Scammed into subletting

Oliver4

I moved into a property with my 3 children one of them being autistic I had all my checks done via the housing manager or so I thought paid a deposit and rent also received a 2 year fixed tenancy agreement settled in my new home which I had decorated and made our house a home I had been in the property a month and received a knock on the door from a housing association telling me I was not supposed to be in the property and the previous tenant had scammed me and subletted the property and it turns out they was aware for months that she was not living in the property and was currently going threw court proceedings to evict her the ex tenant had been harassing me for the rent claiming she is still the  landlord she even turned up outside the property demanding rent and being threatening toward me I called the police who never turned up I feel like I was let down by the police and the housing association and Bromley council I am now being evicted from the property and bullied by Bromley council to accept there offer of a temporary accommodation out of the borough that I tried so hard to move to for my children are settled in a school they have been in since nursery one of them being in her last year or school sitting exams and one on the SEN pathway. I feel like I’m trying my best for my children and now I’m being made to feel like a criminal when I was the victim in all this!

MultiFuelBurner

If you want to kick up a fuss then contact your local MP and Local Newspapers and tell them your story.

pinkshoes

Oliver4 said:

I moved into a property with my 3 children one of them being autistic I had all my checks done via the housing manager or so I thought paid a deposit and rent also received a 2 year fixed tenancy agreement settled in my new home which I had decorated and made our house a home I had been in the property a month and received a knock on the door from a housing association telling me I was not supposed to be in the property and the previous tenant had scammed me and subletted the property and it turns out they was aware for months that she was not living in the property and was currently going threw court proceedings to evict her the ex tenant had been harassing me for the rent claiming she is still the  landlord she even turned up outside the property demanding rent and being threatening toward me I called the police who never turned up I feel like I was let down by the police and the housing association and Bromley council I am now being evicted from the property and bullied by Bromley council to accept there offer of a temporary accommodation out of the borough that I tried so hard to move to for my children are settled in a school they have been in since nursery one of them being in her last year or school sitting exams and one on the SEN pathway. I feel like I’m trying my best for my children and now I’m being made to feel like a criminal when I was the victim in all this!

So the tenant of the Housing Association house pretended to be from the housing association? Did they then provide you with official Housing Association documentation? Or do you mean something else by "Housing Manager"?

How did you come about finding this property in the first place? Where were you living before? Was it a housing association/council property?

As above, it's unfortunate you've been scammed, but you have no right to that housing association property as it needs to go to someone on the list. 

How far out is the accommodation you've been offered? 

Oliver4

I found the property on Facebook marketplace place and it was advertised as a private rental the person who showed me around the house I asked if she was the landlord and she told me she was the house manager just showing people around,the property the council has offered is a 3 hour bus journey. It was not my intention to jump the que I assumed I privately rented as stated by the person who advised it. I am surprised as I found this on a social platform why it’s not being picked up by the council as these scammers just advertise this houses they don’t need, how many other council tenants are being able to sublett there properties out.

marcia_

 I feel for you, this happened to my cousin. She was shocked and evicted and ended up on a friends sofa until she was found s property a year later. 

FlyMeSomewhere79

It's horrible that this has happened and annoying that the council housing officers don't run occasional checks to make sure tenants are living where they say they are.

Unfortunately it's very easy for people to post dodgy private listings on social media without the relevant people being aware. It's the same with holiday rentals, never use a private listing, use an official platform or agent and never pay anyone privately because not only do you get the issue of sub-letters but also scammers taking money for a property that turns out not to exist and was essentially just photos of someone else's house they stole from the internet.

penners324

Start legal proceedings against this person immediately to attempt to recover what you've paid them.

Do it through money claim online

Admiral_Barbarossa

penners324 said:

Start legal proceedings against this person immediately to attempt to recover what you've paid them.

Do it through money claim online

While a valid suggestion, I doubt that the perpetrator of this is still around?

Schwarzwald

I am sorry you have been scammed, but the person to blame it the fraudster, i dont see how what the housing association and Bromley council have done to get the blame here.

Maybe others can opine but how valid is a tenancy agreement and tenant protection rights in such a case? At the end you are occupying the property right now, i guess once the eviction against your landlord has gone through it might equally apply to you?

NameUnavailable

penners324 said:

Start legal proceedings against this person immediately to attempt to recover what you've paid them.

Do it through money claim online

Yes, you go to court and (hopefully) get a judgment in your favour. That doesn't mean you get your money, you still have to enforce the judgment, that might mean spending more money on bailffs and even then there's no certaintly they'll get anywhere.

eddddy

Oliver4 said:

I had all my checks done via the housing manager or so I thought paid a deposit and rent also received a 2 year fixed tenancy 

they was aware for months that she was not living in the property and was currently going threw court proceedings to evict her

the ex tenant had been harassing me for the rent claiming she is still the  landlord she even turned up outside the property demanding rent 

In terms of taking somebody to court - do you know the true identity of the person you gave money to?

Was the person really the ex-tenant? Or somebody who simply had a set of keys for an empty house? (Maybe the ex-tenant gave them the keys, or maybe they got them a different way.)

And if it was the ex-tenant, do you know their true identity? I doubt that the Housing Association would tell you the ex-tenant's name.