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North West council starts crackdown on housing fraud with launch of key amnesty
Manchester City Council has kicked off a crackdown on housing tenancy fraud, by allowing social tenants who are illegally renting their homes hand back their keys without fear of prosecution.
Manchester City Council has kicked off a crackdown on housing tenancy fraud, by allowing social tenants who are illegally renting their homes hand back their keys without fear of prosecution #UKhousingThe North West authority claims that this is one of the first times a council has partnered with housing providers city-wide to tackle the issue.
Following the key amnesty, an “expanded and dedicated team of officers” will work through potential cases and, where they spot criminal fraud, will take legal action against those responsible.
Gavin White, executive member for housing and development at Manchester Council, said: “Every fraudulent tenancy – whether by accident or by deception – is a home that could be made available for families on the housing register or in temporary accommodation.
“Knowingly committing tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime – it impacts Manchester families [and] communities and costs the council millions of pounds every year.”
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The key amnesty will not apply to homes that are already under investigation for fraud, the council said.
Types of fraudulent tenancies seen by the council include people renting out council homes at market rates while living elsewhere, subletting rooms without permission, obtaining a house through deception or exchanging a home without permission.
In October, Manchester Council revealed it had created four new officer roles focusing on countering housing fraud.
These posts are being funded through a portion of a £3m government grant to help combat homelessness in Manchester, according to papers for an audit committee meeting last year.
Officials said the council will target false applications for succession and Right to Buy discount, as well as aiming to recover homes being sublet or not used for their agreed purposes.
They added that the service already receives a “high number of referrals” over housing fraud, with 40 referrals made in the year to date.
The city of Manchester has 70,000 social rent homes, around a sixth of which are managed by the council.
The local authority estimates that at least 3%, and up to 6%, of council tenancies could be fraudulent.
There are currently 20,000 households on the council’s waiting list, including 11,000 in priority need.
Last month, Manchester Council launched a plan to encourage tenants with spare rooms to move into smaller homes, known as ‘rightsizing’, and opened a consultation on bringing empty homes back into use.
It is also targeting the delivery of 10,000 affordable homes by 2032, and last month announced that it is a fifth of the way there.
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