0:00:04 > 0:00:05I'm Michelle Ackley.
0:00:05 > 0:00:08My parents both grew up on council estates
0:00:08 > 0:00:12and as a family, we understand the difference social housing can make
0:00:12 > 0:00:13to people's lives.
0:00:13 > 0:00:18Millions of families across the UK are struggling to find affordable housing.
0:00:18 > 0:00:22So this is my front room and my bedroom together.
0:00:22 > 0:00:25Many are living in temporary or overcrowded conditions,
0:00:25 > 0:00:27desperate for somewhere decent to live.
0:00:27 > 0:00:30This is our room where we sleep and this is what we've got at the minute.
0:00:30 > 0:00:32We can't really call it our home.
0:00:32 > 0:00:35But some social housing tenants are abusing the system,
0:00:35 > 0:00:38holding on to properties they no longer need.
0:00:38 > 0:00:39When somebody applies for housing,
0:00:39 > 0:00:42you expect them to live in the property and when they don't,
0:00:42 > 0:00:44it does start to take the mickey.
0:00:44 > 0:00:45Or even worse,
0:00:45 > 0:00:48making a small fortune by illegally subletting them.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51He was charging beyond £1,500 a month.
0:00:51 > 0:00:54He exploited this completely to his advantage.
0:00:54 > 0:00:58So I'm with housing investigators cracking down on tenancy cheats...
0:01:00 > 0:01:03- What a waste.- If you want to commit tenancy fraud,
0:01:03 > 0:01:04don't bother coming here.
0:01:04 > 0:01:06..reclaiming properties...
0:01:06 > 0:01:08I need to speak to you, please.
0:01:08 > 0:01:11They've seen an opportunity and they think they're not going to get caught.
0:01:11 > 0:01:15..and giving them to families in genuine need.
0:01:15 > 0:01:17That's how a council house should be.
0:01:17 > 0:01:19It should be loved and looked after.
0:01:20 > 0:01:22This is Council House Crackdown.
0:01:26 > 0:01:30Today, we discover how this woman swindled thousands of pounds from
0:01:30 > 0:01:33the public purse by illegally subletting her council property.
0:01:33 > 0:01:37So she's had 19 different people living within that property.
0:01:37 > 0:01:41Yeah, well our suspicion at that point was 19 people have had some kind of
0:01:41 > 0:01:44credit activity there, so it's very suspicious.
0:01:44 > 0:01:45Oh, my gosh.
0:01:45 > 0:01:48Investigators uncover the truth behind a man who said he
0:01:48 > 0:01:52lived in cramped conditions but in fact had a portfolio of not one,
0:01:52 > 0:01:56not two, not three, but four houses.
0:01:56 > 0:02:00It's very clear. He's made a false statement here and had a perfect
0:02:00 > 0:02:01opportunity to say, "Look, hang on.
0:02:01 > 0:02:04"I shouldn't be taking this tenancy and depriving someone else."
0:02:04 > 0:02:06I mean, the audacity of the person is unbelievable,
0:02:06 > 0:02:08to be honest with you.
0:02:08 > 0:02:09And in east London,
0:02:09 > 0:02:13housing officers finally take back a property that's fallen into complete
0:02:13 > 0:02:15disrepair while the tenant was living elsewhere.
0:02:15 > 0:02:21It certainly doesn't look like it's been decorated or lived in for a long, long time.
0:02:21 > 0:02:23What a waste.
0:02:30 > 0:02:31According to research,
0:02:31 > 0:02:36nearly 100,000 social housing properties are being unlawfully sublet
0:02:36 > 0:02:42and in a time of unprecedented demand, and so many people desperate for somewhere to live,
0:02:42 > 0:02:45most agree this constitutes a drain on a precious
0:02:45 > 0:02:47resource that we can ill afford.
0:02:48 > 0:02:52This two-bedroom flat in Kilburn was one of those properties being
0:02:52 > 0:02:54illegally sublet.
0:02:54 > 0:02:5766-year-old fraudster Ingrid Schultz should have been living there
0:02:57 > 0:03:01but Brent Council discovered that instead she was making thousands of
0:03:01 > 0:03:04pounds by illegally subletting the property.
0:03:06 > 0:03:09I've joined Dave Verma, head of the fraud team
0:03:09 > 0:03:10that uncovered her deception.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15So, Dave, tell me a bit more about this area of London.
0:03:15 > 0:03:17So it's very up and coming.
0:03:17 > 0:03:20This is north-west six, so it's very sought after.
0:03:20 > 0:03:24The house prices are escalating at a rate of knots round here.
0:03:24 > 0:03:28Outside London, the average monthly rent is less than £900.
0:03:28 > 0:03:31But in the capital it's over 1,500,
0:03:31 > 0:03:35so there's an acute demand for affordable social housing.
0:03:35 > 0:03:37So let's talk about Ingrid Schultz.
0:03:37 > 0:03:39When did she first get a property with Brent Council?
0:03:39 > 0:03:41That was in January 2003.
0:03:41 > 0:03:44Everything seemed absolutely in order and there were no suspicions
0:03:44 > 0:03:45for many years.
0:03:47 > 0:03:50But in 2015, 12 years later,
0:03:50 > 0:03:53Brent Council received an anonymous tip-off that Ingrid Schultz was no
0:03:53 > 0:03:55longer living here.
0:03:57 > 0:03:59So off the back of that tip off,
0:03:59 > 0:04:02you paid an unannounced visit to this property, is that right?
0:04:02 > 0:04:04Yes, the wrong person opened the door.
0:04:04 > 0:04:09So there was a lady who opened the door and she seemed to be quite evasive
0:04:09 > 0:04:12and was saying that the genuine tenant, Ingrid Schultz, was away.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15Friends, family members can, you know, can open doors.
0:04:15 > 0:04:18What was it about it that made you think, "Hold on a minute"?
0:04:18 > 0:04:20She didn't come across quite right.
0:04:20 > 0:04:22She definitely seemed to be hiding something.
0:04:22 > 0:04:27Off the back of that, some more detailed intelligence checks were done.
0:04:28 > 0:04:32The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act gives council fraud teams
0:04:32 > 0:04:35the powers to access someone's bank details, as well as their
0:04:35 > 0:04:40credit history, their utility bills, and even their phone records
0:04:40 > 0:04:43if they believe a property is being illegally sublet.
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Brent Council's fraud team quickly discovered through credit checks
0:04:49 > 0:04:52that Ingrid Schultz was linked to a second address,
0:04:52 > 0:04:55six miles away in the borough of Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:04:55 > 0:04:56So where was she really living?
0:04:56 > 0:04:58In Brent or Hammersmith?
0:04:58 > 0:04:59What did you do next?
0:04:59 > 0:05:02We felt confident to work in partnership with
0:05:02 > 0:05:05Hammersmith and Fulham to organise joint visits,
0:05:05 > 0:05:09whereby we'd visit simultaneously this address in Brent and also that
0:05:09 > 0:05:10one in Hammersmith and Fulham.
