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Help us tackle fraud
Our organisation is dedicated to providing safe, secure, and affordable homes for all our residents. But fraud puts this at risk.
Fraudsters can do real damage to the housing sector. Their actions cost organisations and residents millions of pounds every year. They also take homes away from people who truly need them and put extra pressure on housing services.
Eastlight has a zero-tolerance approach to fraud and is committed to tackling fraud in all its forms. This page will help you understand the different types of fraud, how they might affect you and your community, and what you can do about it.
If you think fraud is happening, you can report it using our online form, emailing us at fraud@eastlighthomes.co.uk, or by calling 0330 128 0330.
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What is Tenancy Fraud?
Tenancy Fraud happens when a housing association home is occupied by someone who is either not legally entitled to be there, has obtained use of the property fraudulently, or leaves the property empty whilst living elsewhere.
Tenancy fraud deprives deserving families who are urgently waiting and in need of homes the most.
Tenancy fraud is a criminal offence under the Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 and the Fraud Act 2006, and it can lead to a prison sentence, a fine, or both.
Housing associations are allowed by law to take back properties where tenancy fraud is proven. The courts also have the power to make the tenant pay back any profits made from the fraud.
Eastlight takes a zero-tolerance approach to anyone committing Tenancy Fraud. Our tenancy management team have recovered seven properties in 2024/25 following a suspicion of fraud being reported.
- Unlawful Subletting - is when a tenant rents out their home without us knowing or without our permission, even if it is to a family member without profit. In recent times this offence commonly occurs by subletting a property through Airbnb and other similar online booking sites.
- Key Selling Fraud - occurs where a tenant is granted tenancy, but they never move into the property. Instead, they sell the keys to the property to someone else.
- Wrongly Claimed Succession - occurs when a tenant dies, and a person claims the right to succeed the tenancy by saying they have lived at the property for the required amount of time when in fact they have not.
- Joint tenancy fraud - a sole tenant tells Eastlight that their partner has moved in and they would like to be joint tenants with that person. As soon as the joint tenancy is created, the original tenant moves out which means the remaining tenant (who more often than not wouldn’t be regarded as having a social need) remains in the property alone.
- Misrepresentation - occurs when someone lies or deliberately leaves out facts to get a home or transfer into a bigger property. Misrepresentation can occur even if someone lies for them without being asked.
- Abandonment - is where a tenant leaves the property and resides elsewhere with no intention to return and have not informed Eastlight.
- Right to Buy or Right to Acquire Fraud - is where someone provides false information as part of their Right to Buy or Right to Acquire application. For example, claiming the right to purchase when the tenant no longer lives there, providing false financial information and completing documents in the names of aged tenants who might not have capacity to understand the process.
- Shared ownership fraud - There is strict eligibility criteria to purchase a shared ownership property, this can be misrepresented to enable a purchase with the intention of subletting immediately upon completion.
If you know someone in one of our homes who is renting it out without permission, obtained their property by giving false information, or is living somewhere else and their property has been left empty for a considerable time, then they could potentially be committing tenancy fraud.
Please come forward if you have any concerns about suspicious activity in your area, or if you are, in some way, participating in Tenancy Fraud yourself.
Please report Tenancy Fraud immediately by using the Fraud Reporting Form at the bottom of the page, emailing fraud@eastlighthomes.co.uk, or by calling 0330 128 0330.
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Corporate Fraud
Its not just Tenancy Fraud though, there a many different types of fraud our organisation faces, all of which can have an impact on Eastlight and, by extension, residents.
Eastlight relies on its employees, residents, the public and its partners to help prevent and detect fraud, often they are the first to realise there is something wrong. Any concerns regarding fraud, whether it relates to dishonest behaviours by Eastlight employees or by others should be reported so Eastlight can take action.
Included below are some common types of fraud that an organisation such as Eastlight could expect to face:
Relates to an employee intentionally failing to adhere to procurement rules for dishonest purposes. It is estimated that the cost of procurement fraud to housing associations in the UK for 2024 is £33 million. Aside from the cost, fraud within procurement could mean that a sub-standard supplier is appointed to deliver services to Eastlight and its residents.
It could look like:
Bid rigging – suppliers and employees collude to ensure a particular bidder wins the contract
Bribery – A bribe is given to an Eastlight employee to secure award of the contract or for disclosing information which helps them win the bid.
Conflict of Interest – An Eastlight employee does not disclose a monetary or other personal interest when awarding a contract.
Overcharging – Overbilling in relation to the goods and services that have been delivered.
If you are suspicious that procurement fraud is occurring at Eastlight , please report via the Fraud Reporting Form at the bottom of the page, emailing fraud@eastlighthomes.co.uk, or by calling 0330 128 0330.
Cybercrime is an illegal activity involving computers, the internet or network devices. Some examples of cybercrime include stealing and selling corporate data, demanding payment to prevent an attack, installing viruses on a targeted computer and hacking into government or corporate computers.
Eastlight takes Cybersecurity very seriously to prevent a cyberattack occurring which could affect the delivery of services to residents, or put residents’ data at risk.
A common type of cyber fraud is called phishing. Phishing attempts use fake emails, texts, or calls that look like they're from a trusted source, such as Eastlight, to lure you into sharing information. These messages often create a sense of urgency or fear, claiming there's a problem with your account, a need to verify information, or a threat to your security. Phishing emails or texts may contain links that direct you to fake websites and ask you to enter your personal information, including your bank account details, passwords, or other security information.
If you're unsure about the legitimacy of a message from Eastlight, contact us directly here. You can also report concerns using the Fraud Reporting Form.
Payment Diversion Fraud (PDF), also known as Business Email Compromise (BEC) or Mandate Fraud, affects businesses and customers where electronic financial transactions are taking place.
Criminals will contact businesses or customers via email, usually claiming to be from a company that the business or customer has been dealing with. They will request a payment to be made often or inform the recipient of a change of bank account details.
Criminals will often create fake email addresses which are very similar to genuine business or customer addressees and send over fake invoices to make it more believable. All of this leads to payments from businesses and customers directly into bank accounts controlled by the criminals.
If you're unsure about the legitimacy of a message from Eastlight, contact us directly here. You can also report concerns using the Fraud Reporting Form.
If you are suspicious that payment diversion fraud is occurring at Eastlight, please report via the Fraud Reporting Form at the bottom of the page, emailing fraud@eastlighthomes.co.uk, or by calling 0330 128 0330.
As an organisation, we are aware that potential fraud isn't just external, it could happen internally too. Employee related fraud could cause financial loss for Eastlight and could affect residents directly if our recruitment processes are subject to fraud. There are multiple types of potential employee fraud. These include:
Recruitment Processes
This could be where the recruitment process is unduly influenced by a relationship. For example, by a family member or friend serving on the interview panel and the relationship not being disclosed to the organisation.
Fraud could also be committed if someone working within Eastlight has deliberately provided fictitious details of qualifications, skills or experience in order to gain employment with the organisation or deliberately omitting information from the CV.
Expenses, Timesheet or Overtime Fraud
Relates to entries on a timesheet which are incorrect or where the authorising signature has been falsified. Or when someone working at Eastlight is dishonestly claiming for travel, subsistence or other expenses they are not entitled to.
Sickness
This could relate to someone working within Eastlight who has reported sick when they are actually fit to work.
For example, this could be linked to them working elsewhere during the sickness period.
