We use cookies to ensure that we provide you with the best possible experience on our website. More information on the cookies we set can be found in our privacy notice.
I'm okay with this
Open Navigation Search

Newlon Housing Trust

Tackling tenancy fraud – November is Key Amnesty Month

16th Oct 2024

Tenancy fraud is when a resident provides false information to gain a property, sublets the property to someone else, or does not use the property as their only or main home.

Examples of Tenancy Fraud include, but are not limited to:

  • Unlawful subletting – letting out all or part of the property without Newlon’s consent.
  • Obtaining housing by deception – providing false or inaccurate information to receive a property.
  • Wrongly claimed succession – taking over a tenancy by succession when they’re not legally entitled to do so.
  • Key selling – receiving payment to pass the keys of the property onto someone else.
  • Abandonment – leaving the property and residing elsewhere with no intention to return and have not issued Newlon a proper Notice to Quit or agreed written surrender of the property.

Why does Tenancy Fraud matter?

There are currently estimated to be 100,000 social homes nationwide which could be occupied by someone who doesn’t have the right to do so. At a time when more families are struggling financially, we want to do everything we can to ensure our homes are occupied by residents who need them.

November is Key Amnesty month

This November, we are running a Key Amnesty to tackle Tenancy Fraud. Our Key Amnesty allows anyone committing Tenancy Fraud to hand their keys back and to have no further action taken against them. 

How will the Key Amnesty work?

If you are a resident who is committing Tenancy Fraud and you want to hand your keys back to us with no repercussions, please do the following:

  1. Email asb@newlon.org.uk or call 020 7613 8080 and ask for the Investigations team.
  2. Come to our Tottenham Hale office and hand over the keys to your property.
  3. Sign a Notice to Quit (NTQ) form to end your tenancy. The NTQ form can also be emailed to you to return.

 Successful Tenancy Fraud cases

 We take all allegations of Tenancy Fraud seriously. Through our investigations we have had the keys to 20 homes returned to us in the last year. Of these 20:

  • Two sets of keys were returned to us by going through court proceedings with the costs awarded to us. This means that when a resident is ordered to give their keys back, they are liable to pay the costs of the court proceedings and we pursue this cost in all available ways.
  • One home had been illegally sublet for many years. We took the resident to court and obtained possession as well as an unlawful profit order. An unlawful profit order is when a resident can be asked to pay back the ‘unlawful profit’ they have made whilst illegally subletting their property.

What can happen if we find out that a resident is committing Tenancy Fraud?

If we find out that a resident is committing Tenancy Fraud they could lose their home and they could be fined up to £50,000 or imprisoned for up to two years.

If you think that a Newlon property is being sublet or if you believe that you are living in or renting a Newlon home from someone other than Newlon, please get in touch.

You can email asb@newlon.org.uk or call 020 7613 8080 and ask to speak to the Investigations team. You will be given advice and support and the information you provide will be treated in the strictest of confidence.