0:05:10 > 0:05:12A double door knock, basically, isn't it?
0:05:12 > 0:05:14That's the bottom line, yeah.
0:05:14 > 0:05:17So you knock on the door of this property
0:05:17 > 0:05:21where Ingrid is supposed to be living at the same time as
0:05:21 > 0:05:24the property you suspect that she is actually living at.
0:05:24 > 0:05:28We can get an immediate snapshot view as to what the reality of the
0:05:28 > 0:05:32matters are and we can speak to whoever we find at both properties to get
0:05:32 > 0:05:37their view on why they are living where they're living and what the real situation is.
0:05:37 > 0:05:39So would they find Ingrid Schultz at her social housing
0:05:39 > 0:05:42property in Brent, or at the other flat in Hammersmith?
0:05:42 > 0:05:45- What did you find?- Ingrid Schultz was actually residing,
0:05:45 > 0:05:47or appeared to be actually residing,
0:05:47 > 0:05:49at the Hammersmith and Fulham address.
0:05:49 > 0:05:53The fraud team's double door knock had caught her at the second address,
0:05:53 > 0:05:57but she claimed to have a legitimate reason for being there.
0:05:57 > 0:06:02When pressed, she was telling us that one reason she was often in
0:06:02 > 0:06:05Hammersmith and Fulham was to look after her cats.
0:06:05 > 0:06:09She had four cats and she was telling us that they lived there because it
0:06:09 > 0:06:10was a ground-floor property.
0:06:10 > 0:06:12What did you think when she told you that?
0:06:12 > 0:06:14Surely you thought, "The game's up, Ingrid"?
0:06:14 > 0:06:17Yeah, it just doesn't hold together,
0:06:17 > 0:06:21it's not logical and we knew she was trying to fob us off.
0:06:21 > 0:06:25Ingrid Schultz's assertion that her cats had to live in Hammersmith
0:06:25 > 0:06:29while she lived six miles away in Brent might have seemed ridiculous,
0:06:29 > 0:06:33but the investigators had to treat her claims seriously.
0:06:33 > 0:06:36In this instance, she was so adamant that she was actually residing in
0:06:36 > 0:06:39Brent that we thought we'd give her the benefit of the doubt and arrange a
0:06:39 > 0:06:41visit here to see her in this property.
0:06:41 > 0:06:43So a few days later,
0:06:43 > 0:06:47the fraud team visited Ingrid Schultz at her social housing flat in Brent,
0:06:47 > 0:06:50which she claimed was still her permanent address.
0:06:50 > 0:06:54She had created the facade that she was living here,
0:06:54 > 0:06:59but it was very strange because she was in the front room with a double bed in the front room.
0:06:59 > 0:07:03- So she was saying that she was living in the front room in a double bed.- Yeah.- Why?
0:07:03 > 0:07:06She said she didn't like the rear of the property for some reason
0:07:06 > 0:07:09and that she preferred to be in the front room.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11To me, honestly, it sounds quite comical, like,
0:07:11 > 0:07:14what was your reaction when she said that?
0:07:14 > 0:07:17It made us feel even more suspicious.
0:07:17 > 0:07:19What are you thinking that the actual situation is?
0:07:19 > 0:07:23It appeared very much to us that this premises had been sublet in its
0:07:23 > 0:07:28entirety and that the different rooms had been made into bedrooms
0:07:28 > 0:07:30that could be let out.
0:07:30 > 0:07:33It was a two-bedroom flat complete with a living room,
0:07:33 > 0:07:36so Ingrid Schultz had three rooms she could rent out separately,
0:07:36 > 0:07:39all while living in another borough a few miles away.
0:07:40 > 0:07:45She seemed to be very industrious in maximising the rental potential from
0:07:45 > 0:07:48the social housing we'd awarded her.
0:07:48 > 0:07:52Later, the full extent of Ingrid Schultz's deception is revealed.
0:07:52 > 0:07:56So she's had 19 different people living within that property?
0:07:56 > 0:08:00Yeah, well, our suspicion at that point was 19 people have had
0:08:00 > 0:08:02some kind of credit activity there, so it's very suspicious.
0:08:02 > 0:08:04Oh, my gosh.
0:08:11 > 0:08:14Our next case involves fraudster Kandappillai Jenopan,
0:08:14 > 0:08:18who claimed to be living in overcrowded conditions with his family.
0:08:18 > 0:08:22After a nine-year wait, he was allocated a council flat.
0:08:22 > 0:08:26But what Mr Jenopan didn't mention was that since applying for his council flat,
0:08:26 > 0:08:30he'd been busy building up an impressive property portfolio 180
0:08:30 > 0:08:32miles north in Scunthorpe.
0:08:33 > 0:08:37Where he owned this three-bedroomed detached property,
0:08:37 > 0:08:39this two-bed terrace,
0:08:39 > 0:08:42this three-bed terraced house...
0:08:42 > 0:08:45Oh, and also this three-bedroom detached property.
0:08:45 > 0:08:46Very nice, too.
0:08:50 > 0:08:52Greenwich, south-east London.
0:08:52 > 0:08:54In this highly sought after borough,
0:08:54 > 0:08:58there are over 16,000 people waiting to be housed,
0:08:58 > 0:09:02while around 250 new applicants join the queue every month.
0:09:02 > 0:09:07So it's vital for the council to tackle those tenancy cheats.
0:09:07 > 0:09:12Kandappillai Jenopan registered for council housing in the year 2000.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16After a nine-year wait, he was finally allocated this one-bed flat.
0:09:16 > 0:09:20Surprisingly, after only three years, out of the blue,
0:09:20 > 0:09:23he handed in the keys and gave the property back.
0:09:25 > 0:09:30After waiting so long, this sudden change of heart aroused suspicions,
0:09:30 > 0:09:34so the Royal Borough of Greenwich fraud team ran some financial checks.
0:09:34 > 0:09:38And we found fairly instantly that he had links to Scunthorpe area.
0:09:38 > 0:09:41We also found that he had business links to Scunthorpe in the fact that
0:09:41 > 0:09:46he owned a franchise, or ran a franchise, of petrol garages in that area.
0:09:46 > 0:09:49What we had to do was look at Mr Jenopan's original application.
0:09:49 > 0:09:52That was a long time ago, in 2000.
0:09:52 > 0:09:53And this is what he wrote.
0:09:53 > 0:09:55"I have been living with my brother. It's a one-bedroom flat.
0:09:55 > 0:09:59"He's got married and I am sleeping visiting hall. It is uncomfortable
0:09:59 > 0:10:03"for me and them. Also I am going college. It's affecting my studies
0:10:03 > 0:10:04"as well."
0:10:04 > 0:10:06So basically he's saying he's overcrowded.
0:10:06 > 0:10:09When he accepted his council property,
0:10:09 > 0:10:14Mr Jenopan had to sign a tenancy agreement stating that his situation hadn't changed.
0:10:14 > 0:10:16Here's the tenancy here.
