0:00:03 > 0:00:05I'm Michelle Ackerley.
0:00:05 > 0:00:07My parents both grew up on council estates
0:00:07 > 0:00:10and as a family, we understand the difference
0:00:10 > 0:00:12social housing can make to people's lives.
0:00:15 > 0:00:18But across the UK, there's a chronic shortage of council
0:00:18 > 0:00:20and housing association homes.
0:00:21 > 0:00:24I know so many friends and so many people that just literally
0:00:24 > 0:00:26don't have anywhere to live.
0:00:26 > 0:00:30Adding to the crisis, some tenants are abusing the system,
0:00:30 > 0:00:33holding on to properties they no longer need or even worse,
0:00:33 > 0:00:38unlawfully subletting them and coining in a small fortune.
0:00:38 > 0:00:41Subletting social housing is wrong, it's wrong,
0:00:41 > 0:00:43it's illegal and it's wrong.
0:00:43 > 0:00:46So, every day we'll be with the housing investigators
0:00:46 > 0:00:49as they crack down on those rogue tenants...
0:00:49 > 0:00:51County court bailiffs!
0:00:51 > 0:00:53..reclaim properties...
0:00:53 > 0:00:54Anybody in?
0:00:54 > 0:00:57..and give them to families in genuine need.
0:00:57 > 0:00:59All of those keys are yours.
0:01:00 > 0:01:03Oh. Don't, cos you'll start me off again.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06This is Council House Crackdown.
0:01:07 > 0:01:10Our reporter, property expert Luke Doonan,
0:01:10 > 0:01:12also grew up on a council estate.
0:01:12 > 0:01:15And for the last six months, he's been working
0:01:15 > 0:01:18alongside dedicated housing investigators
0:01:18 > 0:01:21who will stop at nothing to track down every single tenant
0:01:21 > 0:01:23who's abusing the system.
0:01:27 > 0:01:31Today, we discover an ex-pop star forging documents
0:01:31 > 0:01:35in a tenancy fraud spanning nearly 20 years.
0:01:35 > 0:01:36The occupant has been arrested,
0:01:36 > 0:01:40he's about to be brought down and taken off to a police station.
0:01:40 > 0:01:43We find out just how intense cracking down on suspected
0:01:43 > 0:01:45cheats can get.
0:01:47 > 0:01:48Yeah. Where did you...?
0:01:51 > 0:01:53I would like to have a look around the flat.
0:01:55 > 0:01:57And we catch up with a tenant who claims he's living
0:01:57 > 0:02:01in his council house in Reading, when he's actually in Greece.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04You wouldn't put your status as, "Living in Greece,"
0:02:04 > 0:02:06unless you were living in Greece.
0:02:06 > 0:02:09- That's pretty blatant, isn't it? - Yeah, absolutely.
0:02:14 > 0:02:18England is home to eight million social housing properties.
0:02:18 > 0:02:23A staggering 20% of these tenancies are thought to be fraudulent.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28Meanwhile, there are 1.8 million families on the waiting list.
0:02:28 > 0:02:30From technology to tip-offs,
0:02:30 > 0:02:33housing investigators have many weapons with which to tackle tenancy
0:02:33 > 0:02:38fraud, but sometimes the most effective is a surprise door knock.
0:02:40 > 0:02:43Our first case is an unlawful sublet.
0:02:43 > 0:02:46The couple who should be living here have been subletting for nine years
0:02:46 > 0:02:49to their nephew, whilst they've been in Portugal.
0:02:51 > 0:02:556am, Battersea, South London, the Springfield estate.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58Ben Marshall and Alan Emmerson are housing investigators
0:02:58 > 0:02:59from Lambeth Council.
0:03:01 > 0:03:04They've received a tip-off that two of the properties
0:03:04 > 0:03:07on the estate may be being unlawfully sublet.
0:03:07 > 0:03:09So, they're heading out before dawn to see if they
0:03:09 > 0:03:11can catch people at home.
0:03:14 > 0:03:17Morning. Lambeth Council.
0:03:23 > 0:03:25No light on.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31No, but I think that is his BMW downstairs.
0:03:32 > 0:03:35Ben's informer also mentioned the car.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39Good morning. From the council.
0:03:39 > 0:03:40Good morning, sir.
0:03:40 > 0:03:44I'm doing a tenancy audit, I'm after Maria or Jose.
0:03:44 > 0:03:45Who are you, please?
0:03:45 > 0:03:49The man who comes to the door is not the legal tenant.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52But he agrees to talk to the two investigators.
0:03:52 > 0:03:54Ben and Alan are invited inside.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56OK, thank you. Cheers.
0:03:56 > 0:04:00But our cameras are not allowed in.
0:04:03 > 0:04:06The legal tenants of the property are a middle-aged couple
0:04:06 > 0:04:07originally from Portugal.
0:04:09 > 0:04:12The person who answers the door is a young man in his 20s.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15He tells the investigators he's the nephew of the tenants
0:04:15 > 0:04:18and he's paying the rent.
0:04:18 > 0:04:22But he also reveals that he has someone else there paying HIM rent.
0:04:22 > 0:04:26I'll write to you and we'll take it from there. OK? Cheers, mate.
0:04:26 > 0:04:30So, it seems the official tenants have been gone for a full
0:04:30 > 0:04:33nine years without ever telling the council.
0:04:33 > 0:04:36Nine years in which someone on the housing waiting list could
0:04:36 > 0:04:37have been in the home.
0:04:39 > 0:04:42We've been into the property, the tenants went abroad nine
0:04:42 > 0:04:46years ago and that's what the guys told us as well.
0:04:46 > 0:04:48He knew the game was up.
0:04:48 > 0:04:51He was pretty much saying, "Yeah, I know there was a situation,
0:04:51 > 0:04:53"I knew something like this would happen at some point and,
0:04:53 > 0:04:56"yeah, it's true, it's fair enough.
0:04:56 > 0:05:00"My uncle's been gone for, I think, nine years, pretty much."
0:05:00 > 0:05:02Pretty safe to say we'll get the property back,
0:05:02 > 0:05:04How many families, over those nine years,
0:05:04 > 0:05:06could've been housed in that pretty nice flat?
0:05:06 > 0:05:08It's pretty wrong.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12Three weeks later, Luke goes to see Ben, to see
0:05:12 > 0:05:15if there's been any developments on this case.
0:05:17 > 0:05:20So, Ben, tell me what evidence you have on this one.
0:05:20 > 0:05:23Well, we looked into the guy that was in the property.
0:05:23 > 0:05:26The tenants are long gone, they've been gone for nine years,
0:05:26 > 0:05:29but he's the legitimate nephew of them
0:05:29 > 0:05:32and, so, they've left him to use the property. No-one's told us.
0:05:32 > 0:05:36Right, so, basically, the original tenant has left, gone elsewhere
0:05:36 > 0:05:39and effectively handed over or given the property to their nephew?
0:05:39 > 0:05:40Absolutely.
