Fraudbusters saved more than half a million pounds in Brighton and Hove City Council’s housing department alone last year.
They recovered six properties and tackled tenancy fraud, according to counter fraud audit manager Simon White.
Mr White spoke about the results at the council’s Audit, Standards and General Purposes Committee meeting at Brighton Town Hall on Tuesday (25 June).
Newly elected Labour councillor Theresa Mackey asked about the process for recovering six properties through the tenancy fraud team, which led to savings worth £570,000.
Mr White said that officials looked at who was supposed to live in the household and used credit referencing to pick up any anomalies.
As part of a national pilot project, the council is also looking at the short-term letting site Airbnb for properties which are on the site when they shouldn’t be.
Council tenants are barred from sub-letting even just one room let alone their entire home.
One property was recovered after officers found that the named tenant had moved out.
The team is in the process of securing another one or two properties, councillors were told.
Green councillor Sue Shanks said: “I’m doing a lot of door knocking at the moment and we often find the person who is supposed to be in a house isn’t in the house.
“I think that Airbnb is quite interesting, particularly in my ward (West Hill and North Laine), which is a city centre ward. Tenants will say to me ‘that’s an Airbnb’. Someone said that to me in a council block the other day.
“If it’s a leasehold property, there’s nothing we can do about that but obviously if it’s one of our properties then that would be very concerning.”
Conservative councillor Anne Meadows said that council homes were “precious” and asked how long the investigations took.
She was told that the durations varied depending on whether the cases went to court which could add to the complexity of cases although most were not lengthy.
Interim housing director Martin Reid said that the housing management team did a lot of work to address tenancy fraud, publicising how to identify and report it in its publication to tenants, Homing In.
Mr Reid said: “We work with our operatives and contractors to make sure they’re aware of signs of tenancy fraud.
“The classic is people not responding to their annual gas safety check and not letting contractors in.
“Our housing officers are the eyes and ears working around estates and listening to residents as part of our proactive work.”
Data checks across all council services revealed three housing benefit overpayments worth £42,588. They were found because the claimant receiving a student loan.
Feels like a solid argument for regular checkups with tenants as a standard practice. Lot of good can come from that too, in my opinion.
Sounds like something that should have been happening for years, tenancy fraud hasn’t just started with Airbnb.
Investigations and actions like these have been happening for years and long before the likes of Airbnb came into existence.
£600k of fraud sounds like a drop in the ocean compared to the amount of housing stock in Brighton. The checks should be much more aggressive.
I think you’re right about that. I think the amount of council tenants being checked up on is something worth addressing. I suspect COVID really reduced this down, and when you consider issues like ASB coming up a lot, as reported on here previously, having those regular checks will be very useful in facilitating a preventative approach.
How much in salaries did it cost to recoupe £600k?
£600k doesn’t sound like much at all.
Outside of the moral boundaries of it being ensuring people are brought to justice, if it made more money than it cost, or even just broken even, sounds like a good use of funds to me.
Wait for HMRC to make air b&b share their data, lol that’s going to be billions in tax unpaid
Absolutely. In recent years, scrutiny of tech companies’ tax practices has increased, with governments seeking to ensure they pay their fair share. Consequently, Airbnb has had to navigate complex tax regulations in multiple jurisdictions, which contributes to its overall tax burden. While the exact figure varies, the nature of its business means a large tax bill is almost inevitable.
Good.
It’s funny. When the council spends any money it’s too much and when they recoup something it’s not enough – I suppose they can’t win. Still everyone can have a good moan.
They certainly can, but if you’re speaking about here or social media in general, we are very much the vocal minority in most instances.