Fraud caught and evictions happening on social housing applications

The court is evicting tenants that have been caught with submitting fraudulent applications for social housing. The council and housing authorities in greater Manchester have started to use electronic data to find liars, and these evictions are the first cases of this occurring as part of the National Fraud Initiative. This new programme will benefit those across the nation who need affordable housing and that are truthful when they complete their housing applications.

The Tameside County Court, located in Greater Manchester, heard cases on Scott Seel as well as Chantelle Baguley. Both of these individuals were living in social housing being managed by New Charter Homes housing association, and after a further assessment of their applications, it was determined by the court that they were fraudulent.

This is the first instance of this occurring in the courts under the National Fraud Initiative, and it will ensure that families that are most in need of social housing are provided it. This will occur as those who lie or submit fraudulent applications will get caught and they will be evicted, and the homes will then be provided to honest, hardworking people that are deserve an affordable home.

The lesson is that if someone lies on an application or completes it incorrectly, they will be caught, as the housing associations as well as councils are now partnering with charities as well as public organisations to share information and electronic data. Priority is being given to review applications to catch those people who are dishonest, and this sharing of data will help catch those who are trying to scam the system.

How the fraudsters for social housing were caught

In these cases from the Tameside Court, it was determined that Ms. Baguley was already living in a private rented home in Dukinfield since March 2012, and she did not mention this on her social housing application. In fact, she said she was living at her parents’ home.

After an easy review of this using employment and other data, the court determined this was an attempt at fraud, and Ms. Baguley will now be evicted from the New Charter Homes property. This can be done as she would not have been awarded the social housing unit based on this new information, so the court system is righting the wrong.

Scott Seel also was fraudulent on his application for housing with New Charter Homes. He actually already had a tenancy with another housing authority, City South Housing, in the city of Manchester! So Mt Seel was already housed, sleeping on a comfortable bed, and had a roof over his head.

But that was not good enough for him, as he also later applied for a new flat from New Charter Homes, and on his application he claimed he was sofa surfing at a friend’s flat. Using the new data being shared as part of the National Fraud Initiative, this fraudulent application was caught.

Both of these tenants will now be evicted as soon as possible, and New Charter Homes will now be able to place a needy individual into these flats. So the National Fraud Initiative is working as planned, and the lesson is to be accurate and truthful when applying for any type of housing or rent deposit scheme that is provided by a charity or housing authority.