0:10:16 > 0:10:20This is important because this is a date when on 7th May 2009,
0:10:20 > 0:10:25he signed this form to say that he didn't have anywhere else to live
0:10:25 > 0:10:28and that he had no changes to his circumstances.
0:10:28 > 0:10:31I mean, nine years have elapsed since he put his housing application in,
0:10:31 > 0:10:33so people's circumstances do change.
0:10:33 > 0:10:37In May 2009, he declared to us that his circumstances were still the same,
0:10:37 > 0:10:39that he had no other accommodation to live in,
0:10:39 > 0:10:42that he was still living with his relatives in the property in Greenwich,
0:10:42 > 0:10:45but we found that wasn't true.
0:10:45 > 0:10:47The fraud team knew about his connections
0:10:47 > 0:10:48to the Scunthorpe area,
0:10:48 > 0:10:51so they decided to contact North Lincolnshire Council to see what
0:10:51 > 0:10:54information they held on Mr Jenopan.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56Most councils do talk to each other.
0:10:56 > 0:10:59We would send, quite routinely, a Data Protection Act inquiry
0:10:59 > 0:11:01to another council and they would normally respond
0:11:01 > 0:11:03pretty quickly back.
0:11:03 > 0:11:06In North Lincolnshire, Hannah Leigh Watson is the fraud investigator who
0:11:06 > 0:11:07dealt with the case.
0:11:07 > 0:11:11- Hi, there!- Hi, nice to meet you. - Lovely to meet you, I'm Michelle.
0:11:11 > 0:11:13- Hi, this way.- Thanks.
0:11:15 > 0:11:16Back in July last year,
0:11:16 > 0:11:19we were contacted by an investigator at the Royal Greenwich regarding
0:11:19 > 0:11:21information we held on Mr Jenopan.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24How did you kind of track down the details?
0:11:24 > 0:11:27What kind of things do you need to go through in order to build up the evidence?
0:11:27 > 0:11:31We checked through all the council records we held, which was using council tax documentation,
0:11:31 > 0:11:36and if he had ever claimed any housing benefits or council tax reduction at a point.
0:11:36 > 0:11:38We also used our electoral roll,
0:11:38 > 0:11:40just to see who was registered where.
0:11:40 > 0:11:46So the council tax records showed that Mr Jenopan was in fact living up here,
0:11:46 > 0:11:49as well as having the council property down south.
0:11:49 > 0:11:52It turned out he had four properties in this authority,
0:11:52 > 0:11:55which he was renting out to other people.
0:11:55 > 0:11:59Oh, my gosh. So at the time when he was allocated a council property
0:11:59 > 0:12:03down in Greenwich, he had four properties up here in Scunthorpe.
0:12:03 > 0:12:06- I mean, that is pretty damning, isn't it?- It is, yes.
0:12:06 > 0:12:10It proves that working and sharing information works.
0:12:10 > 0:12:13That if we contact each other and help each other out,
0:12:13 > 0:12:15we can get to the bottom of these investigations.
0:12:15 > 0:12:18People will commit fraud all over the country.
0:12:18 > 0:12:22It just proves that eventually they will get caught out.
0:12:22 > 0:12:26North Lincolnshire Council records proved beyond doubt that he had amassed
0:12:26 > 0:12:29a varied portfolio of properties in the area
0:12:29 > 0:12:32and that he was also living in one of them.
0:12:32 > 0:12:35I've been in the council 20 years now and in the last few years,
0:12:35 > 0:12:40there's so much more sharing with data than there was ever before.
0:12:40 > 0:12:44And it's through the sharing of information that you find out more about people.
0:12:44 > 0:12:46I mean, in this case,
0:12:46 > 0:12:49North Lincolnshire helped us because they were unable to confirm to us
0:12:49 > 0:12:51that Mr Jenopan had been living up there.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55North Lincolnshire Council had concrete evidence that Mr Jenopan and his wife
0:12:55 > 0:12:58had been living in the area since May 2010,
0:12:58 > 0:13:02precisely the time he was supposed to be living in his council flat
0:13:02 > 0:13:04180 miles away in Greenwich.
0:13:04 > 0:13:07Indeed, it wasn't just a record, it was something that he had physically
0:13:07 > 0:13:09rung up about himself and they had
0:13:09 > 0:13:11a record of that, to say that he was living up there.
0:13:11 > 0:13:13Within a year of having his property,
0:13:13 > 0:13:17evidence certainly suggested that Mr Jenopan hadn't moved into our address at all.
0:13:17 > 0:13:20If he did ever live out our address in Greenwich,
0:13:20 > 0:13:22he was only there for a year.
0:13:22 > 0:13:25It's very clear he's made a false statement here,
0:13:25 > 0:13:28he already owned four houses and had a perfect opportunity to say,
0:13:28 > 0:13:32"Look, hang on, I shouldn't be taking this tenancy and depriving someone else,
0:13:32 > 0:13:35"I don't want it because I've got four other places to go and live in."
0:13:35 > 0:13:37I mean, the audacity of the person is unbelievable,
0:13:37 > 0:13:39to be honest with you.
0:13:39 > 0:13:42Before accepting a social housing property,
0:13:42 > 0:13:45tenants have to tell the council of any change in circumstance that may
0:13:45 > 0:13:50affect their housing application, such as getting married,
0:13:50 > 0:13:53having children or becoming a property owner.
0:13:54 > 0:13:58In this case, the tenant had been lying about his circumstances
0:13:58 > 0:14:00and there was more.
0:14:00 > 0:14:03There was many names on the address. Don't forget, this is a one-bedroom flat.
0:14:03 > 0:14:06You'd only normally expect to see one person registered for council tax there.
0:14:06 > 0:14:10But there were several on the credit checks, which was implying that he had rented it out.
0:14:11 > 0:14:15Later, the investigators confront the fraudster.
0:14:15 > 0:14:16The evidence was conclusive.
0:14:16 > 0:14:18I think he realised that.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21There was no way he was going to escape a summons from us for a prosecution.
0:14:28 > 0:14:32If you're a tenant and you no longer need your social housing property,
0:14:32 > 0:14:35you're supposed to notify the council and hand the keys back.
0:14:35 > 0:14:38Failure to do so is not only a breach of tenancy,
0:14:38 > 0:14:43it's also depriving other individuals and families on the waiting list
0:14:43 > 0:14:44who need somewhere to live.
0:14:46 > 0:14:48As part of a crackdown on tenancy fraud,
0:14:48 > 0:14:53Havering Council in east London recently offered a £500 reward
0:14:53 > 0:14:56to anyone providing a tip-off leading to a property being recovered.
0:14:59 > 0:15:03In the last 18 months, 35 properties have been reclaimed.
0:15:03 > 0:15:07Some have been fraud cases, but others have involved breaches of tenancy.
0:15:10 > 0:15:14Our next case involves a two-bedroom council house that was abandoned and
0:15:14 > 0:15:16may have been lying empty for years.
0:15:17 > 0:15:18It was awful.
