0:00:04 > 0:00:07'Tonight, we investigate the housing scams
0:00:07 > 0:00:09'that are denying the homeless a place to live
0:00:09 > 0:00:11'and costing us millions of pounds.'
0:00:11 > 0:00:14How much benefit were you being paid for this empty house?
0:00:14 > 0:00:16It was about £300 a month.
0:00:16 > 0:00:20'We reveal that thousands of houses lie empty across Northern Ireland
0:00:20 > 0:00:23'as families struggle to get a roof over their head.'
0:00:23 > 0:00:25I just can't cope any more -
0:00:25 > 0:00:28the amount of stress that we're under as a family...
0:00:29 > 0:00:31'It's a fraud that's been around for decades
0:00:31 > 0:00:33'but officially didn't exist.'
0:00:33 > 0:00:35Might it be that the Housing Executive
0:00:35 > 0:00:36hasn't addressed this in the past
0:00:36 > 0:00:39because they might not have liked what they found?
0:00:39 > 0:00:40I don't accept that.
0:00:40 > 0:00:43'But we've found an insider who says if the fraud was tackled,
0:00:43 > 0:00:46'it would go a long way to solving the housing shortage.'
0:00:46 > 0:00:48I don't think there's a housing crisis.
0:00:48 > 0:00:51If the Housing Executive would follow up their empty homes,
0:00:51 > 0:00:55people that aren't living in them, and on housing benefit fraud,
0:00:55 > 0:00:56I think the housing crisis would go.
0:01:16 > 0:01:20Experts are claiming that we are in a housing crisis,
0:01:20 > 0:01:23that there are not enough social houses for families.
0:01:23 > 0:01:25We currently have about 40,000 people on our waiting lists.
0:01:25 > 0:01:29- REPORTER:- Longer waiting lists and more homeless.
0:01:29 > 0:01:31A housing crisis in the making.
0:01:31 > 0:01:32So we do have a housing crisis.
0:01:32 > 0:01:34It's accumulated over a number of years
0:01:34 > 0:01:36and it will take a number of years to fix it.
0:01:36 > 0:01:39'They're trying to fix it by building new houses.
0:01:39 > 0:01:42'Last year, £200 million of public money
0:01:42 > 0:01:46'was spent building estates like this one in Londonderry.'
0:01:46 > 0:01:48So, what, this is a three-bedroom house?
0:01:48 > 0:01:50This is a typical three-bedroom house.
0:01:50 > 0:01:53'The demand for homes like these is huge,
0:01:53 > 0:01:57'but we're told we're only building half of what we need every year
0:01:57 > 0:02:00'simply to keep the waiting list as it is.'
0:02:00 > 0:02:04'But is the only solution to build more and more houses?'
0:02:04 > 0:02:08We've discovered that there could be enough homes out there already
0:02:08 > 0:02:11to house thousands of families.
0:02:11 > 0:02:12But they can't get them
0:02:12 > 0:02:15because they're being occupied by fraudsters.
0:02:15 > 0:02:19Tenancy fraud is the biggest council scam in England and Wales,
0:02:19 > 0:02:23costing £1.8 billion every year.
0:02:23 > 0:02:28But yet nobody in Northern Ireland has even looked for it...until now.
0:02:29 > 0:02:34Tenancy fraud wasn't coming up on the agendas of board meetings
0:02:34 > 0:02:38at the Housing Executive or in housing associations.
0:02:38 > 0:02:42No cases were being reported to me,
0:02:42 > 0:02:47yet we knew from England and Wales that there was a huge problem.
0:02:48 > 0:02:50It's the Auditor General's job
0:02:50 > 0:02:53to make sure the taxpayer isn't taken for a ride.
0:02:55 > 0:02:58'He was convinced the fraud was happening here, too.
0:02:58 > 0:03:00'So he took the figures for England and Wales
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'and came up with some startling conclusions
0:03:03 > 0:03:04'about the scale of the fraud here.'
0:03:06 > 0:03:112,500 properties locally are illegally occupied.
0:03:11 > 0:03:16That's equivalent to £200 million of housing stock.
0:03:16 > 0:03:19The Auditor General says his estimate
0:03:19 > 0:03:22of illegally occupied properties is conservative,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24so the figure for the money being wasted
0:03:24 > 0:03:26could climb to over 200 million.
0:03:29 > 0:03:30For over a decade, Darran Keenan,
0:03:30 > 0:03:33his partner, Sharon, and their three children
0:03:33 > 0:03:36have been battling for a place to call home.
0:03:36 > 0:03:40They are one of 40,000 households queuing up for a permanent home.
0:03:40 > 0:03:45- We've moved 13 times in... - The last 12 years.- Yeah.
0:03:45 > 0:03:47Families in the private rented sector
0:03:47 > 0:03:49frequently have to take short-term lets.
0:03:49 > 0:03:52In fact, a third of them move on in less than a year.
0:03:54 > 0:03:56We moved into properties
0:03:56 > 0:03:58and I've literally just finished decorating.
0:03:58 > 0:04:01The wallpaper wasn't even dry and we've had to move out.
0:04:01 > 0:04:03It is so stressful. You can't even...
0:04:05 > 0:04:08I just feel physically sick whenever I have to move again.
0:04:10 > 0:04:14There's a bungalow in Portstewart for...550.