0:05:40 > 0:05:44And he's a younger guy, so I did a bit of looking into him
0:05:44 > 0:05:48- and I found out that he's a managing director of his own company.- Really?
0:05:48 > 0:05:50What kind of company? Have you got anything you could show me?
0:05:50 > 0:05:55Yeah, well, this is a support services company
0:05:55 > 0:06:00and one of the things that they do is they do, for example,
0:06:00 > 0:06:04cleaning of pre-tenancies and around the housing market
0:06:04 > 0:06:06and cleaning of communal areas and bits and pieces.
0:06:06 > 0:06:10You know, loosely based in, certainly, social housing.
0:06:10 > 0:06:14The other thing is, so, he's paying the much reduced, you know,
0:06:14 > 0:06:18rent of sort of £450 a month or so.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20When obviously, if he was in the private sector,
0:06:20 > 0:06:23it would be 1,300 at least, I would have thought.
0:06:23 > 0:06:25But the thing that makes it even worse, actually,
0:06:25 > 0:06:27is that it's a two-bed property.
0:06:27 > 0:06:29He was in one of the rooms,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32but he was subletting the other bedroom throughout as well.
0:06:32 > 0:06:34- Oh, wow.- Throughout these nine years as well, so...
0:06:34 > 0:06:36I don't know how much money he's made from that,
0:06:36 > 0:06:38but it'll be very significant.
0:06:38 > 0:06:41We know a bit about the nephew, who's been living in the property.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43Where are the original tenants, do you know?
0:06:43 > 0:06:47Well, they are Portuguese and the long and short of it is that,
0:06:47 > 0:06:51nine years ago, they went back to Portugal to live in Portugal.
0:06:51 > 0:06:53They've got their own home in Portugal
0:06:53 > 0:06:54and that's simply where they are.
0:06:54 > 0:06:58They decided then to give the property, effectively,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00to their nephew here, cos he was still in London.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03They don't have the right to do that, do they?
0:07:03 > 0:07:05Absolutely not, no. They simply needed to tell the council
0:07:05 > 0:07:08that they were leaving, we'd have got the council property back
0:07:08 > 0:07:11nine years ago, we'd have turned it round very quickly
0:07:11 > 0:07:15and, as I say, some homeless family wouldn't be homeless.
0:07:18 > 0:07:20We're in a very wealthy country.
0:07:20 > 0:07:23Nobody in this country should be living without a roof
0:07:23 > 0:07:24over their head.
0:07:24 > 0:07:27I think the social housing system is very valuable
0:07:27 > 0:07:29and it's clearly under tremendous pressure
0:07:29 > 0:07:31and we've seen a lot of examples of that recently.
0:07:31 > 0:07:34And, yeah, I think it's central to the future of London
0:07:34 > 0:07:36that we have a healthy social housing sector.
0:07:36 > 0:07:39I'm an ex-council tenant, I'm now a home owner.
0:07:39 > 0:07:42But it was a really good thing to be able to get into,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46for the simple fact, like you said, it was a stepping stone.
0:07:46 > 0:07:49I couldn't afford to go and privately rent,
0:07:49 > 0:07:50I couldn't afford to buy anything,
0:07:50 > 0:07:53but I was lucky enough to get a council flat.
0:07:53 > 0:07:55So, I used it as a stepping stone and, obviously,
0:07:55 > 0:07:56I'm now a homeowner.
0:07:56 > 0:07:59I still live with my parents.
0:07:59 > 0:08:01Cos I can't afford to move out,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05but I'm grateful and thankful that I have a roof over my head.
0:08:09 > 0:08:12In 2013, the Prevention Of Social Housing Fraud Act
0:08:12 > 0:08:16came into force, making the unauthorised subletting of council
0:08:16 > 0:08:19properties by the official tenant a criminal offence.
0:08:19 > 0:08:23People who are unknowingly renting from the official tenant
0:08:23 > 0:08:26would not normally be prosecuted,
0:08:26 > 0:08:28but if the subtenant
0:08:28 > 0:08:30does know and is in on it,
0:08:30 > 0:08:31they could be charged
0:08:31 > 0:08:32under the Fraud Act.
0:08:34 > 0:08:38The next case is an extraordinary story of an ex-pop star
0:08:38 > 0:08:40who assumed someone's identity
0:08:40 > 0:08:42in order to stay in a council property
0:08:42 > 0:08:44that he wasn't entitled to.
0:08:45 > 0:08:49The lead investigator on this story is Mike Frost.
0:08:49 > 0:08:53In the last six years, he's reclaimed 519 social housing
0:08:53 > 0:08:56homes from people who were misusing them.
0:08:56 > 0:09:00Today, Luke joins him as he hopes to make it 520.
0:09:00 > 0:09:03Mike's been uncovering one of the most extraordinary cases
0:09:03 > 0:09:06he's ever come across.
0:09:06 > 0:09:08They're on their way to Stockwell, in South London,
0:09:08 > 0:09:11to raid on a council property which has been unlawfully sublet
0:09:11 > 0:09:13for nearly 20 years.
0:09:13 > 0:09:17We're investigating a case that the fraud's gone back
0:09:17 > 0:09:19roughly 20 years.
0:09:19 > 0:09:23Wow, I mean, 20 years is, obviously, a massive amount of time.
0:09:23 > 0:09:26# Beautiful Sunday... #
0:09:26 > 0:09:30The person who's been renting it is an ex-pop star.
0:09:30 > 0:09:34# My beautiful day... #
0:09:34 > 0:09:38This is him on a German TV show in 1972.
0:09:38 > 0:09:42His stage name was Daniel Boone.
0:09:42 > 0:09:46But his real name is Peter Green.
0:09:46 > 0:09:50# My, my, it's a beautiful day. #
0:09:52 > 0:09:57The story starts in 1995 when a man called Frank Zourab
0:09:57 > 0:10:02moved into a lovely Victorian council property in Albert Square.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05Not that one, this one's in Lambeth.
0:10:05 > 0:10:08But two years ago, when a housing officer made a routine visit
0:10:08 > 0:10:12to the property and was refused access, alarm bells started ringing.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Mike began an investigation.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20He quickly discovered that the man paying the utility bills
0:10:20 > 0:10:21was a Peter Green.
0:10:21 > 0:10:25So, where was the official tenant - Frank Zourab?
0:10:25 > 0:10:29Mike's team went back to the address to find out exactly who was
0:10:29 > 0:10:31living in their property.
0:10:31 > 0:10:35The man who answered the door said he was Frank Zourab.
0:10:35 > 0:10:38He actually opened the door for us straightaway.
0:10:38 > 0:10:40He was very amenable.
0:10:40 > 0:10:45But he was quite adamant that he was Frank Zourab.
0:10:45 > 0:10:49To prove it, he showed Mike a Freedom bus pass
0:10:49 > 0:10:52with a photo ID in the name of Frank Zourab.
0:10:52 > 0:10:55But Mike wasn't convinced he was actually the legal tenant,
0:10:55 > 0:10:58so he asked him some more questions.
