Housing association secures first unlawful profit order after tenant caught sub-letting flat to tourists

A housing association has obtained an unlawful profit order requiring an ex-tenant to pay back £6,000 after he sublet his flat to tourists.

Riverside Housing Association said the tenant had been renting a property on Chatham Street, Liverpool, for two years, and was caught committing tenancy fraud after a housing officer visited the property and became suspicious. The housing officer referred the case to Riverside’s tenancy fraud team.

An investigation found evidence that the tenant was misusing the property by sub-letting it and making a profit from the proceeds.

Riverside contacted the tenant about this and served him with Notice to Quit, which prompted him to hand the keys back to Riverside within a week. 

The housing association also took legal action and the case was heard at County Court in Liverpool to retrieve any profit that was made.

The judge awarded Riverside an unlawful profit order which meant that the former tenant must pay back £6,000 that he had made unlawfully.

Michael Anderson, Regional Services Manager at Riverside, said: “This is our first unlawful profit order that we have taken to court so we are really pleased with the result.

“As a social landlord we are responsible for ensuring that the properties we provide are not being misused but are being lived in by the person named on the tenancy agreement.

“It is imperative that we protect our properties from fraud so that we can provide our homes to those who really need them. We take tenancy fraud very seriously and will act upon information identifying any of our properties are being misused.”