Lib Dem council scores another housing fraud success

12.00.00am BST (GMT +0100) Mon 10th May 2004

Liberal Democrat-run Islington Council has scored another dramatic success in its continuing fight against housing fraud in the borough. Two people claimed they were the original tenants of the Essex Road property despite the named tenants having left the address but failing to notify the Council. In addition, one of the residents owned two homes in different parts of London and therefore had no entitlement to council housing. The residents had claimed that they were victims of homophobic harassment by Upper Street Area Housing Office and had taken their case against the Council to the Local Government Ombudsman. The residents' story started to unravel though when Homes for Islington and the Council's Housing Investigations team began looking into claims of assault on one of the people concerned. On the threat of criminal prosecution one of the residents admitted they had acquired the tenancy fraudulently and handed back the keys to the property. The home will now be re-let to a new tenant. Councillor Jyoti Vaja, Liberal Democrat Executive Member for Housing, said: "This is a major success for the Council and shows we mean it when we say we will crack down on housing fraud. It is also another excellent piece of work by the Council's Housing Investigations Team. "These people had no right to a council home in Islington - one of them owns two houses in different parts of London. They were defrauding the Council and denying people in real housing need the chance of a decent home. "The message is clear. If you try and defraud the Council like this, we will catch you."