Rogue UK landlords using ‘ghost tenants’ to con taxpayers out of millions
Rogue landlords are conning the government out of millions of pounds by fraudulently claiming housing benefits for so-called “ghost tenants”, it has been revealed.
Criminal gangs are among those buying cheap property to convert into housing for vulnerable people, in some cases claiming welfare payments for tenants who do not live there.
Police have said that owners of a collection of these properties are making up to £500,000 a month by providing supported exempt accommodation for people such as care leavers and domestic abuse survivors.
Now it has emerged that some landlords are also claiming housing benefits for people who have moved out of the property, or never existed in the first place, known as “ghost tenants”.
On one street in Birmingham nearly a quarter of the properties had been converted into exempt accommodation for vulnerable people, yet at least three were found to be ghost tenancies and a fourth was a cannabis farm.
Shabana Mahmood, the Labour MP for Birmingham Ladywood, said: “Rogue providers have found a new way to defraud taxpayers of cash – by inventing ‘ghost’ tenants and claiming enhanced housing benefit for supporting them. In one property in my constituency, housing benefit was being paid in support of a property growing cannabis. Taxpayers were paying criminals to grow drugs. This scandal must be stopped.”
Supported exempt accommodation refers to properties housing people who require care or supervision and can include care leavers, homeless people, refugees and those fleeing domestic abuse. Those who operate this accommodation are able to claim a higher rate of housing benefit for their tenants in order to provide this support. However, concerns have been raised that some providers are exploiting the
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