0:04:14 > 0:04:17And they'll soon be moving for a 14th time
0:04:17 > 0:04:19as the landlord told them three months ago
0:04:19 > 0:04:22they'll have to move out of their rented home in Castlerock.
0:04:22 > 0:04:25We've been looking for a house since we were told at Christmas,
0:04:25 > 0:04:28but there's just nothing, nothing the size we need.
0:04:28 > 0:04:31Sharon developed fibromyalgia,
0:04:31 > 0:04:34a condition that causes pain all over her body
0:04:34 > 0:04:36and means that she is unable to work.
0:04:37 > 0:04:41The couple have two boys - Ethan, aged 12 and Keith, eight -
0:04:41 > 0:04:43and one girl, Kayleigh, aged six.
0:04:43 > 0:04:45What's the worst thing about moving you hate?
0:04:45 > 0:04:49Moving schools and not having any friends
0:04:49 > 0:04:51because I can't have any friends because I make friends
0:04:51 > 0:04:54and then I just end up leaving them and going away.
0:04:57 > 0:04:58I've been in begging.
0:04:58 > 0:05:00I've been round farmhouses,
0:05:00 > 0:05:03begging farmers to let me live in their old abandoned houses,
0:05:03 > 0:05:04just to have a home for my family.
0:05:04 > 0:05:08I never thought this is where we'd end up 12 years ago,
0:05:08 > 0:05:10still in the same position, still private renting
0:05:10 > 0:05:12and moving from house to house.
0:05:14 > 0:05:16Families who play by the rules
0:05:16 > 0:05:20are being denied a home by those who cheat the system.
0:05:22 > 0:05:23The biggest scandal
0:05:23 > 0:05:26is when the fraudsters don't even use the homes they steal.
0:05:26 > 0:05:29Dole drops are the classic example.
0:05:29 > 0:05:33They use the address to access and cheat the benefit system.
0:05:33 > 0:05:35This fraud has been around for decades,
0:05:35 > 0:05:39but yet it has never been recorded by the Housing Executive
0:05:39 > 0:05:43and they do have a duty to report all fraud to the auditor.
0:05:43 > 0:05:46When I was going through my inbox last year,
0:05:46 > 0:05:51I didn't have a single case of tenancy fraud reported to me.
0:05:51 > 0:05:54So as far as the official figures went, tenancy fraud didn't exist?
0:05:54 > 0:05:56Yes.
0:05:56 > 0:05:59- That's astonishing, isn't it? - It is quite astonishing.
0:06:01 > 0:06:05So, with no proper records, how can we begin to uncover
0:06:05 > 0:06:08the true scale of what has been going on?
0:06:09 > 0:06:12We needed to talk to someone who has front-line experience
0:06:12 > 0:06:15of dealing with housing scams.
0:06:15 > 0:06:19In Derry, we found a man who used to have reports of suspected fraud
0:06:19 > 0:06:21in his inbox nearly every day.
0:06:21 > 0:06:24In the district I worked in, I managed 3,000 properties.
0:06:24 > 0:06:27The maintenance officers used to come back to me
0:06:27 > 0:06:28and they used to say, "Kevin...
0:06:30 > 0:06:32"..there's nobody in these houses. What will we do?"
0:06:33 > 0:06:35'Kevin Barrett spent 30 years
0:06:35 > 0:06:38'working as a maintenance manager for the Housing Executive.
0:06:38 > 0:06:39'He was unfairly dismissed
0:06:39 > 0:06:42'as a result of matters not related to this issue
0:06:42 > 0:06:44'and received a substantial settlement.
0:06:44 > 0:06:47'This is the first time he has spoken on camera
0:06:47 > 0:06:50'about the scale of the fraud he witnessed.'
0:06:50 > 0:06:54You could see the properties that were not being properly lived in.
0:06:54 > 0:06:56You know, you could see that the windows weren't...
0:06:56 > 0:06:58There was condensation on the windows.
0:06:58 > 0:07:01There were net curtains that were never opened,
0:07:01 > 0:07:04post in the letter box, gardens that weren't kept.
0:07:06 > 0:07:09While the social sector has been losing homes because of fraud,
0:07:09 > 0:07:13private landlords have been cashing in on the housing shortage.
0:07:13 > 0:07:15They've been busy filling up their homes
0:07:15 > 0:07:17with those families on the waiting list,
0:07:17 > 0:07:20and all at a massive cost to the taxpayer.
0:07:23 > 0:07:25The rent is paid from the public purse
0:07:25 > 0:07:27through housing benefit.
0:07:27 > 0:07:30In England, 25% of private rented homes
0:07:30 > 0:07:32are paid for by the taxpayer.
0:07:32 > 0:07:35But in Northern Ireland, that figure is more than double.
0:07:35 > 0:07:39Here, 60% of all private rented properties
0:07:39 > 0:07:42is paid for with housing benefit.
0:07:42 > 0:07:44It has fuelled the private rented sector
0:07:44 > 0:07:47and it's certainly fuelled it in the last 10-15 years.
0:07:48 > 0:07:51Paddy Gray is a professor of housing at the University of Ulster.
