Ethos Public Relations Manchester

Tenancy cheats get a 'red card' in Rochdale

by Ethos public relations

ALMO Rochdale Boroughwide Housing (RBH) has committed to a crack down on tenancy cheats and anyone found guilty will be given a ‘red card’.

The company has received a £30K grant from the Government who in November last year announced measures to recover up to 10,000 council and housing association homes that are fraudulently sublet.

Andrew Toft, Director of Operations for RBH said: “One of our in-house solicitors has been tasked with identifying tenancy cheats in our area. Our stock, like that of most social housing providers, is very much in demand and we are taking this issue very seriously. It’s important that RBH properties go to those most in need."

The Audit Commission has suggested that the number of social homes unlawfully acquired or sublet could range from one in 100 to as many as one in 20 in some inner-city areas, representing around 50,000 homes nationwide.

“We will be developing a set of protocols to identify these people,” explained Andrew.  “By uploading a personal data set to the Audit Commission, it will be able to cross reference those details to see if there is a match elsewhere in the country.  We will then work closely with the relevant housing providers in that area to identify those people unlawfully subletting their properties.”

Tenancy cheats can earn thousands of pounds a year by unlawfully subletting their properties at higher rental rates. If caught they will lose their tenancy, and could lose their right to social housing in future.

“This initiative is still in its early stages,” added Andrew. “However, a key objective in going through this exercise is to develop good practice that can be put into place by our housing management colleagues In the future.

“We are also looking to engage with other social housing providers in the borough to do the same and will offer the services of our 20 strong in-house legal service team to them at cost in order to promote a consistent and cohesive approach to the problem.”

Locally RBH intends to promote the issue of tenancy cheats using the football ‘red card’ analogy. It is hoped the ‘red card’ campaign will encourage people to report anyone they may suspect of sub-letting.

“Ultimately it is everyone’s responsibility to ensure that social housing goes to those who need it most,” said Andrew. “Not only is the tenancy cheat making fraudulent claims against RBH but is also taking a property from someone else in the local community and it is theft in every sense of the word.”

Posted at 23^rd June 2010