Social housing fraud

Public bodies are under an obligation to ensure taxpayers' money is spent openly and honestly. Social housing is a very valuable asset and Plymouth City Council and our partner Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) are anxious to ensure that these homes are let fairly.

Social housing fraud is unlawful and in some cases is also a criminal offence. We are committed to identifying any cases of fraud and dealing with them. In some cases this may mean taking possession of an unlawfully let home, so it can be let to someone who needs it. In other cases it might even mean prosecutions leading to people having criminal records.

The government has now launched a new national initiative to make sure that homes are let out to the people who need them and Plymouth is working within this initiative to do all we can to root out social housing fraud. With government help we will be looking at a number of public records to make sure that the people living in social housing are the people who should be. If you live in social housing, are not the tenant and the tenant no longer lives there, you should notify the landlord right away.

Types of fraud include:

• Giving false information in order to obtain an offer of housing.
• Not telling us something you should have done in order to obtain social housing.
• 'Sub-letting' the whole of your home to somebody else (this is not the same as taking in a lodger).
• Remaining in a property after the tenant has left or died. In some cases there is a right to ‘succeed’ to a tenancy, but this only applies where certain conditions are met and the landlord has been made aware of this.
• Paying money to someone to persuade them to 'exchange' homes with you.

If you are worried that you may have already done one of the things listed above, you should contact your landlord for advice.

If you know of a council or housing association (RSL) home that you believe is unlawfully occupied please let us know by calling the Fraud Hotline on 01752 305496 or email us at housingneeds@plymouth.gov.uk. Your information could help us to get back a home that has been unlawfully occupied and that can benefit your community. Your information will be dealt with in confidence.