0:07:51 > 0:07:54He says many private landlords
0:07:54 > 0:07:57couldn't survive without housing benefit.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59Many landlords would've said they relied
0:07:59 > 0:08:01on housing benefit payments because, at the end of the day,
0:08:01 > 0:08:04housing benefit is paid directly to the landlord
0:08:04 > 0:08:07as guaranteed income, and it's steady income.
0:08:07 > 0:08:13So what does propping up 60% of the private rental sector cost us?
0:08:13 > 0:08:18Spotlight has discovered £250 million of public money
0:08:18 > 0:08:21is going into the pockets of private landlords every year.
0:08:24 > 0:08:27What are we getting for that £250 million?
0:08:27 > 0:08:31The vast majority of private rented accommodation is fit for purpose,
0:08:31 > 0:08:34but some tenants are ashamed of where they live.
0:08:41 > 0:08:42Hello, how are you?
0:08:42 > 0:08:44'Jean Kennedy and her partner and six children
0:08:44 > 0:08:47'have been renting this house in Belfast for the last four years.'
0:08:47 > 0:08:51- A bit of an accident here?- No - that was like that when we moved in.
0:08:52 > 0:08:55'As the four-bedroom house is in an expensive area,
0:08:55 > 0:09:00'the landlord is getting £600 a month in housing benefit.
0:09:00 > 0:09:02'While her partner took the kids to school,
0:09:02 > 0:09:05'Jean showed me what they were getting for the money.'
0:09:06 > 0:09:07What is happening up here?
0:09:07 > 0:09:09When the weather gets really bad outside
0:09:09 > 0:09:11and we get the really heavy rain,
0:09:11 > 0:09:13that all drips down and it all comes down here
0:09:13 > 0:09:15and goes into this bucket.
0:09:15 > 0:09:17When is the last time you emptied that?
0:09:17 > 0:09:18Probably just two days ago.
0:09:19 > 0:09:22Have you told the landlord? Has he seen this for himself?
0:09:22 > 0:09:23Yes, he's seen this.
0:09:23 > 0:09:27He said he'd come out and fix it, but, as of yet, nothing.
0:09:27 > 0:09:29He doesn't seem bothered by it,
0:09:29 > 0:09:30to my knowledge.
0:09:30 > 0:09:32He doesn't seem to do anything about it.
0:09:32 > 0:09:35He'll say he'll come out and fix it, but nothing ever seems to happen.
0:09:37 > 0:09:39'There's been steady progress
0:09:39 > 0:09:41'on improving housing conditions here.
0:09:41 > 0:09:44'But despite that, the last Housing Executive Survey
0:09:44 > 0:09:47'found that, for the first time in over 40 years,
0:09:47 > 0:09:49'there's been a rise in unfit dwellings
0:09:49 > 0:09:51'in both the public and private sector.'
0:09:53 > 0:09:55I don't think I've ever seen damp quite like this.
0:09:55 > 0:09:58- It really is a serious problem, and in such a small room.- Yes.
0:09:58 > 0:10:00I try and clean it, but it just comes back again
0:10:00 > 0:10:02so it's pointless.
0:10:02 > 0:10:03Have you reported this, too?
0:10:03 > 0:10:06This is something the owners are aware of?
0:10:06 > 0:10:09Yes, uh-huh. They've seen the state of it.
0:10:09 > 0:10:11And they're happy for their tenants to survive like this?
0:10:11 > 0:10:15They must be, because they haven't bothered to fix it.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18'The damp's partly because the boiler's broken
0:10:18 > 0:10:21'and the family say they've been without heat for years.'
0:10:22 > 0:10:25'Two of Jean's daughters share this single bed in the front room
0:10:25 > 0:10:29'and the three boys sleep on a sofa and two mattresses next door.'
0:10:31 > 0:10:34- Is there a draft coming through there?- Yes, it is very cold.
0:10:34 > 0:10:36I also think the mice come through there.
0:10:36 > 0:10:37Well, you can see the holes.
0:10:37 > 0:10:40The holes are big enough for mice to come through.
0:10:40 > 0:10:41If you look behind...
0:10:41 > 0:10:43Look at the stuff that's lying behind it.
0:10:43 > 0:10:46You have bits of wall that's fallen off.
0:10:46 > 0:10:48Is that a bit of masonry off the wall?
0:10:48 > 0:10:50It really is a bit of a nightmare.
0:10:50 > 0:10:54- It is. Are your boys happy to sleep in a room like this?- No.
0:10:54 > 0:10:56They ask me all the time can they bring friends back
0:10:56 > 0:10:57and I say, "No, you can't."
0:10:59 > 0:11:01Because of the shame of it all?
0:11:03 > 0:11:05SHE SOBS
0:11:06 > 0:11:08That's OK. Take a minute.
0:11:09 > 0:11:12This is costing £600 every month
0:11:12 > 0:11:16for the privilege of you and your family living in these conditions.
0:11:16 > 0:11:17Uh-huh.
0:11:17 > 0:11:20- £600 for this? - Yeah - it's not worth it.
0:11:23 > 0:11:28We spend £250 million housing people like Jean and her family
0:11:28 > 0:11:31in private accommodation because the authorities say
0:11:31 > 0:11:33they can't find a permanent home for them.
0:11:33 > 0:11:36But is that really the case?
0:11:36 > 0:11:39There are lots of empty Housing Executive properties
0:11:39 > 0:11:40which could become homes.
