Social housing tenant ordered to pay £40,000 after illegally subletting Barnet property

A social housing tenant has been ordered to pay £40,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to illegally subletting her property, Barnet Council has revealed.

According to the council, Ms Williams made an “unlawful profit” over a period of more than four years by subletting the property in High Barnet to two tenants while she was living at her new home in Stevenage.

The offence became apparent when one of the tenants was given an eviction notice and applied for housing in October 2023.

The company that manages the council’s housing stock, Barnet Homes, established that the property was owned by housing association Notting Hill Genesis and Williams was the social housing tenant, not the landlord.

An investigation by Barnet Council’s Corporate Anti-Fraud Team found that Williams and her husband had bought their house in Stevenage in 2018, and that Williams’ bank statements showed she had received rental payments of over £60,000 from the sub-tenants between March 2019 and November 2023.

The council said: “She admitted that she moved out and sublet the property during an interview under caution conducted by counter-fraud officers. The property was subsequently recovered.”

Appearing at Willesden Magistrates Court on 22 August, Williams pleaded guilty to subletting her property to two women and a child contrary to section 2(1) of the Prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013.

She was fined £477 and ordered to pay £40,000 in compensation plus £2,314.70 in costs.

Cllr Barry Rawlings, Leader of Barnet Council and Cabinet Member for Strategic Partnerships, Economy and Effective Council, said: “This case shows that there is no place for illegal subletting in Barnet and that we will use the full extent of the law where it is found.

“Our anti-fraud officers are investigating across the borough, so my message to those subletting illegally is: stop now, or we will find you, and you will pay the price.”

Lottie Winson