0:10:58 > 0:11:00We asked him what his date of birth was
0:11:00 > 0:11:03and he gave us the wrong date of birth for our tenant.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06I didn't believe that he was Frank Zourab from that moment.
0:11:06 > 0:11:10So, the investigations team dug deeper.
0:11:10 > 0:11:12They checked with the police and with the border agencies
0:11:12 > 0:11:17and discovered Frank Zourab had left the country in 1996.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20The man who was actually residing at the flat was ex-pop star
0:11:20 > 0:11:22Peter Green.
0:11:22 > 0:11:25He was about to face some tough questions.
0:11:25 > 0:11:28I said to him, well, we're going to do an audit,
0:11:28 > 0:11:32he has to sign and confirm details and also we'd take
0:11:32 > 0:11:35a statement from him and if he lied in that statement,
0:11:35 > 0:11:37that would be considered fraud
0:11:37 > 0:11:39and that's when he held his hands up.
0:11:40 > 0:11:44He had used his photo with Frank Zourab's name
0:11:44 > 0:11:47on official documents that he used as ID in order to
0:11:47 > 0:11:49live in a property he wasn't entitled to.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Now, Mike's about to join police officers
0:11:54 > 0:11:57and a bailiff at the property.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01He's obviously used the property, misused it for 20 years
0:12:01 > 0:12:03in our tenant's name.
0:12:04 > 0:12:08- That's a massive amount of time, isn't it?- It's huge, yeah.
0:12:11 > 0:12:14Mike's priority today is to make sure that any evidence at the flat
0:12:14 > 0:12:17is collected and preserved
0:12:17 > 0:12:20and that Peter Green is arrested and taken in for questioning.
0:12:24 > 0:12:27KNOCK ON DOOR
0:12:27 > 0:12:30- Hello, Peter.- Come in, I'll put on me dressing gown.
0:12:30 > 0:12:34The police explain to Peter Green the reason for his arrest.
0:12:34 > 0:12:36- OFFICER:- Sir, it's Brixton police.
0:12:36 > 0:12:39Over the last couple of years or more than a couple of years,
0:12:39 > 0:12:42you've had in your possession false identity documents
0:12:42 > 0:12:45with improper intention of using them,
0:12:45 > 0:12:49i.e. someone else's identity with your face on certain documents,
0:12:49 > 0:12:50official documents.
0:12:50 > 0:12:53For that reason, you're going to be arrested today
0:12:53 > 0:12:55- and taken to Brixton Police Station, OK?- Oh.
0:13:01 > 0:13:03The man who Mike believes has been pretending
0:13:03 > 0:13:06to be the official tenant for 20 years
0:13:06 > 0:13:09has been told to get dressed, while Mike and the police
0:13:09 > 0:13:11search the house for evidence.
0:13:13 > 0:13:15So, Mike, what's happening at the moment?
0:13:15 > 0:13:18Basically, we're just going to have to do a search of the property
0:13:18 > 0:13:21to gather some of the evidence that we've seen previously.
0:13:21 > 0:13:24- He has said to us that he's thrown a lot of it away already.- OK.
0:13:24 > 0:13:27He admitted to doing that.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30But I know that some of the documents used to be in his room,
0:13:30 > 0:13:33so once the policemen have finished dealing with him there,
0:13:33 > 0:13:36we'll search his room after we've searched the rest of the property.
0:13:36 > 0:13:38OK, what kind of things are you looking for?
0:13:38 > 0:13:39Just looking for the false IDs,
0:13:39 > 0:13:43looking for any potential tenancy agreement.
0:13:43 > 0:13:46Any links where I can see an association between himself
0:13:46 > 0:13:47and our tenant.
0:13:47 > 0:13:50He knows our tenant, he's known him, apparently as friends,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53he communicates with him and sends him Christmas cards.
0:13:53 > 0:13:55He has their telephone numbers and their addresses,
0:13:55 > 0:13:57so, we'll be looking for an address book as well
0:13:57 > 0:13:59with telephone numbers as well.
0:13:59 > 0:14:01- There could be a lot of information you could find here.- Yeah.
0:14:01 > 0:14:05It seems there's more paperwork in the bedroom.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08And just to clarify, the gentleman here
0:14:08 > 0:14:11that's just been arrested has been, effectively,
0:14:11 > 0:14:16pretending to be the original tenant for how long now?
0:14:16 > 0:14:18Er...over 20 years.
0:14:18 > 0:14:23- Right. Massive amount of time. - Yeah, it's huge. It's huge.
0:14:23 > 0:14:26A council tax bill only strengthens the case against him.
0:14:26 > 0:14:30The name of the real tenant is Frank Zourab
0:14:30 > 0:14:33and this council tax bill is in the name of Peter Green,
0:14:33 > 0:14:35which is where he's changed it.
0:14:35 > 0:14:37Chopped and changed it from Peter Green to Zourab and back.
0:14:37 > 0:14:40OK. When he thought he'd been rumbled, as it were,
0:14:40 > 0:14:42- he changed it back into the tenant's name.- To the tenant's name.
0:14:42 > 0:14:44- That's correct, yeah.- OK.
0:14:44 > 0:14:47With Mike's investigations complete,
0:14:47 > 0:14:51it won't be long before the property is repossessed.
0:14:51 > 0:14:52The occupant has been arrested
0:14:52 > 0:14:54and I believe he's about to be brought down
0:14:54 > 0:14:56and taken off to a police station.
0:15:00 > 0:15:03Mike and his team are going to stay upstairs to try and find
0:15:03 > 0:15:04some more evidence.
0:15:04 > 0:15:08After 19 years of living there, there's a lot of paperwork up there.
0:15:11 > 0:15:12So, Mike, what happens next?
0:15:12 > 0:15:14From here we go to the police station,
0:15:14 > 0:15:16where we'll conduct a PACE interview.
0:15:16 > 0:15:18Gives him an opportunity to put his side of the story in,
0:15:18 > 0:15:20obviously, hopefully clear the matter up for us.
0:15:20 > 0:15:23Hopefully we'll garner some details of our tenant,
0:15:23 > 0:15:24make contact with our tenant,
0:15:24 > 0:15:26cos that's the next most important step.
0:15:26 > 0:15:29We'll contact our tenant and hopefully get this property
0:15:29 > 0:15:30back into circulation.
0:15:31 > 0:15:33The police questioned Peter Green
0:15:33 > 0:15:36and the housing association got the property back.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The flat has now been re-let to someone
0:15:39 > 0:15:41from the housing waiting list.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48I think it is good if councils do investigate
0:15:48 > 0:15:50and, as I said, I think the deeper problem
0:15:50 > 0:15:52needs to be addressed as well.
0:15:52 > 0:15:55But, certainly, in the short term, yes, I'm in favour of councils
0:15:55 > 0:15:57making sure that what limited supply there is
0:15:57 > 0:15:59is going to people who need it the most.
0:15:59 > 0:16:02I think it's just such a shame that, if there is a system there,
0:16:02 > 0:16:04for it to be abused.
