Landlords convicted of benefit fraud

Millions of people receive benefits and are supposed to update state authorities with many changes to their lives.

A Luton landlord has been convicted of benefit fraud. Alan Brown was renting a room in his home to a benefit claimant while receiving benefit payments into his bank account. When the claimant moved out of the property, Brown continued to accept the payments and failed to report the change in circumstances to the council. He had a duty to report the changes and by not doing so he fraudulently received payments totalling £2,450. Brown received a 12 month conditional discharge and was ordered to pay £150 in costs. He is also required to repay the £2,450 to the council. So not much punishment there.

A Chippenham landlord has also been prosecuted for the same offence, which resulted in him being overpaid rent of £2,484. Magistrates gave him credit for his early guilty plea but ordered him to pay a £300 fine, a £15 victim surcharge and £300 costs. Anthony Knowles will also have to repay the overpayments he received from the council.

A data matching exercise highlighted that the tenant had moved and was resident elsewhere in the country. An investigation revealed the tenant had left the property in June 2008 and housing benefit continued to be paid to the landlord because the council had not been told of the change by the tenant or the landlord.