Fraud Investigations
Case reference FOI2026/01609
Received 9 October 2026
Published 2 November 2026
Request
Please provide the following information: 1. Please provide a full itemised breakdown of all fraud detected and investigated over the last 12 months, including: * A breakdown of these cases by the category or type of fraud investigated (e.g., social housing sub-letting, fraudulent homelessness applications). * The total estimated financial value of the fraud detected or prevented, broken down by category. * The total monetary value successfully recovered or saved by the council. * The total number of council homes or social housing properties recovered as a result of suspected fraud, such as illegal sub-letting. * The total number of homelessness applications rejected or reassessed due to the discovery of fraudulent information or undisclosed assets, such as other owned properties. 2. Alongside the statistical data, please provide anonymised case studies or summaries of notable fraud cases uncovered by your team over the past year. The human impact and investigative methods are of significant public interest. For the case studies provided, please detail: * The nature of the suspected fraud (e.g., a tenant whose main residence was elsewhere, or a homelessness applicant failing to disclose property ownership). * How the fraud was identified and investigated, such as through background checks, bank statement analysis, or formal interviews under caution. * The final outcomes of these investigations, such as a voluntary tenancy surrender, the issuing of a Simple Caution, or the successful reallocation of a property to a family in genuine need. To assist with processing and ensure this request remains within statutory limits: * All requested case study information is for high-level, anonymised summaries only, avoiding personal identifiers or proprietary investigative tactics that could prejudice future enforcement. * Please restrict all data and case studies solely to investigations that have been formally closed within the last 12 months.
Response
1. Please provide a full itemised breakdown of all fraud detected and investigated over the last 12 months, including: Do not have itemized breakdown – we had 104 referrals
A breakdown of these cases by the category or type of fraud investigated (e.g., social housing sub-letting, fraudulent homelessness applications).
No information held - and none of the 104 referrals were reviewed as Fraud
The total estimated financial value of the fraud detected or prevented, broken down by category.
N/A
The total monetary value successfully recovered or saved by the council.
N/A
The total number of council homes or social housing properties recovered as a result of suspected fraud, such as illegal sub-letting.
N/A
* The total number of homelessness applications rejected or reassessed due to the discovery of fraudulent information or undisclosed assets, such as other owned properties.
N/A
2. Alongside the statistical data, please provide anonymised case studies or summaries of notable fraud cases uncovered by your team over the past year. The human impact and investigative methods are of significant public interest. For the case studies provided, please detail:
The nature of the suspected fraud (e.g., a tenant whose main residence was elsewhere, or a homelessness applicant failing to disclose property ownership).
How the fraud was identified and investigated, such as through background checks, bank statement analysis, or formal interviews under caution.
* The final outcomes of these investigations, such as a voluntary tenancy surrender, the issuing of a Simple Caution, or the successful reallocation of a property to a family in genuine need.
N/A
Documents
This is Tunbridge Wells Borough Council's response to a freedom of information (FOI) or environmental information regulations (EIR) request.