SNG secures Unlawful Profit Order of £110,000 against Hackney tenancy fraudster
We've secured an Unlawful Profit Order worth £110,000 plus costs and interest against a tenant in the London Borough of Hackney who had been unlawfully subletting.
The outcome has returned a much-needed affordable home to a family in housing need and demonstrates our uncompromising commitment to tackling tenancy fraud and ensuring the homes it manages are allocated fairly to those who need them most.
The ruling at Central London County Court followed an extensive investigation by SNG which revealed that the tenant had unlawfully rented out the property between 2012 and 2022. The alarm was initially raised when an officer visited the property and noticed that locks had been fitted to the bedrooms. The occupants told the officer to contact the ‘landlady’ in order to gain access to the rooms.
Further investigations revealed that the official tenant had no links to the property and was instead living at a property provided by another social housing provider. Investigators also found evidence which showed that the official tenant had posted adverts with online lettings platforms, and they had received payments into their bank account from numerous third parties financially linked to the address.
Charles Culling, Head of Specialist Housing, commented “This is a great outcome for SNG and means that we can use the property for its intended purpose, as a family home for those in need of affordable housing. We’re committing additional resources into investigating tenancy fraud and offenders can be assured that when we identify subletting, we will pursue court action against them.”
Unlawful Profit Orders require the offender to pay the landlord an amount that represents the profit they made from unlawfully subletting. Whilst the Unlawful Profit Order has been made by the Court, SNG’s Debt Recovery Team will now seek to enforce the order against the former tenant.