What we are doing about tenancy fraud
We take tenancy fraud very seriously and will take action to regain possession of properties and recover any unlawful profits made by residents wherever we find evidence of tenancy fraud.
Our right to do this has been enforced by the government in the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act (PoSHFA) 2013 – Legislation.
The introduction of this act, made tenancy fraud a criminal offence, which in the very worst instances could result in two years in prison and/or a maximum of £50,000 in fines.
What our tenancy officers do
Our tenancy officers carry out regular tenancy audits (home visits) as part of our letting and housing management activities, to make sure that the right people are living in our properties and that they are keeping to the other terms of their tenancy agreement.
We work with the Shared Anti-Fraud Service (SAFS) at Hertfordshire County Council to investigate and take action against those committing tenancy fraud.
In the year 2019 to 2020, a total of 21 properties were recovered and fraudulent Right to Buy applications were stopped due to the work of the housing team and the fraud services.