0:11:42 > 0:11:44And one reason we know that
0:11:44 > 0:11:46is that we've spent an afternoon with this man.
0:11:46 > 0:11:48His job is to travel around Northern Ireland
0:11:48 > 0:11:50checking if houses are occupied.
0:11:55 > 0:11:58He works for the electricity company, Budget Energy.
0:11:58 > 0:12:01Empty homes on their patch cost them money.
0:12:01 > 0:12:04It takes the same amount of resources to administrate
0:12:04 > 0:12:06a house spending £5 a month
0:12:06 > 0:12:08as opposed to a house using normal usage.
0:12:08 > 0:12:10So it's a very expensive prospect for us
0:12:10 > 0:12:13to have a lot of houses that are empty
0:12:13 > 0:12:15as part of our customer base.
0:12:16 > 0:12:19Today, he's working in Belfast.
0:12:19 > 0:12:23Because he does a sensitive job, he asked us to protect his identity.
0:12:28 > 0:12:32And within an hour we came across our first empty property.
0:12:41 > 0:12:43It wasn't long before we found another one.
0:12:52 > 0:12:54And, like the other property,
0:12:54 > 0:12:56there's been little or no electricity used.
0:13:27 > 0:13:30'We came across three empty Housing Executive properties
0:13:30 > 0:13:32'in the space of a few hours.
0:13:32 > 0:13:34'We don't know why they were empty,
0:13:34 > 0:13:37'but two of them were registered as having tenants.
0:13:37 > 0:13:39'So why couldn't they be used
0:13:39 > 0:13:41'to house families on the waiting list?
0:13:41 > 0:13:43'And how many more could there be out there?'
0:13:44 > 0:13:47You've been doing this job for about three weeks.
0:13:47 > 0:13:51How many vacant, empty properties have you come across?
0:13:51 > 0:13:53About 170 - 160, 170.
0:13:53 > 0:13:56- In the space of three weeks? - Yeah.
0:13:58 > 0:14:00I was actually quite shocked.
0:14:00 > 0:14:02He discovered 170 empty homes
0:14:02 > 0:14:04which looks like it's the tip of the iceberg.
0:14:05 > 0:14:08While electricity companies have this information,
0:14:08 > 0:14:11what's extraordinary is the Housing Executive don't.
0:14:12 > 0:14:15What's more amazing is that they're not even allowed
0:14:15 > 0:14:18to ask the electricity companies for these details.
0:14:18 > 0:14:21Utility providers are now private companies.
0:14:21 > 0:14:23So our ability to formally exchange
0:14:23 > 0:14:26data-sharing provisions has changed.
0:14:26 > 0:14:28Is it not as simple as picking up the telephone
0:14:28 > 0:14:31and contacting them, saying, "Give us the list"?
0:14:31 > 0:14:33Legally, it's not that simple.
0:14:33 > 0:14:36What you're looking to do is share private information
0:14:36 > 0:14:37about one individual with another.
0:14:39 > 0:14:42So, that list of 170 empty properties
0:14:42 > 0:14:45will remain beyond the reach of the Housing Executive
0:14:45 > 0:14:49and all the while the real victims of tenancy fraud,
0:14:49 > 0:14:52those families on the waiting list, are left in limbo.
0:14:55 > 0:14:58Jean desperately wants to be rehoused.
0:14:58 > 0:15:01She feels like she's slipped through the system as, officially,
0:15:01 > 0:15:03her family aren't even on the waiting list.
0:15:07 > 0:15:10An environmental officer inspected her home last year
0:15:10 > 0:15:13due to concerns over rubbish and mice infestation.
0:15:13 > 0:15:17We wanted to get an expert opinion on the damp and mould,
0:15:17 > 0:15:20so we brought in our own environmental officer.
0:15:22 > 0:15:25There's a lot of blackness in here, a lot of damp in here.
0:15:25 > 0:15:27What's caused that?
0:15:27 > 0:15:30Those, to me, are indicative of a condensation problem
0:15:30 > 0:15:34and potential microbial growth - moulds, fungi -
0:15:34 > 0:15:38growing as a result of damp conditions on those surfaces.
0:15:40 > 0:15:42But it's the children's room that is the most concerning.
0:15:45 > 0:15:49If it were me, I would be worried if I had children sleeping in here.
0:15:49 > 0:15:52There are World Health Organisation guidelines
0:15:52 > 0:15:54which highlight microbial pollution -
0:15:54 > 0:15:57microbial pollution simply means indoor air
0:15:57 > 0:16:00that's polluted with bacteria, fungi or moulds -
0:16:00 > 0:16:02can be detrimental to people's health.
0:16:02 > 0:16:04And we see evidence of that here?
0:16:06 > 0:16:11There certainly, at a stage, has been microbial pollution in here.
0:16:11 > 0:16:16'We did ask Jean's acting landlord about the state of the house.
0:16:16 > 0:16:19'He says the family never asked to get the heating fixed
0:16:19 > 0:16:22'and, now that he knows, he will sort the boiler out.
0:16:22 > 0:16:25'He also claims that many of the problems in the house
0:16:25 > 0:16:27'were caused by the family and their lifestyle.'
0:16:30 > 0:16:33For Darran and his family in Castlerock,
0:16:33 > 0:16:37the thought of having to move a 14th time is too much.
