Councils have been given the power to access personal information about people suspected of tenancy fraud, in new measures outlined today.
The new measures will allow councils to access information from banks, building societies, utility and telecommunication companies to identify if someone is committing social housing fraud.
Housing minister, Kris Hopkins, said: ‘Anyone who is committing social housing fraud should know that the net is closing in on them. These new powers will help expose the cheats conning councils and ripping off taxpayers and free up more homes for the families that really need them.
‘This government is taking the fight to fraudsters. We have already given councils £19m to root out tenancy fraud, more than doubling the annual number of social homes recovered and we have made sure that rather than getting a little rap on the knuckles these fraudsters could face time in jail.’
With estimates showing 98,000 social homes are unlawfully occupied in England, the Government has also introduced tougher penalties for those found guilty of tenancy fraud. The Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act means those found guilty of illegally sub-letting a council home could face a prison sentence of up to two years and a fine.
A new £16.6 million fund has also been launched to tackle fraud in local government. The money will help fund an additional 270 government investigators across England and will help the Single Fraud Investigation Service and councils to share data.
