Tenancy Fraud

Thanks to our partnership with residents, EastendHomes has a successful track record in tackling tenancy fraud, ensuring homes are being used for their social housing purpose.

Tenancy fraud includes:

• Unlawful subletting - subletting the whole, or part, of a property without the landlord’s permission.
• Succession fraud - when someone continues to live in a property after the tenant has died, falsely claiming to have been resident in order to obtain the tenancy.
• Allocation fraud - when false information is used on a housing application to obtain a tenancy.
• Right to Buy fraud - when false statements are made in order to purchase a property.
• Abandonment - when a tenant is no longer living in the property.

This year alone, our housing offices have investigated several residents’ concerns and gone on to recover properties that were being sublet illegally.  

Sheena Monilal, Neighbourhood Housing Manager for the Isle of Dogs said:

Tenancy Fraud is cheating Tower Hamlets' communities of much needed social housing. We will always act on information provided and take action against those who have chosen to break the law for selfish personal gain.

Tenancy fraud is a criminal offence and prosecutable under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 (POSHFA). Convictions can result in a fine, imprisonment or both. The courts also have the power to make the tenant pay back any profit made from the fraud.

You can report tenancy fraud by contacting our Head Office or your local Housing Office.

All information received will be treated with the strictest confidence, and it could make a home available to an individual or a family in genuine housing need.