0:16:38 > 0:16:39We're crying out for a home.
0:16:39 > 0:16:42We desperately want a home for us and our kids,
0:16:42 > 0:16:43to grow up in and be happy in.
0:16:45 > 0:16:47The family are facing homelessness.
0:16:47 > 0:16:51As another departure deadline looms, the strain is starting to show.
0:16:51 > 0:16:54- TEARFULLY: - I just can't cope any more.
0:16:54 > 0:16:57The amount of stress that we're under as a family,
0:16:57 > 0:16:59deep down, I'm hurting inside.
0:17:01 > 0:17:02- SOBBING:- Sorry.
0:17:05 > 0:17:08It's just going to take one more thing
0:17:08 > 0:17:09to finally put me over the edge
0:17:09 > 0:17:12because it is getting like that.
0:17:14 > 0:17:17It's just...where the system doesn't pick up,
0:17:17 > 0:17:18then somebody picks up, you know?
0:17:18 > 0:17:20And it's left to...
0:17:20 > 0:17:23I have to try to smooth things over and make things right, and I can't.
0:17:28 > 0:17:31Despite what you might think, when it comes to getting a house,
0:17:31 > 0:17:34the homeless are not always top of the list.
0:17:35 > 0:17:38Houses here are allocated on a points system.
0:17:38 > 0:17:41The amount of points you get depends on your circumstances.
0:17:45 > 0:17:47If you have to share a bath or a shower,
0:17:47 > 0:17:49well, that's worth five points.
0:17:49 > 0:17:53And if the house you're in is showing serious signs of disrepair,
0:17:53 > 0:17:55like this, for example...
0:17:55 > 0:17:58Well, that only gets you ten points.
0:17:58 > 0:18:00And if you really want to rack up the points,
0:18:00 > 0:18:03you need to be like our family in Castlerock.
0:18:03 > 0:18:05They're about to be made homeless
0:18:05 > 0:18:07and for that, they get an extra 70 points.
0:18:08 > 0:18:11But even that won't guarantee them a home.
0:18:11 > 0:18:14But the biggest mover in the points system,
0:18:14 > 0:18:18the one thing which can catapult you right to the top of the queue,
0:18:18 > 0:18:20leapfrogging even the homeless,
0:18:20 > 0:18:22is intimidation.
0:18:22 > 0:18:23That gets you 200 points
0:18:23 > 0:18:26and we found several examples of that here in Derry.
0:18:30 > 0:18:32When alleged threats are made,
0:18:32 > 0:18:36the Housing Executive try to make sure they are not being conned.
0:18:36 > 0:18:37But the stakes are so high,
0:18:37 > 0:18:40they can't afford to make the wrong call.
0:18:40 > 0:18:41When you get into a situation
0:18:41 > 0:18:44where someone presents as being intimidated -
0:18:44 > 0:18:46they've had a bullet through the post
0:18:46 > 0:18:47or graffiti sprayed on the walls -
0:18:47 > 0:18:50to them, the threat is real and it's live.
0:18:50 > 0:18:53You've got to balance the risk with that family
0:18:53 > 0:18:56about doing nothing and then suffer the consequences.
0:18:56 > 0:18:58So we are on the cautious side.
0:18:58 > 0:19:01Almost 1,800 people have been given a new home here
0:19:01 > 0:19:05over the past five years because of intimidation.
0:19:05 > 0:19:08It's on the increase, and last year alone
0:19:08 > 0:19:11some 411 people were rehoused.
0:19:14 > 0:19:16And we know that many of those threats
0:19:16 > 0:19:19have been made by dissident republican paramilitaries.
0:19:19 > 0:19:23But we've found out that two dissidents in Derry
0:19:23 > 0:19:25have been given brand-new homes
0:19:25 > 0:19:28after claiming they themselves were intimidated.
0:19:28 > 0:19:31Normally, those under threat go to the police.
0:19:31 > 0:19:32But not in these cases.
0:19:32 > 0:19:36Instead, Rosemount Resource Centre helped verify the threats.
0:19:36 > 0:19:38It's run by this man, Thomas McCourt.
0:19:40 > 0:19:41The individual concerned
0:19:41 > 0:19:44had been stabbed in his own bed, had been shot
0:19:44 > 0:19:47by an individual with a pellet gun.
0:19:47 > 0:19:50The other individual had been accused of being involved
0:19:50 > 0:19:52in a particular incident locally.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55We did our best to find out was there a serious paramilitary threat
0:19:55 > 0:19:58and we couldn't ascertain that there was,
0:19:58 > 0:19:59but there certainly was...
0:19:59 > 0:20:01He was certainly in a considerable amount trouble.
0:20:01 > 0:20:04Who's making these threats against dissident republicans?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07Because the only paramilitaries operating in this city
0:20:07 > 0:20:08ARE dissident republicans.
0:20:08 > 0:20:10We can't ascertain the threats.
0:20:10 > 0:20:13I have yet to find a threat to a dissident republican
0:20:13 > 0:20:17which has been authenticated from a dissident republican organisation.
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Some of those who say they're under threat,
0:20:19 > 0:20:22they haven't moved that far away - they haven't left the city,
0:20:22 > 0:20:24they've gone to neighbouring estates.
