Help and advice Tenancy fraud

We want to be sure every individual and family living in our homes is legally entitled to do so.

A row of homes semi-detached homes on a new housing development

Social housing is in huge demand. It’s estimated around 50,000 housing association and council homes are occupied by someone who should either not live there or who got the tenancy fraudulently.

What is tenancy fraud?

Tenancy fraud could be:

  • not using your home as your main and only home
  • subletting the whole property to someone else
  • using fake documents to get a social home
  • pretending to be someone else to get a social home
Why is tenancy fraud a problem?

There’s not enough social housing to meet demand. Many families up and down the country are in genuine need of social housing, but there’s not enough homes for everyone.

We want to be sure every individual and family living in our homes is legally entitled to do so.

What should I look out for?

Our Locality Teams work with local authorities and other agencies to investigate tenancy fraud. 

But we also rely on tenants and neighbours to help us. 

Here’s some signs of tenancy fraud to look out for:

  • different tenants moving in and out
  • different people living there on a regular basis
  • furniture being removed at night
  • someone collecting rent from your neighbours
How do I report tenancy fraud?

If you think someone is living in one of our homes who shouldn’t be, please let us know

We will treat your report confidentially and we won’t tell your neighbours who has contacted us. You can get in touch with us anonymously if you feel more comfortable. 

We will investigate all reports of tenancy fraud and take steps to make sure no-one is living in any of our homes who shouldn’t be.