0:16:04 > 0:16:07I think we've probably got to look at the reasons why
0:16:07 > 0:16:10people are doing that and also how it's allowed to happen.
0:16:10 > 0:16:13Because, obviously, all of those people who are kind of abusing
0:16:13 > 0:16:15the system have more than their fair share,
0:16:15 > 0:16:18there's people who have absolutely nothing.
0:16:18 > 0:16:19I mean, it's been so cold recently
0:16:19 > 0:16:22and the number of people who are homeless on the streets
0:16:22 > 0:16:23is just heartbreaking.
0:16:23 > 0:16:26It's not fair, is it? Other people could have that flat.
0:16:26 > 0:16:28But it's happening a lot, actually, yeah.
0:16:32 > 0:16:34There are other ways tenants
0:16:34 > 0:16:37can illegally use their council properties.
0:16:38 > 0:16:41A 31-year-old Birmingham man conned home seekers
0:16:41 > 0:16:44out of £2,000 worth of deposits
0:16:44 > 0:16:48when he advertised his council flat using a classified ad site online.
0:16:51 > 0:16:53The same man had previously been sentenced
0:16:53 > 0:16:56to two years in prison for defrauding women
0:16:56 > 0:16:58he met on dating websites.
0:16:59 > 0:17:02His council flat advert tricked a single mother of two
0:17:02 > 0:17:06and a trainee chef out of several hundred pounds each.
0:17:06 > 0:17:08He was sentenced to two years
0:17:08 > 0:17:10and eight months in jail.
0:17:16 > 0:17:18Investigators Ben Marshall and Alan Emmerson
0:17:18 > 0:17:20from Lambeth Council
0:17:20 > 0:17:23are making unannounced visits to the Springfield housing estate
0:17:23 > 0:17:25in South London.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Working on information received, they're following up on
0:17:29 > 0:17:32properties they think might be unlawfully sublet.
0:17:34 > 0:17:37They've received a tip-off from the police that the people
0:17:37 > 0:17:40living at this next flat are not the official tenants.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49- Hello.- Hello, good morning. From the council.
0:17:52 > 0:17:55- Good morning.- Morning. - Morning,- BLEEP.
0:17:55 > 0:17:58My name's Mr Marshall, from the council, my colleague.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00We're doing a tenancy audit of the property, of the block.
0:18:00 > 0:18:04I should also say we're being followed by the BBC at the moment,
0:18:04 > 0:18:06so, they're filming at the moment.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08Is at all right for us all to come in?
0:18:08 > 0:18:11All right, we've got two ladies as well.
0:18:11 > 0:18:12Thank you.
0:18:12 > 0:18:16The lawful tenants of this flat are a middle-aged couple.
0:18:16 > 0:18:18How long have you been living here?
0:18:22 > 0:18:24- So, you don't live here?- No. - Where do you live then?
0:18:24 > 0:18:27- At- BLEEP,- 97- BLEEP.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30Southwark, is it?
0:18:30 > 0:18:31You're here now.
0:18:32 > 0:18:34But you don't live here, OK.
0:18:34 > 0:18:37My information is that you do live here.
0:18:37 > 0:18:39So that's one thing I would say.
0:18:39 > 0:18:43- Who's your uncle?- BLEEP.
0:18:43 > 0:18:47The man is claiming that he's looking after the flat
0:18:47 > 0:18:48for his uncle.
0:18:48 > 0:18:50Did you sleep here last night?
0:18:58 > 0:18:59Right, OK.
0:19:02 > 0:19:03Yeah.
0:19:05 > 0:19:07- So, where is- BLEEP- now?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10Apart from you, who else stays here?
0:19:13 > 0:19:15OK, if you don't stay here, who does stay here?
0:19:17 > 0:19:19Anyone else?
0:19:19 > 0:19:20And they live here, do they?
0:19:28 > 0:19:31- No, that's fine.- If you don't know, you can just tell us you don't know.
0:19:31 > 0:19:34We're just trying to establish who might be at the property.
0:19:34 > 0:19:37We've come here this morning looking for the tenant.
0:19:39 > 0:19:40- Yeah.- Where did you stay last night?
0:19:53 > 0:19:56Yeah, well, I can...speak to him.
0:19:58 > 0:20:00I would like to have a look round the flat.
0:20:02 > 0:20:07The man refuses to answer any more questions and he tells Ben and Alan
0:20:07 > 0:20:09he wants them to leave,
0:20:09 > 0:20:10so that he can get back to sleep.
0:20:11 > 0:20:13No worries.
0:20:15 > 0:20:17Ben and Alan are heading back to the office
0:20:17 > 0:20:18to dig deeper into exactly
0:20:18 > 0:20:22who's been using this property and for how long.
0:20:22 > 0:20:27Two months later, an enquiry's still ongoing.
0:20:27 > 0:20:29A series of credit checks have been carried out
0:20:29 > 0:20:31revealing that eight different people
0:20:31 > 0:20:35have been financially associated with the property in recent years.
0:20:36 > 0:20:40Ben and Alan believe the lawful tenant is no longer living there
0:20:40 > 0:20:43and are preparing to start the formal process
0:20:43 > 0:20:45to get the property back.
0:20:49 > 0:20:54Subletting is obviously wrong and should be cracked down hard.
0:20:54 > 0:20:58I think people who illegally sublet their council accommodation
0:20:58 > 0:21:01should know that they're breaking the law,
0:21:01 > 0:21:03whether morally or criminally.
0:21:03 > 0:21:06I think they deserve to be punished as criminals
0:21:06 > 0:21:09and in my view they should lose their property
0:21:09 > 0:21:11and pay back all the money they've made.
0:21:11 > 0:21:13Well, I suppose they're subletting it to people
0:21:13 > 0:21:15that still need housing,
0:21:15 > 0:21:17so, that is I suppose right,
0:21:17 > 0:21:20but they shouldn't use it for their own income.
0:21:20 > 0:21:23The people doing the illegal subletting
0:21:23 > 0:21:25are doing it fraudulently, they won't pay tax.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28So, that tax isn't going into providing more housing,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31so everybody is a loser from what's happening.
0:21:38 > 0:21:40Ah, Greece.
0:21:40 > 0:21:44Sunshine, blue skies, picture-postcard scenery.
0:21:44 > 0:21:48It's no wonder so many of us Brits visit every year.
0:21:48 > 0:21:52One council tenant liked it so much, he decided to move here.
0:21:56 > 0:22:00Nothing wrong with that until you know he's supposed to be living
0:22:00 > 0:22:02in a social housing property near Reading.
0:22:07 > 0:22:10The tenant concerned is a martial arts teacher.
0:22:10 > 0:22:13He'd been a tenant of housing association One Housing
0:22:13 > 0:22:15since the late 1980s.
0:22:15 > 0:22:18There was nothing remarkable about the tenancy
0:22:18 > 0:22:21until a few years ago when housing officers noticed that
0:22:21 > 0:22:24whenever anything needed doing around the house,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27it was always the tenant's daughter who contacted them.
0:22:27 > 0:22:28Luke finds out more.
