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Report housing fraud
Housing fraud is a serious offence. If you commit housing fraud, you may lose your tenancy and may not be able to get council housing in future.
Housing fraud includes:
- not telling the truth when applying for a property - for example claiming to have children when you do not
- sub-letting a property without permission
- living in a property after someone has died without the right to do so
- failing to tell us about a change of circumstance that may effect your tenancy
We do not manage all social housing within Woking. Depending on who manages the property, you may need to tell us or a housing association.
Report council housing fraud
Use the online form to report any concerns about suspected council housing fraud.
You can report fraud anonymously, however in most cases it would be helpful if you could leave your contact details, so that we can contact you for more information if we need it.
If we do need to share information that you’ve provided to us, will we contact you for your consent.
Report housing association fraud
If you have concerns that someone is committing fraud, contact their housing association directly.
How we check for housing fraud
We will check:
- housing records against other records, such as housing benefit and electoral register records
- whether the tenant lives at the property, for example by checking their passport and tenancy agreement
- information with other government organisations to verify information
Checks can happen at any time during a tenancy, without any warning.
National Fraud Initiative (NFI)
We are also part of the National Fraud Initiative (NFI).
The National Fraud Initiative (NFI) is a mandatory data matching exercise run by the Cabinet Office. It helps identify and prevent fraud in the public sector.
The NFI compares electronic records, including payroll, benefits and pension information, across government organisations and local councils. It identifies inconsistencies that may need further investigation.
We are required by law to protect public funds. We may share your information with organisations that audit or manage public funds, or carry out public functions, to help prevent and detect fraud.