Woman ordered to repay £14,000 after illegally subletting social home in Bedfordshire

An estimated 148,000 social homes in England are fraudulently occupied, which is equivalent to a town the size of Middlesbrough, according to a report by the Tenancy Fraud Forum (TFF) in 2023.

The TFF previously accused the English regulator of “turning a wilful blind eye” to tenancy fraud and said it has “lost sight of the real victims”.

At the time, the Regulator of Social Housing said: “We take the issue of tenancy fraud seriously, and landlords must act on their responsibility to detect and manage it.

Steven Watkins, executive member for assets, business and housing at Central Bedfordshire Council, said: “It is completely unacceptable for anyone to misuse social housing by subletting a social housing property illegally.

“Social housing is a vital and limited resource that must be available to those who genuinely need it. Unlawfully subletting a social home is a criminal offence, and we will not hesitate to take action where we find that people are abusing the system.

“We will continue to investigate suspected cases of housing fraud and take appropriate enforcement action to help make sure homes go to residents and families who are waiting for them and need them most.”

Ms Fry’s old home has been returned to Amplius so it can be allocated to someone on the housing waiting list. She failed to attend an interview under caution and was then prosecuted in her absence.

It comes after Hackney Council recovered seven social homes last year, after an investigation found tenants had been illegally subletting homes or failing to declare that they owned other properties.

The borough identified 27 potential cases of fraudulent misuse in total, with seven further properties being recovered and 13 cases under investigation at the time.