0:22:28 > 0:22:32Our tenant's daughter had called on behalf of her father
0:22:32 > 0:22:35a couple of times with repairs.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37If you've got someone's daughter just phoning up,
0:22:37 > 0:22:38that's quite normal, is it?
0:22:38 > 0:22:41Just to organise repairs or whatever is needed?
0:22:41 > 0:22:45It's not unusual, but it happened on a number of occasions,
0:22:45 > 0:22:48they hadn't really seen him, they'd gone round to the property,
0:22:48 > 0:22:50they weren't finding the tenant.
0:22:50 > 0:22:52They weren't really seeing him at home.
0:22:52 > 0:22:55So, suspicions at the housing association were raised
0:22:55 > 0:22:59and then the tenant called Reading local authority's
0:22:59 > 0:23:00council tax department.
0:23:00 > 0:23:05In April of 2014, our tenant called them up and said,
0:23:05 > 0:23:09"I want to move, I'm moving abroad with my wife.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12"Can you put our daughter on the council tax?"
0:23:12 > 0:23:15At this point, he's only talking to local authority,
0:23:15 > 0:23:17but what he's saying there is he's going to go
0:23:17 > 0:23:19and live abroad somewhere else,
0:23:19 > 0:23:21his daughter's going to stay in the property.
0:23:21 > 0:23:24- If you have social housing, you can't just do that, can you?- No.
0:23:24 > 0:23:30I think he didn't expect anyone to be looking at this too seriously.
0:23:30 > 0:23:33Maybe he didn't think he was doing anything that wrong
0:23:33 > 0:23:35by just allowing his daughter to live in the property.
0:23:35 > 0:23:37It's a common misconception,
0:23:37 > 0:23:41but normally you cannot pass your social housing on to your children.
0:23:41 > 0:23:45They have to join the queue with everyone else.
0:23:45 > 0:23:47Back on the trail, the council contacted the housing
0:23:47 > 0:23:51association investigators and asked them to look into the case.
0:23:51 > 0:23:54They began their search online.
0:23:54 > 0:23:59We make great use of social media, things of that nature.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02- People post about their lives. - Yeah, sure.
0:24:02 > 0:24:04So, what we did, we did a quick search
0:24:04 > 0:24:07and we found a profile for our tenant online.
0:24:07 > 0:24:08OK, what did that tell you?
0:24:08 > 0:24:11March 2014, saying goodbye to the pets,
0:24:11 > 0:24:13cos he's moving to Greece.
0:24:13 > 0:24:18- "Due to our house move, our beautiful pets- BLEEP- and cat- BLEEP
0:24:18 > 0:24:20"and the dog are changing household.
0:24:20 > 0:24:22"It's sad to see them both going."
0:24:22 > 0:24:26He's re-homing his pets and, again, you can see March 2014
0:24:26 > 0:24:27right around the time...
0:24:27 > 0:24:29It's tied in with the information we already have
0:24:29 > 0:24:31that he's going to leave.
0:24:31 > 0:24:33You can see here that it says he's living in Greece
0:24:33 > 0:24:34and a picture of the house there.
0:24:34 > 0:24:36From our point of view,
0:24:36 > 0:24:38the evidence doesn't get too much better than that.
0:24:38 > 0:24:41I guess you wouldn't put your status as, I can see it there,
0:24:41 > 0:24:45"Living in Greece," unless you were living in Greece.
0:24:45 > 0:24:46This is a social media site, Facebook,
0:24:46 > 0:24:48that everyone uses, pretty much.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- So, he's putting that out there to the world.- Yeah, absolutely.
0:24:51 > 0:24:55And he's very detailed about what he posts and there's a lot of it,
0:24:55 > 0:24:58so you know, and it's very specific about locations, what he's doing.
0:24:58 > 0:25:01He tags himself in, so, you can see from some of the posts,
0:25:01 > 0:25:04we'll have a look, that he's actually located himself
0:25:04 > 0:25:08as being in Greece when he's putting that up and putting that out there.
0:25:08 > 0:25:10He's putting so much information on.
0:25:10 > 0:25:13So, in a way he's giving you, on a plate,
0:25:13 > 0:25:16quite a beautiful life story in images, isn't he?
0:25:16 > 0:25:20Absolutely. Anyone who can use a computer can access.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22- It's very blatant, isn't it? - It is, yeah.
0:25:23 > 0:25:27With nearly 39 million people in the UK using the internet
0:25:27 > 0:25:30every single day, tracking someone's life is easier
0:25:30 > 0:25:32than you might think.
0:25:32 > 0:25:36From social media and online banking to chatrooms and forums.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38It's a source of information
0:25:38 > 0:25:39that councils
0:25:39 > 0:25:40and housing associations are now
0:25:40 > 0:25:42actively using to investigate
0:25:42 > 0:25:44tenancy fraud suspects
0:25:44 > 0:25:47and put guilty parties behind bars.
0:25:48 > 0:25:51More evidence came in the form of another status update.
0:25:51 > 0:25:55So, you can see here in the very same month on this next post,
0:25:55 > 0:25:56"Started a new job."
0:25:56 > 0:26:00OK, I mean, that is just, surely, all the information you need?
0:26:00 > 0:26:03The guy has moved, I can see it says, "Moved,"
0:26:03 > 0:26:05I can see it says, "Started work."
0:26:05 > 0:26:06Yeah, absolutely, I mean, for us,
0:26:06 > 0:26:09this is almost the perfect investigation.
0:26:09 > 0:26:12We don't really want to have to go and trace money or anything
0:26:12 > 0:26:14through three, four, five bank accounts.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16This is all here, it's all been given to us
0:26:16 > 0:26:20by the tenant simply putting information out there
0:26:20 > 0:26:22for the public and for anyone to read.
0:26:22 > 0:26:26With so much evidence already in the public domain,
0:26:26 > 0:26:29Graham felt confident his tenant would move his daughter out
0:26:29 > 0:26:32and give the keys back to the housing association.
0:26:32 > 0:26:34We've had an interview with him
0:26:34 > 0:26:36and we've essentially put this information to him.
0:26:36 > 0:26:39We've said that we don't believe that he's living at the address,
0:26:39 > 0:26:42that his daughter's living at the address and he's out in Greece.
0:26:42 > 0:26:46We've taken him through the same evidence that we've shown you today.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48He denied that he was living in Greece.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50- Really?- Absolutely.- Wow.
0:26:50 > 0:26:54What he said to us was that, essentially, you can update
0:26:54 > 0:26:58your Facebook status from anywhere and I just do that.
0:26:58 > 0:27:00I want all my friends to know that I've...a nice life,
0:27:00 > 0:27:02I've got self-confidence issues...
0:27:02 > 0:27:04So, basically, he was saying to us,
0:27:04 > 0:27:07"I'm not living there, I'm just making these posts up."
0:27:07 > 0:27:11So, Graham was forced to get yet more evidence.
0:27:11 > 0:27:13We also requested bank statements from him
0:27:13 > 0:27:18and one of those was a joint account with his wife in Greece.
