A temporary accommodation tenant has been made to hand back their keys after lying about owning a home in South West London which they reportedly won in a competition.
The tenant, who has not been named, was investigated by Kensington and Chelsea Council's anti-fraud squad following a tip-off from the housing team, a council report on yearly fraud stats shows.
The team received intel the individual, who was on the housing register, won a competition to buy their ideal home and hadn't informed the council of any changes in their circumstance and continued to live in temporary accommodation (TA).
The council's Corporate Anti-Fraud Service (CAFS) reviewed evidence from social media that announced the prize and found a current identity for reference.
Upon visiting the temporary accommodation, the same individual answered the door. The report read: "At first, the tenant was uncooperative with the officers. However, when confronted about the competition win, they vehemently denied any knowledge.
“Eventually, they acknowledged that there was 'something on social media' but claimed it was only for 'entertainment' purposes. When pressed for further details, they declined to elaborate and abruptly closed the door on the investigators.”
Following the visit, the tenant was asked to submit written confirmation about the competition and to confirm whether they had or hadn't won. In their response, they admitted to owning a property in South West London and returned the keys to their TA. They have since been removed from the housing register.
It is understood the competition was not linked to Omaze, which offers people the chance to win luxury houses through online prize draws.
It comes as the council identified a notional value of £2 million of fraud between April 1, 2024, and March 31, 2025.
CAFS received 143 new referrals and concluded 365 investigations - of those 288 led to positive outcomes. According to the council, conclusions varied from successful prosecutions to preventative measures, actions to deter fraud, or no further action if no wrongdoing was found.
In one case, the council dismissed a worker after an investigation and disciplinary hearing found they were working two jobs at the same time. Another was found working full-time at another London borough.
Investigators found overlapping timesheets showing the individual claimed payments from both organisations for work done simultaneously. After being confronted by investigators, the individual resigned, and Kensington and Chelsea Council terminated their contract.
In another example, CAFS investigated an employee's alleged misuse of a council car for personal trips outside the borough on non-working days.
The investigation found the vehicle and a council fuel card were used for private journeys. They found the employee had refuelled the vehicle near their home address outside the borough on days they were not working.
CAFS also discovered the employee tried to conceal their conduct by falsifying the car's usage records and work activity reports. They also found the employee had accumulated 20 penalty charge notices on the vehicles, which was only revealed when bailiffs threatened to seize office equipment due to non-payment.
Disciplinary procedures were started but the employee resigned before any further action could be taken.
The council also recovered 27 properties, 20 of which were council homes and two were temporary accommodation. Another five were local housing association addresses.
In one instance, investigators seized a three-bedroom property in SW10, covering West Brompton and parts of Chelsea, after concerns were raised the tenant was no longer living in the flat and had sublet the property. Investigators found regular credits to the tenant's bank account consistent with the flat being sublet.
When they tried to interview the tenant under caution, they found they were now living overseas. A judge awarded the council outright possession and ordered the tenant to pay outstanding arrears and the council's costs of over £5,500. The case is on its way to the High Court where CAFS is pursuing an unlawful profit order estimated to be worth more than £41,000.
The team also reviewed applications for the Grenfell Projects Fund and found 24 applications totalling £776,000 were ineligible. Some 84 applications had been submitted.
Cllr Sof McVeigh, Lead Member for Housing, said failing to tell the council of a change in housing circumstances is committing housing fraud.
She said: “Social housing and temporary accommodation is in such short supply all over London, so it is only fair that every home goes to someone in genuine need. Thank you to our investigation team for helping us to protect this vital resource.”