0:20:24 > 0:20:26Surely if they feel under threat, they would move much further.
0:20:26 > 0:20:30It's not up to me to dictate where people move or don't move.
0:20:31 > 0:20:34But some believe this system is wide open to abuse.
0:20:36 > 0:20:38You can imagine law-abiding, hard-pressed,
0:20:38 > 0:20:42top-of-the-waiting-list applicants saying,
0:20:42 > 0:20:45"Why should I go through all the normal protocols
0:20:45 > 0:20:47"that are open to everyone else
0:20:47 > 0:20:50"and a small number of people can bypass all this?"
0:20:50 > 0:20:53"And if they fabricate an intimidation case,
0:20:53 > 0:20:55"they can be allocated a property I should have."
0:20:55 > 0:20:57I can understand the outrage and anger
0:20:57 > 0:20:59that would exist among people like that.
0:20:59 > 0:21:03What should we do? Go back to 1969, where you start saying
0:21:03 > 0:21:05that we will assess people's politics before we help them?
0:21:05 > 0:21:08Some people might say this is a handy scam to get a house.
0:21:08 > 0:21:11Somebody knows you, comes to you, says they're being threatened.
0:21:11 > 0:21:14- Lo and behold, they get a house. - No. It's not a scam.
0:21:14 > 0:21:16I'm not saying there mightn't be people out there
0:21:16 > 0:21:19who may think, "This is a good idea, it might get me a house."
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Look, you know, we're not naive enough
0:21:22 > 0:21:24to believe nobody would do a thing like that.
0:21:24 > 0:21:26But if you're asking is it some sort of scam,
0:21:26 > 0:21:30as in an organised process which is recognisable,
0:21:30 > 0:21:32which is used to get people housing, it's not.
0:21:35 > 0:21:39Who does and doesn't get houses will always be an emotive issue,
0:21:39 > 0:21:42especially when we're told there is such a shortage.
0:21:42 > 0:21:45But there are those who see houses
0:21:45 > 0:21:47simply as a way of conning the system
0:21:47 > 0:21:49and making huge sums of money.
0:21:52 > 0:21:53We've come across a scam
0:21:53 > 0:21:57where loyalist paramilitaries are conspiring with rogue landlords
0:21:57 > 0:21:59to cash in on the benefits system.
0:21:59 > 0:22:01It's a guaranteed monthly income
0:22:01 > 0:22:03with little chance of getting caught.
0:22:03 > 0:22:08We found one landlord who told us how easy it is to scam the system.
0:22:08 > 0:22:12He's concerned for his safety and so he asked us to protect his identity.
0:22:12 > 0:22:15He bought a buy-to-let investment property
0:22:15 > 0:22:17in the Village area of Belfast.
0:22:17 > 0:22:20He was immediately on the radar of the paramilitaries
0:22:20 > 0:22:22who controlled that patch.
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Shortly after I was renting it out,
0:22:24 > 0:22:27I was approached by someone I knew locally.
0:22:27 > 0:22:29They told me that once a month, it would be better
0:22:29 > 0:22:32if I would drop some money into a local pub, which I did.
0:22:32 > 0:22:35- How much are we talking about? - £40 a month.
0:22:35 > 0:22:36What was that money for?
0:22:36 > 0:22:39It was never really clearly stated by them,
0:22:39 > 0:22:41but I think it was quite obvious by the approach that was made
0:22:41 > 0:22:44that, if I didn't pay it, I wouldn't have felt that
0:22:44 > 0:22:47the property would've been secure, or the people in it.
0:22:48 > 0:22:51As a former police fraud investigator,
0:22:51 > 0:22:55Alan McQuillan knows all too well our man had little choice.
0:22:55 > 0:22:58In all these communities, you have people who will come along
0:22:58 > 0:23:01and sidle up and demand that people do things.
0:23:01 > 0:23:04And people get very frightened of that.
0:23:06 > 0:23:09The landlord rented his property out to a housing benefit claimant.
0:23:09 > 0:23:12But, even though the rent was being paid,
0:23:12 > 0:23:15there didn't seem to be any sign of anyone living in his house.
0:23:18 > 0:23:21I ask some questions, locally, as to what was going on.
0:23:21 > 0:23:23It became clear this gentleman
0:23:23 > 0:23:26was actually residing with his partner and child.
0:23:26 > 0:23:29I was made aware that she was claiming single parent benefit
0:23:29 > 0:23:31and housing benefit, as well.
0:23:31 > 0:23:33To that extent, my property sat - in my mind, anyway -
0:23:33 > 0:23:36for two years with no-one living in it,
0:23:36 > 0:23:37but the state was paying me.
0:23:37 > 0:23:38How much are we talking about?
0:23:38 > 0:23:42How much benefit were you being paid for this empty house?
0:23:42 > 0:23:46Em...it was about £300 a month. In and around that number.
0:23:46 > 0:23:49But it was certainly enough to cover the mortgage.
0:23:50 > 0:23:54'We've worked out that the landlord was paid £7,000
0:23:54 > 0:23:57'from the public purse in housing benefit for an empty house.
0:23:59 > 0:24:01'The landlord was getting his money.
0:24:01 > 0:24:03'The paramilitaries were getting their money.'
0:24:05 > 0:24:08'The only problem was it was all illegal.'