0:27:18 > 0:27:21We asked him in the interview if he had,
0:27:21 > 0:27:24if he knew about that account and at first, he denied it.
0:27:24 > 0:27:26He denied it flat out.
0:27:26 > 0:27:28We said to him, "We've got this joint account,
0:27:28 > 0:27:31"that's going to clearly show transactions coming from Greece."
0:27:31 > 0:27:33Did he try and fight to keep the property?
0:27:33 > 0:27:36A few days later, he came to the office and said
0:27:36 > 0:27:39that actually he didn't want to have that fight...
0:27:39 > 0:27:42He said that he was prepared to hand the keys back.
0:27:42 > 0:27:45Finally, this Greek tragedy had come to an end.
0:27:45 > 0:27:48We have vacant possession, we have the property back
0:27:48 > 0:27:50and it's in the process of being re-let.
0:27:50 > 0:27:52OK. And I have no doubt whatsoever that a family
0:27:52 > 0:27:55who is in genuine need of social housing
0:27:55 > 0:27:58will be over the moon to live in a house like that.
0:27:58 > 0:27:59Yeah. Absolutely.
0:27:59 > 0:28:01We've seen before, it's a lovely property,
0:28:01 > 0:28:04it's going to one of the many deserving people
0:28:04 > 0:28:05who will make good use of it.
0:28:10 > 0:28:14London councils own a quarter of all council homes in England,
0:28:14 > 0:28:18but are responsible for over half of all housing fraud detected.
0:28:20 > 0:28:221,618 homes were recovered
0:28:22 > 0:28:25from cheats in London last year.
0:28:27 > 0:28:30If you've got something that's worth a lot of money,
0:28:30 > 0:28:31i.e. somewhere to live in London,
0:28:31 > 0:28:35it's bound to be open to, you know, people abusing the system.
0:28:35 > 0:28:38I think the strain in London is particularly difficult.
0:28:38 > 0:28:40London is a hub for migrants,
0:28:40 > 0:28:44it's a hub for people who want to work on the black market.
0:28:44 > 0:28:46And I think...and therefore, as a result of that,
0:28:46 > 0:28:48you're going to get overcrowding.
0:28:48 > 0:28:51There are people out there that do need social housing
0:28:51 > 0:28:53and need it desperately.
0:28:53 > 0:28:56Especially people with bigger families.
0:28:56 > 0:28:59So, in order for other people to actually earn their money
0:28:59 > 0:29:01off that, which I think is quite...
0:29:01 > 0:29:03It's not nice, really, is it?
0:29:03 > 0:29:04Who wants to sleep on the streets?
0:29:04 > 0:29:08Who wants to, you know, not have a bed?
0:29:08 > 0:29:10Who wants to sleep in hostels?
0:29:10 > 0:29:13As far as I'm concerned, my home is really important to myself.
0:29:13 > 0:29:20And, you know, if it came that I basically no longer needed it,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22the first thing I would do is give it back to the people
0:29:22 > 0:29:25that I actually owned the place from, you know,
0:29:25 > 0:29:27and not be selfish about it.
0:29:30 > 0:29:34Some tenancy fraud cases can be resolved very quickly,
0:29:34 > 0:29:37but others can take months of painstaking detective work.
0:29:39 > 0:29:43Viridian Housing is one of the biggest housing associations
0:29:43 > 0:29:47in the UK, it manages over 16,000 properties.
0:29:47 > 0:29:50Preventing property fraud is a big priority for them.
0:29:50 > 0:29:52Luke meets up with Katrina Robinson,
0:29:52 > 0:29:55who heads up Viridian's tenancy fraud operations.
0:29:55 > 0:29:59Katrina is relentless in her pursuit of tenancy cheats,
0:29:59 > 0:30:02so much so her efforts were recognised by Her Majesty
0:30:02 > 0:30:05when she received an MBE in the New Year's Honours list.
0:30:05 > 0:30:09Katrina, how do you deal with housing fraud here at Viridian?
0:30:09 > 0:30:13Well, we have two in-house tenancy fraud investigators
0:30:13 > 0:30:15and we also have an in-house legal team.
0:30:15 > 0:30:18And we are very passionate about detecting
0:30:18 > 0:30:20and stopping tenancy fraud.
0:30:20 > 0:30:22Why are you so passionate about this?
0:30:22 > 0:30:23Because it's simply not right
0:30:23 > 0:30:26when we have the huge problems we have at the moment
0:30:26 > 0:30:29and probably will continue in the country regarding housing.
0:30:29 > 0:30:31But people are making vast sums of money
0:30:31 > 0:30:34out of subletting our properties and they just shouldn't be.
0:30:34 > 0:30:37Our properties are to house people that have a social housing need.
0:30:37 > 0:30:40We're not here for people to make a profit out of us.
0:30:40 > 0:30:41It is pure greed.
0:30:41 > 0:30:43People can make an awful lot of money out of it,
0:30:43 > 0:30:45but, of course, now they can also go to prison because of it.
0:30:45 > 0:30:47Do you think a lot of people think,
0:30:47 > 0:30:51"Got a social housing property or a council property, it's mine,
0:30:51 > 0:30:55"it's just the council, I can do exactly what I want with it."
0:30:55 > 0:30:59Yes, unfortunately, I feel a lot of people are of that view.
0:30:59 > 0:31:02They consider it's like, you know, back in the 1970s is when
0:31:02 > 0:31:05you got a social home, you had it forever
0:31:05 > 0:31:08and you never got evicted and things are very, very different now.
0:31:08 > 0:31:12Our next case took Katrina's team over 12 months to unravel.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16And it involved a young woman who not only barely set foot
0:31:16 > 0:31:18inside the property allocated to her,
0:31:18 > 0:31:22but tried to cling onto it by falsifying documents.
0:31:22 > 0:31:26This is Redcliffe Square, in the Earls Court area of London.
0:31:26 > 0:31:29Once known as bedsit land, it's now an exclusive
0:31:29 > 0:31:30and sought-after area.
0:31:31 > 0:31:33Luke's on his way there now,
0:31:33 > 0:31:36with housing officer Debbie who wishes to remain anonymous.
0:31:36 > 0:31:38In March 2014,
0:31:38 > 0:31:43Viridian Housing moved a young woman into a flat in Redcliffe Square.
0:31:44 > 0:31:49A starter tenancy was given to a female single occupier
0:31:49 > 0:31:51about March 2014.
0:31:51 > 0:31:58She was nominated to us, because she was in a female hostel.
0:31:59 > 0:32:02On the face of it, the tenant seemed like a deserving case,
0:32:02 > 0:32:04but after a few months,
0:32:04 > 0:32:07the neighbours reported that there was no-one living at the flat.
0:32:07 > 0:32:09Debbie decided to investigate further.
0:32:09 > 0:32:12You've given someone a tenancy who's in a vulnerable situation,
0:32:12 > 0:32:15who's been living in a hostel and they appear not to be there.
0:32:15 > 0:32:17- Well, that's what was being alleged...- Right.
