Housing sector reacts to Shapps' illegal subletting crack down

Published by 24publishing for 24dash.com in Housing

Housing minister Grant Shapps today published plans to clampdown on social housing tenants illegally subletting their homes in a bid to free up properties for families on the waiting list.

Under the proposals, tenants could face up to two years in prison and a £50,000 fine if the case goes to the Crown court. Currently those found guilty face no greater penalty than losing their tenancy.

The Government believes there are some 160,000 social homes being unlawfully sublet.

The National Housing Federation (NHF) said it was pleased that the Government is planning to provide mechanisms that will allow strong action to be taken.

Chief executive David Orr said: "We welcome plans to reimburse the proceeds of tenancy fraud to the social landlords in whose stock the fraud has been committed. This will help boost investment in much-needed affordable homes. It will also be important to ensure that appropriate support is available to those who may have innocently taken up what they thought to be a legitimate tenancy.

"The housing minister is right to say that we need to build more affordable housing. Building affordable housing is a win/win for the taxpayer."

He said that with a public investment of £1bn - matched by £8bn from housing associations - "it would build 66,000 shared ownership homes for people on low to middle incomes, create 400,000 jobs and, in doing so, save the taxpayer £700m in job seeker's allowance - not to mention the added savings from housing benefit and increased tax revenues".

Lindsey Williams, group chief executive of Futures Housing Group, also welcomed tougher sanctions, but said prison should always be a last resort.

She said: "Where tenants are found to be exploiting the system to generate income, action needs to be taken. Housing benefit fraud is already criminalised and sub letting to gain from social rent levels is not dissimilar.

"But as with any such action, prison should always be a last resort, recognising the long-term impact it has on individuals, their families and communities.

"I would hope initiatives such as annual tenancy visits can help landlords to increase their intelligence of who is living in their properties, uncover any tenancy breaches and understand the circumstances behind them. If tenants are sub-letting because they are genuinely struggling to cover their rent and other bills, then we should be offering help before beginning legal action.

"While I welcome tougher powers to ensure a fair housing system, I would hope that landlords continue to look at all the issues to ensure tenancies and communities remain as sustainable as possible. We also need to ensure that action can be taken quickly when needed, and does not involve a lengthy legal process."

Jack Dromey, Labour's Shadow Housing Minister, said: "The subletting of council homes for financial gain prevents those in real need from getting a home and should be stopped. Labour is committed to ending this abuse and before the 2010 election we set out plans to make the unlawful subletting of social homes a criminal offence.

"With millions in need of a decent home at a price they can afford, the country is gripped by a growing housing crisis. We need an increase in house building now more than ever and the Government is failing to deliver."