023, when it was reallocated to a family on the social housing register.

Yesterday’s sentencing followed an earlier guilty plea he made on 7 April at Ipswich Magistrates’ Court of five offences of fraud, three of which related to false housing applications and two to his Right to Buy applications.

Alasdair Ross, portfolio holder for housing at Ipswich Borough Council, said: “We would like to thank our dedicated corporate fraud team for investigating this long and complex case and their work in bringing this case to justice at Ipswich Crown Court.

“Mr Dagdelen’s fraudulent activities are unacceptable, and his dishonesty prevented much-needed housing being given to families who have a genuine need. We must continue to ensure social housing is given to those who need it most, and we are encouraging the public to support us in doing so by reporting any suspicions to us.”