Illegal Sub-letting of Council Property
All new tenants are Introductory Tenants. They will be visited within 3 months of the start of their tenancy and as part of that visit we will want to make sure that the person whose name is on the tenancy agreement is the person actually living in the property.
If you are an Introductory Tenant you do not have the right to sub-let part of your home
As a Secure Tenant we will also want to make sure that you are the person living in the property. As a secure tenant you have the right to sub-let part of your home but you need to have written permission from us to do this
No tenant has the right to sub-let the whole of their property.
If we find out that someone is illegally occupying one of our properties, we will have to decide if the person has any claim to the property:
- do they have the right to succeed to the tenancy
- the right to be assigned the tenancy or
- the right to be rehoused under homelessness legislation.
If the person does not have any legal right to the property, Housing Services will take legal action to regain possession of the property.
We already take a number of actions to find out who is living in the property. At least 2 types of identification, one proving their identity and the other their address, must be provided before:
- a claim for Housing Benefit is processed
- applying for housing on the Compass Choice Based Lettings system
We also have information on tenants living in properties fitted with Lifeline technology (warden services).
If you suspect that a tenant is illegally sub-letting their home, please contact Housing Services on 01325 388542 to report this.
