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Housing Fraud - Illegal subletting / obtaining a Barnsley Council home by giving false information
Berneslai Homes are committed to tackling housing fraud; we have a duty to protect our residents, rent and service charges and to make sure people don’t abuse the system.
You can now report a suspected housing fraud direct by:
- phoning 01226 77555;
- emailing us on customerservices@berneslaihomes.co.uk; or
- click here to report your suspicions online.
Calls to the Housing Fraud Hotline are treated in strict confidence and you can remain anonymous, or you can leave your name and contact details if you want us to keep you informed about the action we take. We are currently offering a reward of up to £500 for information that leads to the recovery of the first ten homes under this scheme. We need you details for you to qualify for a reward.
You may know or suspect someone who:
- Is not living at their council property (may be illegally subletting or applying for the right to buy)
- Has obtained a council tenancy using a false identity
- Abandoned their property
Abandoned properties
Residents with secure tenancies are required to occupy the property as their sole or main residence.
If it is a joint tenancy at least one of the joint tenants must occupy the property as his/her sole residence. If you discover a property has become empty or the residents have left the property and have not returned then this may be an abandonment and a breach of tenancy conditions.
We will carry out a full investigation and if the property has been abandoned will take the necessary legal action to obtain possession of property.
Illegal subletting
Residents with tenancies are not allowed to rent out their home and live somewhere else – this is called illegal sub-letting.
We take illegal subletting very seriously, the demand for our homes is very high and illegal subletting deprives people who want to transfer or who are in housing need. We will investigate every case and take legal action for possession of the property whenever we can.
The Tenants’ Charter gives you the right to sublet part of your home or take in lodgers. You can let out a room in your home to a lodger or sub-tenant but you cannot let the whole of your house and you must be living there with your lodger or sub-tenant.
We carry out regular tenancy reviews on a programmed basis and in response to reports from residents and from other sources. If we find someone else in your home that you have not told us about and you appear to be living elsewhere we will take legal action to end your tenancy.
Residents who own their own home (known as leaseholders) can rent a room or sublet their home without our permission but they should let us know as it can affect their building insurance.