A landlord was found to be cheating the benefit system through sophisticated data matching techniques.
Landlord Budu Singh Moman, aged 47, of High Road, Wood Green, London, who falsely received almost £1,000 in housing benefit, pleaded guilty at Dudley Magistrates Court to benefit fraud on October 3.
He was handed a 12-month community order to carry out 80 hours of unpaid work in the community and ordered to repay all the debt along with the council's £295 costs.
His actions were uncovered when computerised data matching between different government databases revealed Moman, the owner of a property in Blenheim Road, Kingswinford, was receiving housing benefit for one of his tenants at both the Kingswinford address and at another property he owned in London.
From November 2006 to February 2007, Moman fraudulently received £952 from Dudley Council.
Councillor Anne Millward, cabinet member for finance, said: “There are no exceptions – any attempt to steal taxpayers’ money is taken very seriously. Landlords must report changes in their tenants’ circumstances to the council as failure to do so may result in a criminal record.”
• Failure to provide adequate safety measures in a house of multiple occupation landed a residential landlord with a £9,000 fine.
Torbay Council's environmental health officers took action against Angela Claydon’s after discovering several safety issues at her property in Keysfield Road, Paignton.
A court heard how a fire alarm system had been turned off completely, that there was no proper gas certification following disconnection of the supply for safety reasons and the premises had not been kept in a clean and tidy condition over a considerable period.
Claydon was found guilty of six charges against her and was fined £1,500 for each offence.
