Hendon Town Hall
A social housing tenant has been ordered to pay £40,000 in compensation after pleading guilty to illegally subletting her Barnet property.
Winsome 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 came to light when one of the tenants was given an eviction notice and applied for housing in October 2023.
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.
The investigation revealed that the first sub-tenant was added to the electoral register as resident at the Barnet property in November 2019, and the second sub-tenant was added in December 2020.
Williams’ bank statements showed that she received rental payments of over £60,000 from the sub-tenants between March 2019 and November 2023.
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, of Stevenage, 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.
This successful prosecution follows the corporate anti-fraud team’s annual report that showed the council is estimated to have saved more than £1.3million in temporary accommodation costs by cracking down on social housing fraud and retained a further £1.5million by stopping fraudulent right-to-buy applications.
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.”
If you suspect anyone of committing fraud in Barnet, please contact CAFT@barnet.gov.uk or call the fraud hotline on 0208 359 2007.