0:15:18 > 0:15:23I mean, there was still a broken window at the back that had never been fixed.
0:15:23 > 0:15:27The garden was so overgrown that you really couldn't see into it
0:15:27 > 0:15:32and I think the neighbours were concerned there could be rats.
0:15:33 > 0:15:37Lorraine Van Dam is a housing officer at Havering Council.
0:15:37 > 0:15:39The house is on her patch.
0:15:39 > 0:15:40And according to neighbours,
0:15:40 > 0:15:43the tenant hasn't been seen living at the house for years.
0:15:44 > 0:15:47We got a tip-off from an anonymous letter,
0:15:47 > 0:15:51stating one, that the garden was overgrown and two,
0:15:51 > 0:15:55that this particular person was living with a sibling
0:15:55 > 0:15:57in another local address.
0:15:57 > 0:16:01It states that the gentleman who lives in the address we're going
0:16:01 > 0:16:05to go to has been living with his sibling at one of our other properties,
0:16:05 > 0:16:08one of our other properties, for at least three years.
0:16:08 > 0:16:12He only visits this property a couple of times a week
0:16:12 > 0:16:14to pick up mail.
0:16:14 > 0:16:17The anonymous person said, "I don't think it is right that he has
0:16:17 > 0:16:21"got away with this for three years."
0:16:21 > 0:16:24"It would be the right thing to do to investigate this matter."
0:16:24 > 0:16:26This letter is obviously somebody
0:16:26 > 0:16:28who really cares about this community
0:16:28 > 0:16:31and really sees the unjust of this gentleman
0:16:31 > 0:16:34and the way he's abusing his tenancy.
0:16:34 > 0:16:39You can see the dirt and everything and that's been like that for ages.
0:16:39 > 0:16:40And the boarding there.
0:16:40 > 0:16:44It's annoying because, at the end of the day, if someone was living there,
0:16:44 > 0:16:47there's no reason this property should be in this state.
0:16:48 > 0:16:52Lorraine tried to contact the tenant by letter and by calling round,
0:16:52 > 0:16:54but she couldn't get a response,
0:16:54 > 0:16:58which only reinforced her belief that he was no longer residing at the house.
0:16:58 > 0:17:01This, together with the neglect of the property,
0:17:01 > 0:17:03was a serious breach of his tenancy agreement.
0:17:03 > 0:17:07So she referred the case to Havering Council's fraud team.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10Former police officer Dave Gill took on the case.
0:17:10 > 0:17:14Whilst my main duty is to investigate fraud,
0:17:14 > 0:17:18it's always done with that social aspect in mind
0:17:18 > 0:17:22that this is a property that could and should be being used
0:17:22 > 0:17:25for a family in genuine, real need.
0:17:26 > 0:17:29Dave delved into the two-bedroom property's tenancy history
0:17:29 > 0:17:33and found the man had moved there in the '70s with his mother.
0:17:34 > 0:17:38In 2010, his elderly mother had assigned the tenancy to him.
0:17:38 > 0:17:40This is known as succession.
0:17:40 > 0:17:43One of the fundamental rules of succession is that you must have
0:17:43 > 0:17:45been residing in the property for 12 months.
0:17:48 > 0:17:49As part of his investigation,
0:17:49 > 0:17:53Dave examined the repair history and utility bills of the house.
0:17:53 > 0:17:58He soon discovered that there had been little activity at the property since 2013.
0:18:01 > 0:18:06So we asked this tenant to come in and we put all the evidence that we'd gathered to him.
0:18:06 > 0:18:08It was to give that tenant their opportunity to give us
0:18:08 > 0:18:10an account of what had happened, really,
0:18:10 > 0:18:13to explain their circumstances and why we'd ended up in this situation.
0:18:13 > 0:18:15The tenant came in for questioning.
0:18:15 > 0:18:20When he was talking, it was obvious that he wasn't living there.
0:18:20 > 0:18:24He explained that him and his sibling wanted to live
0:18:24 > 0:18:28somewhere else, outside the borough.
0:18:28 > 0:18:30So I just served him with a Notice to Quit, there and then.
0:18:32 > 0:18:35But he refused to give the property back and today,
0:18:35 > 0:18:38Havering Council plan to evict him.
0:18:38 > 0:18:40The Notice to Quit,
0:18:40 > 0:18:43asking the tenant to vacate the property within 28 days,
0:18:43 > 0:18:46expired around three or four months ago now.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48So today really is it.
0:18:48 > 0:18:52There's no more delays or any other part of the process that we need to
0:18:52 > 0:18:55go through or complete. We will be getting the property back today.
0:18:55 > 0:18:58I received a telephone call yesterday
0:18:58 > 0:19:01saying that he hadn't cleared all his property out.
0:19:01 > 0:19:05So, I said well, do as best you can and what he said,
0:19:05 > 0:19:09he was going to stay there last night to try and move some of the bits.
0:19:09 > 0:19:14At 12 o'clock we shall carry out the eviction and we'll see what's
0:19:14 > 0:19:16left in the property.
0:19:28 > 0:19:32But at the last minute, the eviction is called off.
0:19:33 > 0:19:35The tenant relents and hands in the keys.
0:19:35 > 0:19:37He's decided to relinquish the tenancy.
0:19:37 > 0:19:43It was initially an eviction but then the tenant has now given the keys
0:19:43 > 0:19:47back to us, so the property is back in our possession.
0:19:48 > 0:19:51So now, for the first time in years,
0:19:51 > 0:19:54the council can have access to this valuable social housing.
0:19:54 > 0:19:57But there's a problem.
0:19:57 > 0:19:59He's taken the Yale lock, I think.
0:19:59 > 0:20:01I don't think I've been given that.
0:20:01 > 0:20:03He hasn't given back all the keys.
0:20:03 > 0:20:08The only thing I could see is if we could have access to the back
0:20:08 > 0:20:10because I've got a back door key.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12Lorraine doesn't give up that easily.
0:20:12 > 0:20:15She heads round the back to try and gain entry through the rear garden.
0:20:17 > 0:20:20But she can't believe the site that greets her.
0:20:20 > 0:20:24I don't think we're going to get access, somehow.
0:20:30 > 0:20:31The state of the back garden is...
0:20:31 > 0:20:33Well, indescribable.
0:20:33 > 0:20:35It's in a disgusting state.
0:20:35 > 0:20:40The garden is so overgrown that the back door is completely inaccessible.
0:20:40 > 0:20:42I'm just going to take pictures.
0:20:42 > 0:20:44CAMERA CLICKS
0:20:49 > 0:20:52It's obvious I'm not going to get into the property today from
0:20:52 > 0:20:56the back garden, so we're going to have to try and arrange access another day.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58But, as you can see, this is unbelievable.
0:21:03 > 0:21:08Later, Lorraine finally gets inside the house and is shocked by what she finds.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Wow. One very unloved house, I think.
