Housing Solicitors

An exclusive investigation for 24housing magazine has revealed that some shared owners in London’s most desirable housing association properties are subletting their properties – and housing associations are failing to prevent the practice.

Social housing publisher 24Dash reports that housing association tenants who part-buy and part-rent may later sublet their shared ownership home either without obtaining permission from their housing provider – or by falsely claiming exceptional circumstances.

It is thought many social housing tenants who sublet homes in desirable properties or locations are making considerable sums of money out of renting out their homes for profit.

Desirable housing association homes are located in properties such as the flagship 5,000-home Royal Arsenal Riverside development – or in areas such as Woolwich, where a new high-speed commuter line being built by Crossrail is sparking a rise in property prices.

Some housing association tenants say that the constant “coming and going” of tenants subletting has caused issues for them, including noise intrusion – one housing association tenant was kept awake by a succession of subletting tenants wheeling their suitcases across floors at 2am or 3am as they left to catch early morning flights.

The constant disturbance from short-term subletting of neighbouring housing association properties caused the tenant to suffer ill health through sleeplessness, and the owner of the property – a teacher – could not be contacted.

The tenant complained to the housing association, Southern Housing Group.

A spokesman for Southern told 24housing magazine:

“We take proportionate action to investigate complaints.

“Where our investigation supports a complaint of unauthorised subletting, our aim is that residents remedy any breach of their lease immediately and continue to occupy their home.

“Legal action will be considered where appropriate.”

Southern Housing added that data protection rules prevented comment on individual cases.

As part of the investigation, 24housing looked into unconfirmed claims of shared ownership sublets in southeast London, though to be a hotspot for illegally sublet shared ownership properties. Reporter Paul Coleman posed as a shared owner looking to sublet.

Letting agents variously advised him to tell his housing association that work or an ill relative meant having to move away and sublet – or claiming that financial pressures meant moving back in with parents for a period.

Despite subletting a shared ownership housing association property constituting a breach of leasehold agreement, one lettings agency said:

“Just tell the housing association your new job means you need to move away for a year.

“Or, say you’re in financial straits and need to stay with your parents for a while – they won’t really check out your story.

“We’ve sublet six shared ownership properties on long-term tenancies in this way over the last year. It won’t be a problem.”

Shared ownership is excluded from the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013, leaving housing associations unable to take legal action under the Act against shared owners who do sublet and breach leasehold agreements.

Peabody said that in the last two years, it had recovered 238 illegally sublet social housing properties, although it had not found any shared ownership property being illegally sublet.

A spokesman for Southern Housing Group said, however:

“Penalties like the loss of a social tenure, a fine for unlawful profit and prosecution for a criminal offence are not available.

“We’ve not yet successfully prosecuted anyone for subletting a shared ownership property.”

Duncan Lewis Housing Solicitors

Duncan Lewis housing solicitors can advise social housing tenants, private sector tenants and homebuyers on a wide range of housing matters, including:

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For expert legal advice on housing law, call Duncan Lewis housing solicitors on 020 7923 4020.