Inside Out

[emmie]

did anyone watch this on BBC last evening, the piece about sub-letting council properties in the capital, i was shocked at the level of people who do it and where the ones that were featured were from. The council workers who have to try and track down these fraudsters must be tearing their hair out, seeing as there does not seem to be sufficient legalisation on fines, and indeed jail sentences levied when the illegal sub-letters do occasionally get caught, the money is staggering. One bloke illegally rented out his council flat to wealthy Arabs, they didn't know so they said, the mother was in UK for medical treatment, and were being charged 900 quid a week, all the while the fraudster was getting a small fortune in housing benefits, so copping it both ways, not right and can't see why government, local government can't do more about this matter.
i posted about this a while back, our council has ads in many papers over a key amnesty, not sure that is going to work, but guess they are trying.

[emmie]

this was the piece
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24259715

[puternut]

Problem is emmie this program was shown in the London area alone.

Inside Out is a news program which shows items which are more relevant to the area they are shown. As an example Mondays program for East Sussex was mainly concerned with a report of lack of track maintenance which might have caused a train crash if it had been left longer.

So you see only London saw that report unless you physically chose that area over your 'home' area on FreeSat or similar

[craft1948]

When I worked in London 1989/1990 one of the girls I worked with sub-let a council property so it's not something new. Many of her friends bought council rent cards.

[emmie]

it may be nothing new but its massive fraud, the person gets housing benefit and then rent, so its a win win for them, many are renting these places to wealthy Arabs who seemingly have no idea they are renting a place that is not owned by the person they are paying all this money to. Then of course there is the matter of the fraudster who can obviously coin it in whilst living elsewhere, perhaps in a bought family home, on the proceeds of their ill gotten gains. Our council is trying to put the message out of a key amnesty, give in your flat, house keys anonymously then no action will be taken, which i think is wrong. Council homes are for people in need, those who can't afford to rent/buy, at least currently.
so depriving a person/family of a home.
shame this programme only goes out London wide, i didn't realise that...