0:21:20 > 0:21:24Back in Brent, we heard how the council's fraud team had become suspicious
0:21:24 > 0:21:28that Ingrid Shultz was actually living in Hammersmith whilst illegally
0:21:28 > 0:21:31subletting her social housing flat.
0:21:31 > 0:21:34It appeared very much to us that this premises had been sublet in its
0:21:34 > 0:21:41entirety and that the different rooms had been made into bedrooms that could be let out.
0:21:41 > 0:21:44But when questioned, Ingrid Schultz denied everything.
0:21:44 > 0:21:49She was telling us that one reason she was often in Hammersmith and Fulham
0:21:49 > 0:21:51was to look after her cat.
0:21:51 > 0:21:54Dave Verma and his counter-fraud team have recovered 60 properties in
0:21:54 > 0:21:56the last 12 months.
0:21:56 > 0:21:59I'm not sure people realise that we have professional teams of
0:21:59 > 0:22:02investigators who are very highly trained,
0:22:02 > 0:22:04who are not going to be fobbed off,
0:22:04 > 0:22:08who are going to be very tenacious and try to get
0:22:08 > 0:22:12to the bottom of things and try and do the right thing for the public purse.
0:22:13 > 0:22:15And that's exactly what they did.
0:22:15 > 0:22:19Utilising the law to forensically examine the financial activities at
0:22:19 > 0:22:21Ingrid Schultz's flat.
0:22:21 > 0:22:25So in order to confirm your suspicions of Ingrid Schultz,
0:22:25 > 0:22:29- you obviously needed that solid body of evidence.- Sure.
0:22:29 > 0:22:33This first piece of paperwork here shows, indeed, that Ingrid Schultz
0:22:33 > 0:22:36is at the property and she's got various credit going on there,
0:22:36 > 0:22:38various activity, as we'd expect.
0:22:38 > 0:22:41However, on the second page...
0:22:43 > 0:22:45This is quite surprising.
0:22:45 > 0:22:50This shows no less than 19 different people having some sort of credit
0:22:50 > 0:22:52activity at the property.
0:22:52 > 0:22:53- 19?- Yes.
0:22:53 > 0:22:57So she's had 19 different people living within that property.
0:22:57 > 0:23:01Yeah, well, our suspicion at that point was 19 people have had some
0:23:01 > 0:23:03kind of credit activity there. So it's very suspicious.
0:23:03 > 0:23:09Oh, my gosh. And then if you couple that with her bank account details,
0:23:09 > 0:23:11what did that help to confirm?
0:23:11 > 0:23:15Well, when we used our powers under the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act
0:23:15 > 0:23:17to actually get her bank statements in,
0:23:17 > 0:23:20these very quickly indicated that there was a problem.
0:23:20 > 0:23:23Because right here on the first page we've got the word rent,
0:23:23 > 0:23:26paid in, and then an amount.
0:23:26 > 0:23:27It's incredibly clear.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Pretty clear. Moving through the bank statement,
0:23:30 > 0:23:34that kind of activity is replicated on various pages.
0:23:34 > 0:23:38- Yeah.- So here we have the word rent and again, 520...
0:23:38 > 0:23:41- Yeah.- And here, Kilburn rent, which is clearly our property.
0:23:41 > 0:23:44It's very specific, isn't it?
0:23:44 > 0:23:45And then again, 520.
0:23:47 > 0:23:49With two bedrooms and a mattress in the living room,
0:23:49 > 0:23:53Ingrid Schultz could have been renting out all three rooms.
0:23:53 > 0:23:56At £520 per room per month,
0:23:56 > 0:24:01she could have been taking in over £1,500 a month.
0:24:01 > 0:24:04And how much was she paying the council?
0:24:04 > 0:24:07On average, that was £150 per week.
0:24:07 > 0:24:11That means a potential profit of over £900 a month from illegally
0:24:11 > 0:24:13subletting her Brent flat.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17So she was making a tidy profit from this, wasn't she?
0:24:17 > 0:24:19She was, because at any given time,
0:24:19 > 0:24:23she was renting between two and sometimes three rooms in the property.
0:24:23 > 0:24:24That is amazing.
0:24:24 > 0:24:29And when you're grabbing all this evidence together and clearly this
0:24:29 > 0:24:34is a property that could go to someone in genuine need, what are you thinking?
0:24:35 > 0:24:36Well, someone's making a profit.
0:24:36 > 0:24:38A very good one at that.
0:24:38 > 0:24:43The bank statements also revealed exactly how she was running her sublet scam.
0:24:45 > 0:24:48From the bank statements, we got a very good clue and that led us to a
0:24:48 > 0:24:52prominent website where people advertise rooms.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56So she was advertising your council property for private rent.
0:24:56 > 0:24:59- Yeah.- Let's have a look at the information.
0:24:59 > 0:25:03- So, what's this one?- Gorgeous double room, flat-share in Brondesbury.
0:25:03 > 0:25:06And here we have £145 per week.
0:25:06 > 0:25:09It's telling us it's 5-10 minutes' walk from Brondesbury station.
0:25:09 > 0:25:13The availability is now, minimum term three months,
0:25:13 > 0:25:14maximum term none.
0:25:14 > 0:25:20So it would look to anybody as if it was a genuine room offer.
0:25:20 > 0:25:22This woman was just coining in money, wasn't she?
0:25:22 > 0:25:26Well, there's a significant opportunity to make illegal profit, yes.
0:25:26 > 0:25:28And she really cashed it in.
0:25:28 > 0:25:30Yeah.
0:25:30 > 0:25:33Ingrid Schultz pleaded guilty to subletting her social housing property in
0:25:33 > 0:25:38Kilburn and making an unlawful profit of over £10,000.
0:25:38 > 0:25:42On the 16th of February 2017, she appeared for sentencing.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45And Dave Verma was at court to witness the outcome.
0:25:46 > 0:25:50So, we take this very seriously at Brent Council and we spend quite
0:25:50 > 0:25:53considerable resources to investigate these matters and bring
0:25:53 > 0:25:55the perpetrators to justice.
0:25:55 > 0:26:02The maximum penalty for this offence is a two-year jail sentence or a hefty fine.
0:26:02 > 0:26:06I've been working in criminal investigations for some 25 years now.
0:26:06 > 0:26:10It always pleases me when justice is served.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15The judge deliberated over the amount of profit she made and he came to a decision.
0:26:15 > 0:26:18And Ingrid Schultz has just been sentenced to 12 months,
0:26:18 > 0:26:21suspended for two years, which I think's a very good result,
0:26:21 > 0:26:23bearing in mind all the circumstances of the case.
0:26:23 > 0:26:27She'll also have to pay back over £10,000 in unlawful profit and
0:26:27 > 0:26:30£5,000 in costs.
0:26:30 > 0:26:33It is days like this that makes our job as fraud investigators well
0:26:33 > 0:26:38worthwhile. Many, many hours go into investigating cases like this,
0:26:38 > 0:26:41preparing evidence bundles, presenting them at court,
0:26:41 > 0:26:43being cross-examined and, yes,
0:26:43 > 0:26:46it's moments like this that make it all worthwhile when we can hopefully
0:26:46 > 0:26:50send out a very strong message that we take this seriously and are here
0:26:50 > 0:26:53for the community to eradicate housing fraud.
