A woman has been ordered to pay £2,000 to Bedford Borough Council after she admitted to committing tenancy fraud.
The woman, who had a bpha property in Clapham, failed to declare she was no longer living in the property when she moved to St Neots to live with her partner.
After the offence was discovered, she was interviewed under caution by Investigation Officers at Bedford Borough Council and admitted the offence fully.
As a result, she was issued with a formal Caution and ordered to pay the Council £2,000 in investigation costs.
Councillor Phillippa Martin-Moran-Bryant, Portfolio Holder for Housing and Regulatory Services said; “Whilst the tenant didn’t make any personal profit from this, it was a serious breach of their tenancy agreement.
“She blocked another vulnerable person from being able to live in the property by failing to notify her landlord, bpha, that she no longer lived in the property. Fortunately, the property has been recovered and been re-let to a new tenant.
“If you are aware of anyone not occupying their social housing property, subletting or committing tenancy fraud, please contact the Investigation Service in confidence using our online reporting form at https://reportafraud.co.uk/bedfordbc.
“For more information about Tenancy fraud please visit https://www.bedford.gov.uk/housing/tenancy-fraud.”