0:32:17 > 0:32:19..after the first, sort of,
0:32:19 > 0:32:22when the referral initially came to me.
0:32:23 > 0:32:25I conduct background checks.
0:32:25 > 0:32:28She wasn't showing as laying a footprint.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31When you say footprint, you mean things like gas, electricity,
0:32:31 > 0:32:32utilities, that kind of thing?
0:32:32 > 0:32:35Yeah, yeah, sort of, like, showing, maybe bank statements,
0:32:35 > 0:32:38maybe you'd move your mobile phone contracts.
0:32:38 > 0:32:43Am I right in thinking that we are kind of seconds away from Chelsea?
0:32:43 > 0:32:45I mean, this area is the London Borough
0:32:45 > 0:32:48- of Kensington and Chelsea, yes. - Incredible.
0:32:48 > 0:32:51It's just full of incredibly tall, beautiful houses.
0:32:51 > 0:32:53- SHE LAUGHS - Yeah, yeah.
0:32:53 > 0:32:55You can park here, we're going to the property
0:32:55 > 0:32:58that's literally just over there to the other side of that square.
0:32:58 > 0:32:59OK, so it's actually on the square?
0:32:59 > 0:33:02- It is on the square. - This is stunning, isn't it?
0:33:02 > 0:33:03Yeah, it's beautiful.
0:33:06 > 0:33:08It's a very impressive entrance, isn't it?
0:33:08 > 0:33:09Yeah, really nice.
0:33:09 > 0:33:11Let's go inside and have a look.
0:33:11 > 0:33:12So, how many flats would be in here?
0:33:12 > 0:33:14There's eight.
0:33:16 > 0:33:18One of the first clues that the tenant
0:33:18 > 0:33:20wasn't actually living at the property
0:33:20 > 0:33:22came when her mail started piling up.
0:33:22 > 0:33:26Obviously the tenant's mail is put on the hall table here
0:33:26 > 0:33:29and it had been reported that there was uncollected mail for the tenant.
0:33:29 > 0:33:31OK.
0:33:31 > 0:33:35Which I saw for myself when I visited, there was a bundle.
0:33:35 > 0:33:37OK, are you going to show me the flat?
0:33:37 > 0:33:38- Yeah.- Great.
0:33:40 > 0:33:42Let's have a look.
0:33:42 > 0:33:44What's sort of the layout here?
0:33:44 > 0:33:46- This is the bathroom.- OK.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49- That's nice. Nice, high ceilings. - Yeah.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52And then the living room next door.
0:33:52 > 0:33:53All right.
0:33:55 > 0:33:58- I mean, it's a studio flat. - It's a studio flat, yeah.
0:33:58 > 0:34:01- So, it's living room and... - Bedroom.- ..bedroom.
0:34:01 > 0:34:04But it's still a good size and I can't get over the location.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07- Well, for a single person, yeah, exactly.- Perfect.
0:34:07 > 0:34:10Where it is for the amount of money - great.
0:34:10 > 0:34:14A typical studio flat on the open market in Redcliffe Square
0:34:14 > 0:34:17would fetch up to £1,500 a month.
0:34:17 > 0:34:22The housing association rent on this property is just £514 a month.
0:34:22 > 0:34:26- Up here, so it's on two levels. This is the kitchen.- Yeah.
0:34:26 > 0:34:29- It's pretty sizeable, isn't it? - Well, yes.
0:34:29 > 0:34:33She had the flat, what happened in terms of her...?
0:34:33 > 0:34:38I spoke with my manager, who sort of given the lack of contact,
0:34:38 > 0:34:41we had people in the block saying they'd not been seen.
0:34:41 > 0:34:44The housing officer had made visits, she'd not responded,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48there was piles of post being left in the hallway.
0:34:48 > 0:34:51- We decided to serve the notices.- OK.
0:34:52 > 0:34:56Serving a notice to quit and a notice of seeking possession
0:34:56 > 0:34:59means the tenant has a set period of time to vacate the property.
0:35:01 > 0:35:04If they failed to do so, then eviction proceedings will start.
0:35:05 > 0:35:08So, when you say serve notices, that's giving the tenant,
0:35:08 > 0:35:11your tenant the opportunity to give the flat back,
0:35:11 > 0:35:13- because it's clear they're not using it.- Yeah.
0:35:13 > 0:35:14How did she react to that?
0:35:14 > 0:35:19Well, I served the notice which has two months before it expires
0:35:19 > 0:35:24and I literally heard from her about four days before it expired.
0:35:24 > 0:35:27- Really?- So, for almost two months I heard nothing
0:35:27 > 0:35:29and then she picks the phone up.
0:35:29 > 0:35:31What did she say?
0:35:31 > 0:35:33She said that she had been away
0:35:33 > 0:35:35and had to deal with a family emergency
0:35:35 > 0:35:39and that this was her main home and that she would prove it to us.
0:35:39 > 0:35:42I gave her the opportunity to go away and provide me
0:35:42 > 0:35:47with utility bills, payments made, usage details from the date
0:35:47 > 0:35:51that she moved in the flat to the date that she made contact.
0:35:51 > 0:35:54So, the tenant came up with some e-mails that seemed to
0:35:54 > 0:35:57indicate the services were all in hand.
0:35:57 > 0:35:59I looked at the sort of e-mails that were being sent
0:35:59 > 0:36:03and I queried them with the actual companies themselves directly.
0:36:03 > 0:36:08- The e-mails had been doctored that she'd been sending to me.- Really?
0:36:08 > 0:36:12The tenant faked e-mails from the utilities company
0:36:12 > 0:36:16to try and keep hold of the flat that she wasn't even living in.
0:36:16 > 0:36:19After she'd rang me in response to the notices and that I said,
0:36:19 > 0:36:23"This is what I want," she then got on the phone to all the utilities.
0:36:23 > 0:36:28- Kind of...- Saying I need the account in my name, kind of thing.
0:36:28 > 0:36:31It's kind of quite desperate.
0:36:31 > 0:36:34Yeah, I sort of said to her, basically,
0:36:34 > 0:36:37"I'm fully aware of, you know, what you've done,
0:36:37 > 0:36:40"you've doctored e-mails to make it look like you've been resident
0:36:40 > 0:36:43"from the start date and been paying bills."
0:36:43 > 0:36:45When you confronted her with that, was she shocked?
0:36:45 > 0:36:47Well, this was over the phone.
0:36:47 > 0:36:49And she was in denial, complete denial.
0:36:49 > 0:36:51Surely the whole idea about social housing
0:36:51 > 0:36:54- is that you actually live in it? - And you live there. Yeah.
0:36:54 > 0:36:55It has to be your main and principal home.
0:36:55 > 0:37:00In fact, leaving the flat empty is a breach of the tenancy agreement
0:37:00 > 0:37:03and it's preventing someone in need from living in it.
0:37:03 > 0:37:06After a whole year of battling it out at court,
0:37:06 > 0:37:09eventually the housing association won back possession of the flat
0:37:09 > 0:37:11and the tenant was ordered to leave.