0:27:02 > 0:27:06Earlier, we heard how Mr Jenopan was supposed to be living in a one-bed
0:27:06 > 0:27:09council flat in Greenwich, when in reality,
0:27:09 > 0:27:13he'd built up a small property empire 180 miles north in Scunthorpe.
0:27:16 > 0:27:18Mr Jenopan owned four houses in total.
0:27:18 > 0:27:22He lived in one with his family and the other three properties he rented out.
0:27:22 > 0:27:25After months of analysis, Greenwich council's fraud team,
0:27:25 > 0:27:29including investigator Karen Evans, had built up their case.
0:27:29 > 0:27:32They headed north and called Mr Jenopan in for a formal interview
0:27:32 > 0:27:35at North Lincolnshire Council offices.
0:27:35 > 0:27:40It's not necessarily an arrestable offence that has been committed,
0:27:40 > 0:27:43so it's not like a police interview under caution.
0:27:43 > 0:27:45You know, you invite somebody in for interview,
0:27:45 > 0:27:47they have no obligation to attend or not.
0:27:47 > 0:27:51So you try as best you can to get them in for interview and that's
0:27:51 > 0:27:52exactly what we did.
0:27:52 > 0:27:55Mr Jenopan did attend the interview and Karen was able to
0:27:55 > 0:27:57put the fraud team's findings to him.
0:27:58 > 0:28:01After showing him the evidence that we had, all the land registries,
0:28:01 > 0:28:05all of the, erm, or some of the mortgage applications,
0:28:05 > 0:28:10proof of him registering himself as liable for council tax at those
0:28:10 > 0:28:11properties sometimes,
0:28:11 > 0:28:16proof of him renting them out to various tenants over the years,
0:28:16 > 0:28:17the evidence was conclusive.
0:28:17 > 0:28:19I think he realised that.
0:28:19 > 0:28:24Mr Jenopan admitted owning four properties, but claimed he was renting them out
0:28:24 > 0:28:26and not actually living in any of them.
0:28:26 > 0:28:30Mr Jenopan's quite a successful businessman, from what we know.
0:28:30 > 0:28:33He has numerous franchises in Scunthorpe.
0:28:33 > 0:28:37And he was employing people that he would put into his houses
0:28:37 > 0:28:42in Scunthorpe and occasionally popping back to London.
0:28:42 > 0:28:44That was his story.
0:28:44 > 0:28:47I think he was playing on the naivete side of things but I think he most
0:28:47 > 0:28:50probably was aware that if he was to stick to that story, that he didn't
0:28:50 > 0:28:53realise he should tell us about the property ownership, that if
0:28:53 > 0:28:57he maintained that he lived at the property with us, that maybe the case would go away.
0:28:57 > 0:28:59But that clearly wasn't the case.
0:28:59 > 0:29:02Our evidence we had on this case was overwhelming and there was no way he
0:29:02 > 0:29:05was going to escape a summons from us for a prosecution.
0:29:06 > 0:29:10The evidence provided by North Lincolnshire Council was all the proof that
0:29:10 > 0:29:11Nigel and the team needed.
0:29:11 > 0:29:15Ultimately, he had deprived someone in genuine need for a period of
0:29:15 > 0:29:18three years of a very nice flat in the Greenwich area.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21A nice one-bedroomed that someone else could have had.
0:29:21 > 0:29:24It was just a no-brainer really that there was no other way than a
0:29:24 > 0:29:26prosecution for Mr Jenopan.
0:29:26 > 0:29:30In October 2016, Mr Jenopan pleaded guilty to two offences
0:29:30 > 0:29:32under the Fraud Act.
0:29:32 > 0:29:34The matter was passed to Crown Court for sentencing.
0:29:34 > 0:29:37To admit his guilt at court proved our case that he had been living in
0:29:37 > 0:29:40Scunthorpe almost the whole period of time.
0:29:40 > 0:29:44Two months later, Mr Jenopan received a 20-month prison sentence,
0:29:44 > 0:29:46suspended for two years,
0:29:46 > 0:29:50120 hours of community service and he was ordered to compensate the
0:29:50 > 0:29:52council for their financial losses.
0:29:52 > 0:29:55A total of more than £29,000.
0:29:57 > 0:30:01How that's worked out is for the three years that Mr Jenopan
0:30:01 > 0:30:03deprived us of the use of our property,
0:30:03 > 0:30:06we've had to house somebody else in a one-bedroom property
0:30:06 > 0:30:08at a temporary accommodation cost,
0:30:08 > 0:30:12so we calculate the amount of money that he's defrauded from us
0:30:12 > 0:30:17in that respect and cost us and the judge awarded us £29,000.
0:30:17 > 0:30:19He told him that by Christmas, only a month's time,
0:30:19 > 0:30:22he had to pay £10,000 to us.
0:30:22 > 0:30:25And then the remainder's being paid now by £650 per month.
0:30:25 > 0:30:28I mean, to see somebody be ordered to pay back money to us is great
0:30:28 > 0:30:30satisfaction from the council's point of view.
0:30:30 > 0:30:33Not only can we then use that money back for the homeless people in the
0:30:33 > 0:30:36borough, and maybe to rehouse people in temporary accommodation to offset
0:30:36 > 0:30:40some of our very high costs that we pay, but the good thing is,
0:30:40 > 0:30:42it would be a real lesson to Mr Jenopan.
0:30:42 > 0:30:45A two-year suspended sentence for some people would be, well,
0:30:45 > 0:30:47I got away with it.
0:30:47 > 0:30:51But to actually have to pay £29,000, to me, isn't getting away with it.
0:30:51 > 0:30:53That's a lot of money that anybody would have to find.
0:30:53 > 0:30:54And I'm sure that hurt him.
0:30:57 > 0:31:01Mr Jenopan's one-bedroom council flat has now been re-let.
0:31:01 > 0:31:05But across the UK, the housing crisis is continuing to bite.
0:31:07 > 0:31:11I'd be very upset if I knew that people were lying to get ahead on
0:31:11 > 0:31:14the property ladder. It's not fair.
0:31:14 > 0:31:16You know, I think we all should have a fair chance
0:31:16 > 0:31:18at accessing these things.
0:31:18 > 0:31:22And when people are taking it away from others, it's not right.
0:31:22 > 0:31:24I'm not on social housing myself but I know people that
0:31:24 > 0:31:28are and I know how hard it is to get social housing.
0:31:28 > 0:31:30I know there's people been on the list for about five, six years,
0:31:30 > 0:31:32who are still waiting now.
0:31:32 > 0:31:37And it doesn't look like it's showing any signs of kind of easing up or anything like that at all.
0:31:37 > 0:31:41If you've not got that stress and you know you've got your housing,
0:31:41 > 0:31:45the house, I think, is probably the most important thing in your life.