0:24:08 > 0:24:11So, you, essentially, were cheating the system.
0:24:11 > 0:24:13Did you not feel guilty about it?
0:24:13 > 0:24:15Did you ever think, "This is wrong, I shouldn't be doing it"?
0:24:15 > 0:24:18Try owning a house in the Village area and rent it
0:24:18 > 0:24:20and not pay these guys - that would be a challenge.
0:24:21 > 0:24:24The £40 a month the landlord was paying
0:24:24 > 0:24:26may not seem significant.
0:24:26 > 0:24:30But if a paramilitary organisation can get enough landlords to pay,
0:24:30 > 0:24:32then, suddenly, it's worthwhile.
0:24:33 > 0:24:37Stealing benefits in those areas, there is a large volume of it.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40It's relatively easy to do, it's relatively low-risk,
0:24:40 > 0:24:42and if you are caught
0:24:42 > 0:24:45the amount of penalty you'll get from the courts
0:24:45 > 0:24:46for an organised benefit fraud
0:24:46 > 0:24:49is probably significantly less than you will,
0:24:49 > 0:24:52for example, people trafficking, prostitution or robbery.
0:24:52 > 0:24:56So, on all fronts, it is seen as a low-risk crime.
0:25:00 > 0:25:05But the situation for our landlord was about to dramatically change.
0:25:05 > 0:25:06When his fake tenant moved out,
0:25:06 > 0:25:09the paramilitaries came round with a new proposal.
0:25:12 > 0:25:14I was approached by people
0:25:14 > 0:25:17that I believe I was paying the protection money to.
0:25:17 > 0:25:21They told be the person I would be renting the house to
0:25:21 > 0:25:24wouldn't be living in it and that they would be subletting it.
0:25:25 > 0:25:27And was I happy with that?
0:25:29 > 0:25:33The paramilitaries were now after more than just protection money.
0:25:33 > 0:25:34The landlord's rent would still be paid
0:25:34 > 0:25:36through the housing benefit scam.
0:25:36 > 0:25:38But now the paramilitaries
0:25:38 > 0:25:42wanted to sub-let his home for cash and take the money.
0:25:42 > 0:25:45I became very nervous and said I wasn't willing to do that.
0:25:45 > 0:25:48The problem is I felt I was being sucked into something
0:25:48 > 0:25:50I really didn't want to be sucked into.
0:25:50 > 0:25:52I therefore made a decision to sell the property.
0:25:53 > 0:25:56'This is the first time he's come clean
0:25:56 > 0:25:58'about his dealings with paramilitaries.'
0:25:58 > 0:26:01To some extent, I want to report this.
0:26:01 > 0:26:02Who do I report it to?
0:26:04 > 0:26:06Reporting fraud presents huge challenges
0:26:06 > 0:26:08in Northern Ireland.
0:26:08 > 0:26:09But it is still incredible
0:26:09 > 0:26:12that there has never been one reported case
0:26:12 > 0:26:14of tenancy fraud here.
0:26:14 > 0:26:16It just was completely under the radar.
0:26:16 > 0:26:18There was no proper strategy
0:26:18 > 0:26:22for actually dealing with tenancy fraud.
0:26:22 > 0:26:24One of the recommendations in our report
0:26:24 > 0:26:29will require housing associations and the Housing Executive
0:26:29 > 0:26:34to prepare dedicated counter-fraud strategies for tenancy fraud.
0:26:35 > 0:26:37After 40 years in existence,
0:26:37 > 0:26:40the Housing Executive has only now published
0:26:40 > 0:26:44its first ever dedicated tenancy fraud strategy.
0:26:44 > 0:26:45- Tenancy fraud.- Yes.
0:26:45 > 0:26:49- Is it really a priority for the Housing Executive?- Absolutely.
0:26:49 > 0:26:51We place huge store in our approaches in terms of
0:26:51 > 0:26:54making sure that people who are living in our properties
0:26:54 > 0:26:56are the people who are supposed to be living in them.
0:26:56 > 0:26:59That's all very well but, looking at the recent Auditor's report
0:26:59 > 0:27:01into tenancy fraud in Northern Ireland,
0:27:01 > 0:27:03it is pretty clear to him that the Executive
0:27:03 > 0:27:06isn't really treating this as seriously as it should.
0:27:06 > 0:27:09For instance, the strategy you're devising now
0:27:09 > 0:27:10is only a recent thing.
0:27:10 > 0:27:14Given that this is the biggest fraud across the water in social housing,
0:27:14 > 0:27:17it seems that you are only now sitting up and taking notice.
0:27:17 > 0:27:20We were producing our own strategy at the time of that report.
0:27:20 > 0:27:22That's not to say there aren't things we should do.
0:27:22 > 0:27:24As a result of both the Audit Office report
0:27:24 > 0:27:26and our own investigations into best practice,
0:27:26 > 0:27:29we're introducing things like photographic evidence.
0:27:29 > 0:27:31We'll do random visits in the first year of tenancy
0:27:31 > 0:27:34to determine those people are there that should be there.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37The housing associations,
0:27:37 > 0:27:39who are the other big landlords in the social sector,
0:27:39 > 0:27:43have also put plans in place to deal with fraudsters.
