A CRACK down on social housing tenancy fraudsters in Waverley is taking place as part of the Surrey Counter Fraud Partnership.

In the last seven months Waverley’s experienced investigators have acted on referrals to recover four council-owned homes in Waverley that were not being lived in by the tenant.

These homes have now been provided to families who were on Waverley’s housing register and needed a permanent home.

Investigators also identified two false housing applications whereby people had not been truthful about their housing circumstances and were therefore not entitled to tenancy, and prevented three fraudulent Right To Buy applications, in the same seven-month period.

The work has saved nine homes from going to the people who are not entitled to them, as well as saving around £341,700 of public funds.

Wyatt Ramsdale, portfolio holder for finance at Waverley Borough Council, said: “We must protect our social housing to ensure those families and people in genuine need can have a place to call their home.

“Nine such families would have been denied a permanent place to live and thus a better quality of life because of people carrying out tenancy fraud in the borough, if this positive action had not taken place.

“Waverley will not stand for this and is currently working on a number of other cases, to stop these fraudsters keeping houses and making money at the expense of those in need and the taxpayer.

“I would urge anyone who has any information to come forward. You can do this anonymously and your help could lead to us recovering properties that we can give to others who are desperately in need of a home.”

Waverley, the Surrey Counter Fraud Partnership and social housing providers have jointly launched a new publicity campaign, ‘Don’t stop his family having a home!’ asking for residents to help by reporting any suspicions they may have about fraudulent tenancy activity.

Anyone with information or suspicions of tenancy fraud can call the Waverley Fraud Report It hotline on 01483 523586 or visit www.waverley.gov.uk/reporttenancyfraud.