Reporting fraud
Fraud comes in many different forms and fraud committed against us affects the way we pay for services.
Housing Benefit Fraud
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) is responsible for investigating Housing Benefit Fraud.
Any suspected Housing Benefit fraud should be reported directly to the DWP on GOV.UK. You can also report it through the National Benefit Fraud Hotline 0800 854 440.
The information you provide will remain anonymous.
What is benefit fraud?
If you claim benefits that you are not entitled to, you may be committing fraud.
For example, if you claim benefit but do not tell us that you:
- are working
- have property, capital or income
- have a partner who lives with you (including civil partners and same sex couples)
- have other adults living in the property which may affect your entitlement to benefit
If you are in receipt of Housing Benefit or Council Tax Support, it is your responsibility to notify us immediately of any change in your circumstances that may affect your entitlement.
You cannot assume that other organisations, like the Department for Work and Pensions or Jobcentre Plus, will notify us on your behalf.
Other types of fraud include:
- homeowners falsely claim Housing Benefit, inventing a fictitious landlord and using false rent books and tenancy agreements
- claimants who claim Housing Benefit for an address where they do not live. These types of offences can involve the landlord or other tenants, or occur when the claimant doesn't tell us that the have moved out of a property
- landlords who continue to receive benefit paid direct to them when they know the claimant has left the premises
- fictitious tenancies created between friends or family where the property would not normally be rented in order to obtain benefit to which they are not entitled.
Other types of fraud
We are committed to the prevention and detection of fraud and error and to protecting the public purse.
Our Corporate Fraud Investigation team work to deter, prevent and detect any instances of fraud and error. This includes:
- council tax discount fraud and error
- council tax reduction fraud and error
- housing fraud
- business rates evasion
- procurement fraud
- grant fraud
- licensing fraud
If you suspect someone is committing fraud against the council please call us on 01865 252180. All referrals will be treated in the strictest confidence.