More people who illegally sublet their council homes are being caught across London, according to figures provided to Londra Gazete.
There has been an increase in reclaimed council homes in three boroughs where Turkish, Turkish Cypriot and Kurdish residents are known to live in large numbers.
Enfield recovered 61 council houses that were illegally sublet in 2013/14. The figure, a 50 per cent increase on the previous year, was buoyed by a month-long amnesty from criminal prosecution the council launched in October.
In Hackney, the council was able to recover 159 houses and let them to tenants on the council house waiting list in the same period, while in Lewisham, the figure was at least 36.
Another south London borough, Southwark, was unable to confirm figures for the most recent year, although a council spokeswoman said they were confident of exceeding the 322 properties recovered in 2012/13.
ENFIELD AMNESTY
Last October Enfield had warned residents that its residents who illegally sublet council houses were now risking a prison sentence.
The council launched a month-long amnesty programme under which it promised not to prosecute any such tenants who handed back their keys.
It is understood that keys to as many 50 homes were handed back during the 30-day amnesty.
EARLY FRAUD PREVENTION
In Hackney, the council has focused on preventing fraud from occurring before the tenants actually move in.
A Hackney council spokesman said: “We investigate tenancy misuse both in Hackney Homes and housing association stock in Hackney.
“All properties recovered results in additional resource to accommodate housing waiting list, homelessness and temporary accommodation cases in Hackney.
“Our investigation of housing applications in order to prevent housing fraud taking place from the start led to 81 waiting list/homelessness applications being cancelled in 2013-2014.”
Lewisham Council, meanwhile, said its managed properties division had recovered 36 properties in the same period, but that figure could be larger based on homes managed by other housing providers.
