A housing provider has successfully recovered 12 homes as part of an ongoing campaign against tenancy fraudsters.

The crackdown by Network Homes has ensured that 16 people entitled to housing have been provided with much needed social homes. Legal action is set to follow on a number of further cases despite court backlogs caused by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Cases of tenancy fraud found by Network Homes include catching an offender who was unlawfully subletting more than one home and was doing this through an estate agent. The housing association also secured an unlawful profit order, which requires an offender to pay the landlord an amount that represents the profit made from illegally subletting, of £2,000 against an offender who was illegally subletting. They were renting out the home while they lived somewhere else.

Dillon Darbar, Network Homes counter fraud manager said: “We remain undeterred in our fight against tenancy fraud and continue working closely with our partners to bring offenders to account.

“Successful outcomes in tenancy fraud cases rely heavily on the support we receive from residents and members of the public.

“Residents can report the suspected fraud anonymously but please give us as much information as possible to help our investigations. The more information that we have the better the chance we have of stopping it.”