Wandsworth Council has won a County Court case against a previous tenant over the unauthorised let of a social housing property.
The court has ordered Khalid Sharif, a council tenant, to repay mover £29,000 made from sub-letting his council home via an estate agent whilst living elsewhere.
The Council’s internal fraud team, South West London Fraud Partnership (SWLFP), investigated and found that Sharif had been sub-letting the property for £1,400 per month with six months of rent paid upfront.
Simon Hogg, leader of the Council, said: “When that [Council housing] system is exploited for personal financial gain, it deprives someone of a much-needed home and contributes to longer waiting lists across Wandsworth.
“There is no place for unauthorised subletting in our borough”
Wandsworth County Court heard the case in December 2025 where Sharif argued he had bought the property and could therefore sub-let it.
The Council proved in the case that no purchase had been made, making this an unauthorised sub-let.
Sharif has been ordered to pay £29,860.48 and surrender the property to the Council, which can now be let to someone on the housing wait list.
Featured image by Pedro Ramos on Unsplash
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