Legal News
Mother prosecuted over housing fraud (13 July 2015)
Date: 13/07/2015
A mother who fraudulently tried to obtain a second council home has been fined £800 – and has also lost both council homes.
Social housing publisher 24Dash reports that Evelyn Asirifi of Ruislip Road in Greenford, Middlesex held a council tenancy in Southwark, south London and also applied to Ealing Council for social housing.
Mrs Asirifi claimed that her private rented accommodation in Greenford – where she lived with her husband and three children – was overcrowded.
However, Ealing Council’s housing fraud investigation team discovered the tenancy held by Mrs Asirifi in Southwark – and also suspected that she was illegally renting this out while living in Greenford with her family.
The deception was uncovered when council officers checked with the other council’s housing department and various agencies – the checks are made in an effort to stop housing and benefit fraud before it happens.
At Ealing Magistrate's Court, Ashirifi pleaded guilty to two counts of housing fraud and was fined a total of £400 for two offences under the 2006 Fraud Act.
She was also ordered to pay costs of £378 and a victim surcharge of £20.
She has been removed from the housing register and her family remains in private rented accommodation.
Cabinet member for housing, employment and skills at Ealing Council, Councillor Jasbir Anand, said:
“Thanks to the diligence of our officers, Mrs Asirifi not only failed to get her hands on the keys to a council home in Ealing, she was also forced to hand in the keys to the property in Southwark.
“The message here is very clear – if you attempt to commit housing fraud, we will catch you.
“We're doing everything we can to increase the supply of much-needed, affordable housing in Ealing.
“That work includes catching and prosecuting those whose fraudulent activity is depriving those families who are in genuine need.”
Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors
Duncan Lewis housing solicitors are one of the UK’s leading providers of Legal Aid housing advice and can advise social housing tenants on a wide range of housing matters, including:
• Disrepair of rented property
• Anti-social behaviour problems
• Housing Benefit
• Housing fraud
• Local Authority housing
• Local council’s obligation to rehouse (Section 193)
• Nuisance neighbours
• Right to Buy (including conveyancing)
• Tenancy agreements
• Unlawful eviction.
For expert legal advice on housing law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 020 7923 4020.