Industry News


Council tenant prosecuted for illegally subletting her home


A three year investigation by Haringey Council in North London has resulted in a woman being prosecuted for tenancy fraud and ordered to repay £33,894.58. Miriam Bailor became a tenant at a council


owned property in Northumberland Park, Tottenham, London, in October 1998 and lived at the address for 19 years until she vacated it in December 2017. She then sub-let the property to an unsuspecting family for a rent of £900 per month. Bailor pleaded not guilty at Highbury Corner


Magistrates Court, but an extensive investigation by the council’s Audit and Anti-Fraud team showed that Bailor was not occupying her tenancy address and that other persons were living there in her absence. During the trial she repeatedly lied about where she was living. Te two day trial found Bailor guilty of unlawfully subletting her property, contrary to Section 1 (1) Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 and sanctioned recovery of any profit made by illegally subletting the property. Concerns were initially raised with the Audit


and Anti-Fraud team when a contractor suspected that Bailor was not living at the Northumberland Park address and another family was living at the property in her absence.


CHILDCARE PAYMENTS CLAIM Bailor was interviewed under caution by officers from Haringey Council Investigations team where all available evidence was presented to her. Troughout the interview she maintained that she was living at the tenancy address and claimed that any money she received from the sub-tenants was in respect of childcare that she was providing for them. Te district judge said: “What you did was clearly intentional and done for profit. As for harm, behaviour such as yours undermines the system used by local authorities to grant secure tenancies, and I full well understand why parliament introduced an Act such as this because it’s there to deter people from misusing housing when they have been lucky enough to receive a council tenancy.” Councillor Sarah Williams, cabinet member for


finance and local investment said: “I hope this case serves as a reminder to those who are thinking they are above the law. We will not hesitate to act against anyone caught making fraudulent claims. Haringey Council has a zero tolerance to fraud and corruption.” “For years, Miriam Bailor cheated the housing


system and thought she would get away with it. Haringey, like a lot of local authorities has a huge demand for social housing and people like Miriam Bailor deny families a decent home. I am delighted we have recovered this property and will now let it to a family in genuine need.”


Gove continues to name and shame social landlords who fall foul of the Housing Ombudsman


T


hree more social housing landlords have been named and shamed by the Housing Secretary Michael Gove for


failing their residents, as he urged lawyers to direct tenants to the Housing Ombudsman to save them time and money. Michael Gove has demanded answers and


action from Orbit Housing, Lambeth Council and Birmingham City Council aſter the Ombudsman found severe maladministration in their handling of complaints. It brings the total number of landlords that


have been publicly criticised by the Housing Secretary during 2022 for poor performance to 14. Te total amount of compensation these sub-standard landlords have been ordered to pay to social housing tenants by the Ombudsman in 2022 to over £574,000. In a letter to the Law Society, Citizens Advice,


and Housing Law Practitioners Association, Gove urged solicitors to tell social housing tenants that the Ombudsman should be the first route for reporting complaints with their landlord and that it is unacceptable for landlords to let legal proceedings get in the way of them undertaking repairs. A departmental press release said while


lawyers will always have a crucial role representing tenants in legal proceedings, the Ombudsman services are free to use and residents are now able to bring complaints directly themselves, potentially avoiding lengthy and costly legal proceedings. Te Housing Secretary said: “Each of these


landlords have failed their tenants, letting people suffer in disgraceful conditions while refusing to listen to complaints or treat them with respect.” “Housing providers will have nowhere


to hide once our Social Housing Bill becomes law. A beefed-up Regulator will have the power to enter properties with only 48 hours’ notice and make emergency repairs with landlords footing the bill.” “I’m urging everyone offering advice, from


solicitors to voluntary organisations, to always direct social housing tenants with complaints to the Housing Ombudsman. Every tenant deserves a decent home, and landlords must not use legal


cases as an excuse to delay making repairs or act on complaints.”


22 | HMMFebruary/March 2023 | www.housingmmonline.co.uk


STRONG ACTION TAKEN Orbit Housing was ordered to pay a resident £5,000 aſter damp and mould issues went untreated, while Birmingham City Council (second letter this year) failed to respond to resident’s complaints of boiler faults and rotten floorboards in the living room. In Lambeth, the Council did not repair


damaged windows in a fiſth-floor flat that fell out of their frames onto the ground below, leaving a resident with boarded up windows during winter, causing mould which damaged their possessions. Tey follow 11 other providers to have


faced severe maladministration findings from the Ombudsman. Tese included Clarion (four this year) who did not repair a tenant’s leaking room with rainwater leaking down walls and cracks in every room, Metropolitan Tames Valley Housing who failed to resolve an infestation of silverfish and Johnnie Johnson Housing who had to pay £1,800 compensation aſter a resident suffered verbal abuse, threats and intimidation at the hands of his neighbours. London Borough of Hackney, Housing Plus


Group (was Stafford Rural homes), Habinteg Housing, Shepherd’s Bush Housing, Southern Housing, Onward Homes, Catalyst and PA Housing, were the others to have been criticised. 10% of homes in the social rented sector


failed to meet the Decent Homes Standard in 2021/22, with 177,000 social homes affected y damp, according to statistics from the English Housing Survey published earlier this month. Late last year the Housing Secretary


announced he will block government funding to any housing provider that breaches the Regulator of Social Housing’s consumer standards until they can prove they are a responsible landlord, with Rochdale Boroughwide Housing the first provider to be sanctioned. Te Social Housing (Regulation) Bill is


expected to drive up standards in social housing; by tackling damp, cold, unsafe homes, making sure landlords do not ignore tenants and bolstering the Regulator’s power to act. Te Government is also launching a £1 million


public information campaign early next year to make sure tenants know their rights, including about the work of the Ombudsman, and how they can hold housing providers to account.


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