Gentoo has joined councils and housing providers across the North East of England to fight social housing fraud, which is depriving families and vulnerable people getting the homes they need.
Alongside six councils and eight other social housing providers, we are working together to run Regional Tenancy Fraud Awareness Week 2023, from 9 to 13 October.
We are urging anyone who suspects a case of tenancy fraud to report it in confidence so that further checks can be made.
Members of the forum work year-round to tackle suspected social housing fraud.
Collectively, in 2022-23 they recovered 69 properties which were the subject of suspected fraudulent activity. The homes were then used to house people in genuine need of a home.
Susie Thompson, Executive Director of Housing at Gentoo said: “As part of the National Tenancy Fraud Forum, Gentoo is dedicated to fighting housing fraud and ensuring homes are available for people who need them. This week, we are encouraging our residents and colleagues to be vigilant of the signs of tenancy fraud and to report any suspicions they may have.”
Amy Hodgson, chair of the regional North East Tenancy Fraud Forum, said: “The National Tenancy Fraud Forum calculate that the average cost to the taxpayer per detected tenancy fraud in the UK is £42,000 per property. This means that during the financial year 2022 to 2023, with the help of our residents, our fraud teams have been able to save the region £2.9 million (based on the national average).
A further 144 Right to Buy and Right to Acquire sales have been stopped through enhanced verification and anti-money laundering checks, saving the region an additional £5.4 million in discounts”
Tenancy fraud occurs when a council home is not occupied by the named tenant or is sublet, when a home has been obtained by deception, or when succession has been wrongly claimed following the death of the lawful tenant.
Northumberland County Councillor Colin Horncastle, cabinet member with responsibility for housing said: “If there has been an empty social housing property near you for any length of time, please get in touch with the landlord. There is a possibility this could be for a genuine reason, but abandonment is one of the most common cases of tenancy fraud that we deal with, and our officers will investigate to check out the circumstances.”
Anyone who suspects any type of tenancy fraud is urged to report it, in complete confidence, by contacting their local council’s fraud team or the housing association who manage the property. Contact details are available on their websites and social media.
If you are unsure who to contact, you can call Northumberland Council’s Fraud Hotline for advice on 01670 624359 or email them at fraudline@northumberland.gov.uk
In common with many other parts of the country, the Northeast has a shortage of social housing and high numbers of people waiting for more suitable accommodation. The members of the NorthEast Tenancy Fraud Forum are working hard to provide more affordable housing but are also working hard to make sure that only the people entitled to housing are given council tenancies.
James Mackie, chair of the North East Tenancy Fraud Forum said: “Tenancy fraud is not a victimless crime and those that commit fraud and lie to gain access to our social housing do so at the expense of those in very real and genuine need.
“We take housing fraud very seriously and we will fully investigate every report of illegal subletting and tenancies obtained by deception. It is completely unfair that residents in desperate need of housing cannot have a home because of others abusing the system.
“If you are aware of someone trying to improve their position on the housing application list register by giving false information, or you are made aware of a property being misused, it is really important that you please let us know about it.”
The North East Tenancy Fraud Forum membership includes registered social landlords and local authorities from across the North East: Northumberland, Gateshead, Newcastle, Durham, South Tyneside and North Tyneside councils, believe housing, Johnnie Johnson, Home Group, North Star, Living Housing, Gentoo Group, Karbon Homes, The Guinness Partnership and Your Homes Newcastle.
