Council reclaims 15 properties in £1.5 million housing fraud crackdown

A crackdown on housing fraud has led to a council reclaiming 15 properties.

Arun District Council has said the efforts of its housing fraud investigation officer and enforcement team have prevented an estimated £1.5 million in fraud this year alone.

This includes 15 properties that were taken back by the council and returned to the housing stock.

A further 20 cases of fraud were proven, including 12 mutual exchange refusals and six succession refusals.

A mutual exchange refusal is when a council or landlord refuses permission for tenants to swap their homes, while a succession refusal involves a landlord deciding someone does not have a right to take over a tenancy after the previous occupant died.

A spokesperson for the district council said: “Housing fraud undermines trust, misuses public funds, and it delays access to housing for people in genuine need.

“Together, we can protect homes and make sure all applicants on our housing register gets a fair chance of securing social housing.”

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The council has a dedicated housing fraud investigation officer on its enforcement team, who investigates housing fraud, protects public funds and ensures homes are allocated to those in need.

Anyone who suspects housing fraud is taking place is urged to report it.

Reports can be made anonymously by emailing housing.fraud@arun.gov.uk or by calling 01903 737732.

The district council previously uncovered a case of illegal subletting fraud earlier this year that amounted to more than £10,000, following a tip-off from a concerned tenant.

Legal notices were served to the unlawful tenants who were subsequently evicted.

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