The City of Wolverhampton Council’s Counter Fraud Team has achieved savings of £2.9 million for the public purse through robust tenancy fraud investigations over the last year.
Working in close collaboration with Wolverhampton Homes, investigators tackled a range of fraudulent activities, including the illegal subletting of council properties, false applications for social housing, fraudulent Right to Buy applications, tenants not residing at their registered addresses and unlawful succession claims to council tenancies.
As a result, 30 council homes were recovered and re-let to families in genuine need, nine fraudulent housing applications were cancelled, five Right to Buy applications were stopped, and legal action was taken in three cases, including one successful prosecution where the offender was convicted of subletting and ordered to pay £8,209.38 in costs.
Councillor Louise Miles, the council’s Cabinet Member for Resources, said: “The City of Wolverhampton Council and Wolverhampton Homes take a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and we will not hesitate to take action as appropriate – because we know that every pound saved from fraud is a pound that can be invested in vital public services.
“The true victims of tenancy fraud are those who are genuinely unable to access affordable housing – those on social housing waiting lists or living in temporary accommodation.
“The financial burden of providing accommodation for homeless families is paid for from the public purse, which is why it is so important to ensure anyone who tries to cheat the system is detected and enforcement action is taken.
“All reports of fraud are thoroughly investigated, and individuals found to be in breach of tenancy agreements or who have provided false or misleading information will be held accountable.”