Talkback Winter 2009 - Corby Borough Council

Corby Borough Council takes
reports of unlawful subletting
seriously and every case is
investigated. All landlords are
expected to view this problem as
of fundamental importance and
intensify their efforts to deal with
it. This priority is shared by the
new regulator for social housing
providers, the Tenants Services
Authority, which has included in
its proposed Tenancy Standards
a requirement on all landlords
to set out how they will work to
prevent unlawful occupancy.
What Is Unlawful Subletting?
This is where a tenant lets out
their council ‘home’ without the
knowledge or permission of their
landlord, and includes obtaining
a tenancy by deception either
by failing to notify the Council
when the legal tenant moves out
or dies. It can include instances
where the whole property is let
to a single household, or multiple
sublets occur within one property.
Impact On Landlords
We think it is important to deal
with unlawful subletting because
we need to demonstrate that
we are able to make best use of
existing housing stock, that our
properties are not overcrowded
or being used for illegal purposes.
We also know that unlawful
subletting reduces our ability
to tackle homelessness, and
reduces the chances for housing
applicants who could be your son,
daughter, brother or sister, being
allocated one of our properties.
The Housing Act 1985 gives secure
tenants the right to sublet part
of their home provided they have
the landlord’s written consent.
Introductory tenants however do
not have a right to take in a lodger
or to sublet part of the property.
What Are We Doing To Deal
With The Problem?
Our process starts with a good
look at the information supplied
on the housing application form.
Cross referencing checks are
made to ensure the validity of the
application and to verify that the
current household circumstances
are correct. When an application
reaches the stage where it is
eligible for a housing offer we
will scrutinise the application
papers before arranging a viewing
and sign up of the tenancy. Any
irregularities will result in housing
offers being withdrawn until
we are satisfied that the details
submitted are correct.
The Housing Officers involved in
the management of tenancies are
responsible for undertaking Post
Letting visits to all new tenants
and those who have transferred
into alternative accommodation.
They also undertake Tenancy
Reviews and Property Inspections
as part of a rolling programme,
and they carry out investigations
when they receive information
about unlawful subletting,
property misuse or abuse.
Maintenance staff also report any
suspected unlawful subletting
and we welcome reports from
anybody who suspects that one
of our properties is being
unlawfully sublet.
If you know or suspect that a
property is being sublet please
contact us. We will treat all
information we receive with the
utmost confidentiality. We can
and are able to act on anonymous
information.
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Corby Housing Newsletter Winter 2009
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