Housing fraud.

Fraud that is connected anyway with housing such as benefits fraud, or obtaining housing by deception appears to be high on the agenda of councils, housing associations and social security, they appear to be going to great lengths to investegate  people who are abusing the system in such a way.

The punishment however appears to fall well short of what the particular crime deserves, on a regular basis articles appear online or in local papers whereby investegations have taken place and housing fraud has been proven, and lets not forget how much this costs the departments involved in such cases, punishments certainly appear too weak for those that have been found guilty,  infact many would say that the punishments do nothing to deter such criminals.

It was reported in the Watford Observer that a  couple from South Oxhey have been sentenced to jail after fraudulently claiming housing and council tax benefits, Mr Abdul Diallo and Mrs Kadiatou Diallo made 21 false claims between them.

The council’s benefits team calculated Mr and Mrs Diallo had been overpaid housing benefit and council tax benefit between November 14, 2004 and June 9, 2014 amounting to £46,814.41 as a result of their fraud.

They both received custodial sentences suspended for 18 months, they were both fined a total of £10,500, Mr Diallo must complete 250 hrs of unpaid work.

Councillor Matthew Bedford, the council’s lead member for resources, said: “Public money is intended to fund services to the community and we will not hesitate to prosecute people who have committed benefit fraud.

According to my sums, the couple were in net receipt of £36,314.41, for that Mr Diallo will have to do 250 hrs “unpaid work”, the prison sentence is suspended so they are free to get on with their life. Unless I have missed something £36,314.41 is the benefit for 250 hrs work, not bad pay if you can get it, that is based on the fact that there is no mention of the benefit of £46,814.41 having to be repaid.

This also does not take into account the time and expense of bringing these offenders to court, all the investegation work that has to take place to get the evidence for a conviction, this is all tax payers money being used up which should be going elsewhere in the community. This type of case is appearing in the press day after day and only stronger punishments will deter such offenders.

Allen Walkey

Highly experienced businessman with a successful career in property sales and investment both in the UK and abroad. Now a freelance writer and blogger for the property and Investment Industry, keeping readers up-to-date with changes and events in a rapidly changing world.

You May Also Enjoy

Breaking News

Newcastle and Edinburgh commuter belts beat London

The latest research from The Property DriveBuy has found that Newcastle and Edinburgh rank as the best commuter belts in Britain, with all surrounding local authorities offering a more affordable average house price than the cities themselves, whilst Liverpool ranks as the worst. The Property DriveBuy analysed current house prices across 12 major British cities,…
Read More
Breaking News

Breaking Property News 16/10/25

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X. Tlyfe and Eleos Life partnership brings embedded insurance protection to UK Renters In a first for the UK rental sector, Tlyfe (powered by OpenBrix) has partnered with digital insurer Eleos Life by adding embed life and income protection directly into its tenant app. Instead of…
Read More
Breaking News

Sellers of larger homes make £122.5k average capital gains, crushing the gains from flats

Sellers of detached homes made £122,500 in capital gains when selling their home over the last 18 months while flats yielded an average gain of £27,000 Sellers in England and Wales made an average gain of £72,000, a 38 per cent increase in value from when they bought the property The average seller in London…
Read More
Breaking News

London’s second homeowners face £16,446 CGT bill

London’s second homeowners face £16,446 capital gains tax bill, but prime London sellers escaping unscathed The latest research from Enness Global has found that whilst the London property market remains subdued, the city’s second homeowners could still be hit with significant costs when exiting their investments, with the average seller now facing a capital gains…
Read More
Love or Hate Rightmove
Estate Agent Talk

Rightmove launches new webinar to equip agents with market leading insights and business-boosting strategies

Rightmove, the UK’s largest property platform, is launching a new webinar to equip agents with the latest market intelligence and profit-boosting strategies to accelerate sales and improve conversion rates. The webinar titled, ‘From pitch to profit: Competing on more than just fee’, will take place live on Friday 17th October at 1pm, exclusively for Rightmove…
Read More
Estate Agent Talk

60% of homeowners admit to stress & sleepless nights

Managing your mortgage and mental health as 60% of homeowners admit to stress and sleepless nights The latest insight from award-winning mortgage adviser, Alexander Hall, has shown that for the majority of homeowners, their mortgage is their single largest financial worry, with 60% stating that their mortgage worries have impacted their mental health at one…
Read More