0:37:11 > 0:37:14- This is now clearly a home to someone.- Yeah.
0:37:14 > 0:37:17So, you got the property back and it's being re-let to someone else?
0:37:17 > 0:37:19Yeah, within weeks of getting the property back,
0:37:19 > 0:37:22the new tenants moved in, made it their home.
0:37:22 > 0:37:25That must give you amazing job satisfaction
0:37:25 > 0:37:28to know that someone in genuine need now lives where we're standing.
0:37:28 > 0:37:31Well, all I can say is congratulations with your tenacity.
0:37:31 > 0:37:33- Great work, well done.- Thank you.
0:37:36 > 0:37:38You don't just walk through the door and say,
0:37:38 > 0:37:41"Can I have a property, please?" And they're handing out keys.
0:37:41 > 0:37:42To be issued that and then not use it,
0:37:42 > 0:37:45I can't understand why people would do that.
0:37:45 > 0:37:48The victims of social housing for me would be the people
0:37:48 > 0:37:51that genuinely have a need for immediate social housing
0:37:51 > 0:37:54so people that maybe need to have...be moved from a hostel
0:37:54 > 0:37:57or maybe from a bedsit to somewhere that's more permanent
0:37:57 > 0:37:58if they're a young family.
0:37:58 > 0:38:00And they're not having that availability,
0:38:00 > 0:38:02cos someone else is exploiting the system.
0:38:02 > 0:38:08It's so valuable, this housing, that we should be very disciplined
0:38:08 > 0:38:11about how it's used and councils should be very careful
0:38:11 > 0:38:13about what they do.
0:38:13 > 0:38:16I think that far too many social housing homes
0:38:16 > 0:38:20were sold off in the past, which has left a desperate shortage now
0:38:20 > 0:38:23and I know people who are on waiting lists,
0:38:23 > 0:38:26so I do think it's a problem, yes.
0:38:30 > 0:38:32This next story came to light
0:38:32 > 0:38:35when a housing benefit claim was made from an address
0:38:35 > 0:38:39which should have been rented out to another family entirely.
0:38:40 > 0:38:43In fact, the family who should've been living at the flat
0:38:43 > 0:38:45in Poplar, East London, had moved out
0:38:45 > 0:38:48and were unlawfully subletting it.
0:38:50 > 0:38:54This is Avril Drummond, from Poplar Harca housing association.
0:38:54 > 0:38:57She's passionate about social housing going to the right people,
0:38:57 > 0:39:00in other words, the people who've been waiting patiently
0:39:00 > 0:39:04on the housing list, rather than wanting to jump the queue.
0:39:04 > 0:39:08She first got wind of this case when a colleague examined
0:39:08 > 0:39:10a housing benefit claim from a resident
0:39:10 > 0:39:12in one of Poplar Harca's homes.
0:39:12 > 0:39:14This case first came to light...
0:39:14 > 0:39:17I received an e-mail from the rent officer
0:39:17 > 0:39:20to advise me that a housing benefit claim had been made
0:39:20 > 0:39:23by somebody who wasn't our lawful tenant.
0:39:23 > 0:39:25So, I started looking into the circumstances,
0:39:25 > 0:39:29I carried out financial checks on the person named
0:39:29 > 0:39:34on the housing benefit application form and also on our lawful tenant.
0:39:34 > 0:39:36And I found that our lawful tenant,
0:39:36 > 0:39:39although she was still registered on the property, the electoral roll,
0:39:39 > 0:39:44so was another three different people which concerned me greatly,
0:39:44 > 0:39:47as it was only a two-bedroom flat, it's not a huge property.
0:39:47 > 0:39:51So, I started carrying out financial checks
0:39:51 > 0:39:54on the lawful tenant and that showed
0:39:54 > 0:39:57that she did have a few financial links to the property,
0:39:57 > 0:40:00but so did the person who was named on the housing benefit form.
0:40:00 > 0:40:04Normally, you wouldn't register your bank account or credit cards
0:40:04 > 0:40:07or apply for credit at a property you don't live at
0:40:07 > 0:40:09as your main and principal home.
0:40:10 > 0:40:13So, Avril dug further into the tenant's paperwork.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17I checked back on the tenancy, there was no notification that this
0:40:17 > 0:40:21tenant had other people living in the property with her.
0:40:21 > 0:40:25And she was still registered there with her husband and two children.
0:40:25 > 0:40:29So, the property would have been extremely overcrowded
0:40:29 > 0:40:32with eight people living in a two-bedroom flat.
0:40:34 > 0:40:36If you're a social housing tenant,
0:40:36 > 0:40:38you're supposed to inform the council if you get married
0:40:38 > 0:40:41or have children
0:40:41 > 0:40:42or if there's any change
0:40:42 > 0:40:44in the number of people
0:40:44 > 0:40:45living in your property.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Once Avril was sure of her case,
0:40:51 > 0:40:54she went to the flat and spoke to one of the people living there.
0:40:54 > 0:40:57It turned out to be a friend of the tenant.
0:40:57 > 0:41:01Once we were inside the property, the tenant's friend,
0:41:01 > 0:41:02who'd been living there for years,
0:41:02 > 0:41:04she was very helpful, very cooperative.
0:41:04 > 0:41:08She gave us some, you know, more information, more evidence.
0:41:09 > 0:41:12The documents the subtenant gave to Avril
0:41:12 > 0:41:16showed she was paying £350 a month in rent to the official tenant.
0:41:19 > 0:41:23With other names also associated with the property,
0:41:23 > 0:41:26Avril decided she had sufficient evidence to start the formal process
0:41:26 > 0:41:28of getting the flat back.
0:41:28 > 0:41:31And allocating it to someone else.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36We believe that the property was being, possibly,
0:41:36 > 0:41:38misused for up to four years.
0:41:38 > 0:41:41Putting everything together, the financial evidence,
0:41:41 > 0:41:44the evidence, the witness statement from the tenant's friend,
0:41:44 > 0:41:50her bank statements, also the pictures of inside the property.
0:41:50 > 0:41:53That, in whole, gave us, we believe, enough evidence
0:41:53 > 0:41:57to warrant serving notices on the property, which is what we then did.
0:41:57 > 0:42:01Once Avril had told the official tenant how much evidence she had,
0:42:01 > 0:42:05the tenant didn't take up the option to go to court,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07but handed the keys back.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11The property has been reallocated to a local family in genuine need
0:42:11 > 0:42:14off the waiting list, which is absolutely fantastic.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16You know, every single family that's re-homed, you know,
0:42:16 > 0:42:18is a job well done, as far as I'm concerned.
0:42:18 > 0:42:20So, absolutely over the moon
0:42:20 > 0:42:23that a deserving family has now been re-housed.
0:42:27 > 0:42:31It really is down to the hard work and tenacity of housing fraud
0:42:31 > 0:42:35officers that tenancy cheats are being stopped in their tracks.
0:42:35 > 0:42:40And those properties can then be given to people in genuine need.