The government is proposing to create a new criminal offence of tenancy fraud to crack down on the subletting of social housing.
Under plans unveiled today subletting tenants could face two years in prison or a fine of up to £50,000.
Ministers hope the move will act as a deterrent to sub letting. Any proceeds of fraud recovered will be handed to the landlord, rather than being confiscated by the state, and councils will be given better access to financial and utility company data to help them find tenancy fraud.
Currently subletting is not a criminal offence, so although tenants can be evicted for breaching their tenancy agreement they are unlikely to receive further sanction unless they are prosecuted for another offence, such as fraud.
The government believes between 50,000 and 160,000 social homes could be unlawfully sublet across England.
Housing minister Grant Shapps said: ‘Tenancy cheats are taking advantage of a vital support system for some of the most vulnerable people in our society and getting away with a slap on the wrist while our waiting lists continue to grow’.
‘It’s time for these swindlers to pay the price. It would cost us billions of pounds to replace the huge number of unlawfully occupied social homes across the country.’
Some would argue that Sub-letting is already a criminal offence under the Fraud Act 2006; however if up to 160,000 social homes are sub let, where will these 100,000+ offenders be imprisoned if convicted?
Britain’s jails are overcrowded and ‘very volatile’. Prisons are built, but not as quickly as needed. In a recent letter to Prisons Minister Crispin Blunt, the Prison Officers Association said it was only a matter of time before the Government would have to resort to holding inmates in police cells – a hugely expensive policy known as Operation Safeguard.
Two days before Christmas the total prison population in England and Wales hit an all-time high of 87,960. This is 1,522 short of the maximum capacity and certainly doubling this figure would make the jail terms for sub-letters an impossible task to undertake!
Will there be a crisis, well it certainly will if the government aims to fulfill their promise of tackling the issue with imprisonment!?
Handing out hefty fines and once recovered given to the landlords certainly seems a more plausible punishment, and would certainly offer an extra incentive for landlords to be pro-active in dealing with the problem,.
Extracts taken from Inside Housing and The Daily Mail