0:31:45 > 0:31:49If you've got a house, you've got a home, and I think the home is the thing.
0:31:49 > 0:31:51You've got a house, you've got a home.
0:31:58 > 0:32:02Earlier, Havering Council were investigating an anonymous tip-off that one
0:32:02 > 0:32:06of their two-bedroom social housing properties had been abandoned and
0:32:06 > 0:32:07fallen into disrepair.
0:32:08 > 0:32:15It was initially an eviction but then the tenant has now given the keys back to us.
0:32:15 > 0:32:18So the property is back in our possession.
0:32:18 > 0:32:21Now, Lorraine is finally hoping to gain access to the property.
0:32:21 > 0:32:24The tenant moved out years ago but hadn't told anyone.
0:32:24 > 0:32:26A serious breach of his tenancy.
0:32:26 > 0:32:30We're expecting to see what condition the property's in.
0:32:30 > 0:32:35Because we have to do a quick turnaround so it can be re-let.
0:32:35 > 0:32:41Although, having said that, it doesn't look like the property's been...
0:32:41 > 0:32:46Had any of the decent works installed, so it will need a new kitchen,
0:32:46 > 0:32:49new bathroom, before we can let it out to a tenant.
0:32:49 > 0:32:53With the average waiting time for social housing property in Havering
0:32:53 > 0:32:55being well over two years,
0:32:55 > 0:32:58housing officer Lorraine is keen to get the property back into use as
0:32:58 > 0:33:00quickly as possible.
0:33:00 > 0:33:06Looking at the front garden, there's been no work done there for quite some time.
0:33:07 > 0:33:10When someone moves into a social housing property,
0:33:10 > 0:33:13they become responsible for maintaining all parts of the home,
0:33:13 > 0:33:16including both front and back gardens.
0:33:27 > 0:33:28Wow.
0:33:31 > 0:33:36The floors and carpets are coated in layers of dust, grease and grime.
0:33:38 > 0:33:42Certainly doesn't look like it's been decorated or lived in for years.
0:33:46 > 0:33:49Tenants must keep their social housing in a decent state.
0:33:49 > 0:33:52Failure to do so is a further breach of tenancy.
0:33:54 > 0:33:59The back garden is so overgrown and it certainly hasn't been cut back for years.
0:33:59 > 0:34:01I really don't want to open the door.
0:34:01 > 0:34:03I fear what might run in the house.
0:34:06 > 0:34:08It smells damp, it smells stale.
0:34:10 > 0:34:12Very, very untidy.
0:34:12 > 0:34:14Well, dirty.
0:34:17 > 0:34:19Have a look at the kitchen.
0:34:19 > 0:34:22It's certainly of a very, very old standard.
0:34:22 > 0:34:29It certainly hasn't had a new kitchen since probably when the property was built.
0:34:30 > 0:34:33We're going to be charged quite a bit to get this cleared.
0:34:36 > 0:34:37Lifting all the carpets.
0:34:39 > 0:34:42The whole house has got to be decorated.
0:34:44 > 0:34:49It's vital that the council get this property into a fit state as quickly
0:34:49 > 0:34:51as possible so a new family can move in.
0:34:59 > 0:35:03Right, I'm entering one of the two bedrooms, which...
0:35:05 > 0:35:10..as you can see, it hasn't been lived in for quite some time.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13The decoration is ancient.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17Bus pass there dated 4th December 1989.
0:35:17 > 0:35:20It's just so unused and so...
0:35:20 > 0:35:21What a waste.
0:35:26 > 0:35:27Under the terms of his tenancy,
0:35:27 > 0:35:31this tenant should have notified the council if he was going to be away
0:35:31 > 0:35:34from his property for over 28 days.
0:35:34 > 0:35:37Failure to do so is unauthorised abandonment.
0:35:38 > 0:35:43The property is going to take a long time, longer than normal, to turn around.
0:35:44 > 0:35:46To get this habitable.
0:35:47 > 0:35:48Here is the bathroom.
0:35:49 > 0:35:56Once again, it shows that it hasn't been used for quite some time.
0:35:56 > 0:36:00As you can see by the...
0:36:01 > 0:36:03..cleanliness of the bath.
0:36:03 > 0:36:07That obviously hasn't been used for quite a while.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14The fact that he wasn't living in it is irrelevant.
0:36:14 > 0:36:20The decoration, he should have still maintained decoration while he was still living in the
0:36:20 > 0:36:25property, as he claims he's been out of the property for a couple of years.
0:36:25 > 0:36:32I'm sorry, this is evidence that he's been out of the property for many more years.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38One very unloved house, I think.
0:36:42 > 0:36:44Can't believe what a waste.
0:36:45 > 0:36:48What a waste this is.
0:36:48 > 0:36:51Due to the level of neglect, it will take many weeks
0:36:51 > 0:36:54and many thousands of pounds to get this property
0:36:54 > 0:36:58back to a liveable state and rented out to a family who genuinely need it.
0:37:07 > 0:37:10Since 2014 in the East End of London,
0:37:10 > 0:37:14Tower Hamlets Council has successfully recovered 28 properties as a result
0:37:14 > 0:37:16of fraud-related investigations.
0:37:19 > 0:37:21Are you going to go back on the slide?
0:37:21 > 0:37:26Amy Sictorness and her daughter Lucia were on the social housing waiting list
0:37:26 > 0:37:31for three years and applied for more than 200 properties before finally
0:37:31 > 0:37:33getting a two-bedroom flat.
0:37:33 > 0:37:35KNOCKING
0:37:37 > 0:37:40- Nearly there.- Yeah.
0:37:40 > 0:37:42Hi, Amy, nice to meet you.
0:37:42 > 0:37:44- This is Lucia.- Hi, Lucia.
0:37:44 > 0:37:47- Say hello.- Hi.
0:37:47 > 0:37:48So, what have we got here then?
0:37:48 > 0:37:50So, this is my two-bedroom flat.
0:37:50 > 0:37:52In here, this is the living room.
0:37:52 > 0:37:54It's nice and bright and big, isn't it?
0:37:54 > 0:37:56It is a really nice size.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59So, tell me about your situation before you moved into this property.
0:37:59 > 0:38:02- Where were you living?- I was just living over the road with my mum in
0:38:02 > 0:38:05another two-bedroom flat, my mum and my twin sister.
0:38:05 > 0:38:07And, obviously, me and my twin, we shared a room.
0:38:07 > 0:38:10Amy desperately needed a place of her own,
0:38:10 > 0:38:13but she had no choice but to wait.
0:38:15 > 0:38:19Just one room, you've got the baby's cot in there, obviously,
0:38:19 > 0:38:22mine and my sister's bed, all the baby's stuff.
0:38:22 > 0:38:25It's funny, because one little person just takes up so much room.
0:38:25 > 0:38:29It's mad. It's very overcrowded and I think it must have been very stressful for my sister as well.