0:27:43 > 0:27:47The sorts of things members are doing include tenancy audits,
0:27:47 > 0:27:49making sure that the people occupying properties
0:27:49 > 0:27:51are the rightful tenants,
0:27:51 > 0:27:54also doing follow-up visits perhaps four or six weeks into the tenancy
0:27:54 > 0:27:57to ensure that the tenant is actually occupying
0:27:57 > 0:28:00and using the property as they should.
0:28:03 > 0:28:08The Housing Executive has had some success in reclaiming empty homes.
0:28:08 > 0:28:10This Housing Officer is about to serve notice
0:28:10 > 0:28:14on one of the 800 homes that's been recovered in the last five years.
0:28:16 > 0:28:20But if they found 800 houses without actively looking for them,
0:28:20 > 0:28:23how many more empty homes could be out there?
0:28:23 > 0:28:27The Auditor General believes at least 2,500 homes
0:28:27 > 0:28:29are being taken up by fraudsters.
0:28:29 > 0:28:32That's around 2% of the total social housing stock.
0:28:32 > 0:28:35But, according to the former maintenance manager, Kevin Barrett,
0:28:35 > 0:28:38who spent most of his life working for the Housing Executive,
0:28:38 > 0:28:40that's just the tip of the iceberg.
0:28:40 > 0:28:44I would have thought at least 15%-20% of the properties
0:28:44 > 0:28:46were either dole drops
0:28:46 > 0:28:49or weren't being properly lived in as a family home.
0:28:49 > 0:28:51That's pretty shocking.
0:28:51 > 0:28:53It is, but I mean,
0:28:53 > 0:28:55you become immune to it when you live with it.
0:28:55 > 0:28:56It becomes normal.
0:28:58 > 0:29:02So, if Kevin Barrett's figures were to be correct,
0:29:02 > 0:29:07then as many as 18,000 homes could be occupied by fraudsters.
0:29:07 > 0:29:10That would be enough to drastically cut the waiting list.
0:29:11 > 0:29:14I don't think there's a housing crisis.
0:29:14 > 0:29:16If the Housing Executive would follow up empty homes,
0:29:16 > 0:29:20people that aren't living in them and housing benefit fraud,
0:29:20 > 0:29:22I think the housing crisis would go.
0:29:23 > 0:29:28This is the view of one former Housing Executive manager.
0:29:28 > 0:29:30But a current manager has told us
0:29:30 > 0:29:32that tenancy fraud is a major problem.
0:29:35 > 0:29:38But the Housing Executive completely disputes these figures.
0:29:38 > 0:29:39They say...
0:29:47 > 0:29:51But the fact is there is no evidence of tenancy fraud
0:29:51 > 0:29:52anywhere in Northern Ireland
0:29:52 > 0:29:55because the Housing Executive didn't record it.
0:29:55 > 0:29:58We don't know if Kevin Barrett's figures are accurate,
0:29:58 > 0:30:01but he did spend almost 30 years on the ground
0:30:01 > 0:30:06working for the Housing Executive, inspecting thousands of properties.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09One thing we do know is that we came across a man
0:30:09 > 0:30:13who found 170 empty houses, including Housing Executive homes,
0:30:13 > 0:30:16in the space of just three weeks.
0:30:16 > 0:30:18Might it be the Housing Executive
0:30:18 > 0:30:20hasn't properly addressed this in the past
0:30:20 > 0:30:22because they might not have liked what they found?
0:30:22 > 0:30:24Don't accept that. I wouldn't accept that at all.
0:30:24 > 0:30:27The Housing Executive has never shirked its responsibility.
0:30:27 > 0:30:30We've always been at the forefront of trying to do the right thing.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32But why didn't you do it ten years ago?
0:30:32 > 0:30:35When looking in hindsight, with 20/20 vision,
0:30:35 > 0:30:37you know you should do things earlier.
0:30:37 > 0:30:38The point I'd make is, yes,
0:30:38 > 0:30:41we should've done things sharper ten years ago.
0:30:41 > 0:30:42We're doing it now.
0:30:46 > 0:30:49That's empty - somebody used it all.
0:30:49 > 0:30:50There's some in that.
0:30:50 > 0:30:54I would love to see myself in a nice house with heating,
0:30:54 > 0:30:56for the kids to be running about, happy,
0:30:56 > 0:30:58and have somewhere to play and do things
0:30:58 > 0:31:01and not having to live in these conditions.
0:31:02 > 0:31:04Jean and her family
0:31:04 > 0:31:06are now considering returning to Scotland.
0:31:08 > 0:31:11Last week, Darran was informed by the Housing Executive
0:31:11 > 0:31:13that, as he failed to tell them in time
0:31:13 > 0:31:15he still wanted one of their homes,
0:31:15 > 0:31:19he and his family have been removed from the waiting list.
0:31:19 > 0:31:22If we have to move out of this area, they'll have to move school
0:31:22 > 0:31:26and everything will be up in the air again.
0:31:27 > 0:31:30As the families face an uncertain future,
0:31:30 > 0:31:31the housing authorities prepare
0:31:31 > 0:31:35to implement their new anti-tenancy fraud strategies.
0:31:35 > 0:31:38But putting down a good plan on paper is one thing.
0:31:38 > 0:31:40Actually knocking on doors
0:31:40 > 0:31:43and asking the difficult questions is another.