Council homes are being reclaimed for residents thanks to a new partnership between Croydon Council, the Cabinet Office and Airbnb to crack down on illegal short-term lets.

The partnership allows social housing records to be checked alongside listings on Airbnb, helping the Council to identify potential cases where council homes are being used to generate private income and taking them away from residents who truly need them.

Possible matches identified through the data will be investigated by Croydon’s Counter Fraud team, who have already received five potential matches through the initiative. Each will be investigated to see whether a council tenancy has been breached and whether further action is needed.

Croydon Council tenants cannot sublet their whole home. Tenants who want to sublet part of their home or take in a lodger must first get written permission from the Council.

Where illegal subletting is confirmed, the Council can take action to recover properties from those abusing the system. Unauthorised listings will be removed from Airbnb and, in serious cases, offenders will be prosecuted by the Council.

In the past year, the Council completed 157 tenancy investigations and recovered 34 council homes, saving an estimated £2.6m for the borough. With thousands of households waiting for social housing in Croydon and a limited number of homes becoming available each year, the new approach supports the Council’s ongoing work to tackle tenancy fraud.

The partnership is the first of its kind between local authorities and a short-term rental platform. Early results from the exercise have already identified 470 potential cases of tenancy fraud across participating councils.

“We have been clear that there is no place for tenancy fraud in Croydon. Council homes are a valuable and limited resource, and we will not tolerate people abusing the system to make a private profit whilst thousands of households are waiting for a home.

“This partnership gives us another way to uncover potential fraud and make sure those who misuse council housing are held to account.

“If you are illegally subletting a council home, you risk losing it. We will use the tools available to us to protect Croydon’s housing and make sure our homes go to the residents who genuinely need them.”

Jason Perry, Executive Mayor of Croydon