Illegal subletting of social housing

-Please tell me how many investigations the council has carried out into illegal subletting of council housing since 2010.

Cases of potential sub-letting were not recorded centrally until quite recently and therefore it is not possible to provide the figures requested.

-Please tell me how many how properties have been recovered from illegal tenants since 2010.

Further clarification is required on this question in relation to whether you include in your question cases where the tenants have failed to notify the council that have vacated the property.

-Please tell me how many criminal convictions the authority has secured against tenants illegally subletting its properties since 2010.

The council has only prosecuted one person for illegally sub-letting which resulted in a successful outcome in 2011.

-I would also like to know how much illegal subletting costs the authority on a yearly basis, in investigations, court costs, legal fees, eviction charges, wasted housing benefits. If a specific figure is not available, could you please provide an estimate.

This figure is not available. However the National Fraud Authority (now abolished) estimated that the national average loss to the public purse of housing tenancy fraud is £18,000 per annum.