0:38:30 > 0:38:35A privately rented two-bedroom flat in this area can cost over £2,200
0:38:35 > 0:38:38per month, well beyond Amy's price range.
0:38:38 > 0:38:41Reluctantly, she turned to the council for help.
0:38:42 > 0:38:46I went down to the council and put my name on their housing list.
0:38:46 > 0:38:51And I was bidding for about three, four years.
0:38:51 > 0:38:52Three or four years?
0:38:52 > 0:38:57Yeah, I bid on over 200 places before I got to view this one.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59Did you lose heart at any point?
0:38:59 > 0:39:00I did get to view some properties and that,
0:39:00 > 0:39:03but obviously people was always in front of me.
0:39:03 > 0:39:05And obviously they accepted it.
0:39:05 > 0:39:06And every time I'd feel gutted.
0:39:06 > 0:39:09I'd be the third person that gets refusal on it
0:39:09 > 0:39:11and I'd get to go and view the property and you just stand there
0:39:11 > 0:39:14thinking, "Please don't accept it, please don't accept it,
0:39:14 > 0:39:17"so I can have it." And then I'd walk home, I'd ring my mum and I'd cry.
0:39:17 > 0:39:19I'd be like, "I didn't get it again."
0:39:19 > 0:39:22For Amy's mum Julie, it was also crucial that her daughter
0:39:22 > 0:39:25and granddaughter were able to live close by.
0:39:25 > 0:39:27How would you have felt if, you know,
0:39:27 > 0:39:32Amy had been given a property or offered a property that wasn't so close to you?
0:39:32 > 0:39:35That, actually, would have upset me because, you know,
0:39:35 > 0:39:37we've always been close
0:39:37 > 0:39:40and from when Lucia was born, they was living with me,
0:39:40 > 0:39:44so I've got to see her first, you know, steps kind of thing,
0:39:44 > 0:39:46and then for her to have sort of moved out,
0:39:46 > 0:39:49I would have been concerned about her because, you know,
0:39:49 > 0:39:52I'm on hand if anything happens.
0:39:52 > 0:39:54You know, I'm always sort of, I can be, you know,
0:39:54 > 0:39:56I can be there in five minutes kind of thing.
0:39:56 > 0:39:59If she was living out of the borough with no family, you know,
0:39:59 > 0:40:01what would she do?
0:40:01 > 0:40:02What would she do being on her own?
0:40:04 > 0:40:10But in November 2015, Tower Hamlets Council held an amnesty to encourage tenancy cheats to hand
0:40:10 > 0:40:13back keys without consequence or risk of court action.
0:40:13 > 0:40:17They got back properties worth £13 million.
0:40:17 > 0:40:20Amy's was one of the first flats they recovered.
0:40:22 > 0:40:26I couldn't have been happier, especially just when it said a two-bedroom as well.
0:40:26 > 0:40:28I thought all my Christmases had come at once.
0:40:28 > 0:40:31The fact that I did get it just shows me that there is hope
0:40:31 > 0:40:34because there's a lot of people that's in the same situation that I was
0:40:34 > 0:40:38and obviously losing hope and that sort of thing is horrible, so,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41just fingers crossed they carry on with what they're doing and other
0:40:41 > 0:40:44people do get offered properties like this as well.
0:40:44 > 0:40:48When Amy got the letter for this property, how did you feel?
0:40:48 > 0:40:51Could not believe it. Really excited.
0:40:51 > 0:40:55Really, you know, never wanted her to leave home kind of thing,
0:40:55 > 0:41:00but so excited that she had got her own home and the fact that it was so close.
0:41:00 > 0:41:04We already knew this estate because my sister had lived at the block at the end,
0:41:04 > 0:41:09my great nan had lived on this estate when it first opened, so, you know, five minutes from me.
0:41:09 > 0:41:13It was really exciting that she was getting her own home and, sort of,
0:41:13 > 0:41:15starting off on her own kind of thing, you know,
0:41:15 > 0:41:20creating her own sort of new little life with her little family.
0:41:20 > 0:41:23Amy's family have been in the area for generations
0:41:23 > 0:41:26and bringing up a young child, it's important for her to have a support
0:41:26 > 0:41:30network close by. But this isn't always possible.
0:41:30 > 0:41:34The number of homeless families being relocated outside London has
0:41:34 > 0:41:36increased fivefold in the last decade.
0:41:37 > 0:41:40And now you've got your own place,
0:41:40 > 0:41:44what difference has this place made to your life?
0:41:44 > 0:41:46Well, obviously, it's just over the road from my mum,
0:41:46 > 0:41:49I've got a lot of support, it's just over the road from my mum's sister.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50I've always grown up in Bethnal Green.
0:41:50 > 0:41:52My mum, even like my nan and my grandad,
0:41:52 > 0:41:56their nans and grandads, we've all been born and bred in Bethnal Green.
0:41:56 > 0:41:59So, it's all we know, so if I would have had to have moved out,
0:41:59 > 0:42:01I would have been lost.
0:42:01 > 0:42:05So, that's why this area, in terms of finding a suitable council property,
0:42:05 > 0:42:07- is so important to you? - Yeah, definitely.
0:42:07 > 0:42:11Even when Lucia goes to nursery, my mum will be able to help
0:42:11 > 0:42:13because obviously then I'll go back to work.
0:42:13 > 0:42:15And talking about work, obviously that's important to you, isn't it?
0:42:15 > 0:42:20You've got a really strong work ethic and it's important to you to show your daughter that as well.
0:42:20 > 0:42:24Yeah, definitely. I've always worked, I like working. I can't sit at home all day bored,
0:42:24 > 0:42:27do you know what I mean? I worked right up until three weeks before I
0:42:27 > 0:42:30had Lucia. So once Lucia's two, she'll go to nursery and I'll definitely get
0:42:30 > 0:42:32myself back into work.
0:42:32 > 0:42:34And is something that when you got this property, you were thinking,
0:42:34 > 0:42:37"Yes, now this gives me a base in order to kind of carry on
0:42:37 > 0:42:40"with my future and, you know, think about those type of things?"
0:42:40 > 0:42:43Yeah, definitely. When obviously, like, I started a family sort of thing,
0:42:43 > 0:42:46you do think about, obviously, once she grows up, she goes to school,
0:42:46 > 0:42:48you go out to work in the morning and that sort of thing, like,
0:42:48 > 0:42:51how am I going to do all that happily from one room in my mum's?
0:42:51 > 0:42:55Do you know what I mean? It's nice to have your own house.
0:42:55 > 0:42:57It's all about growing up in a way, ain't it?
0:42:59 > 0:43:01With her family supporting her,
0:43:01 > 0:43:03Amy's looking to return to work as soon as possible.
0:43:06 > 0:43:11Amy's story shows how social housing can have a real, positive impact,
0:43:11 > 0:43:14not just on individuals, but on entire families.
0:43:14 > 0:43:18And it's stories like this that motivate housing investigators
0:43:18 > 0:43:22as they continue in their fight to crack down on tenancy fraud.