Housing fraudsters are unlikely to respond to amnesty

Aug 11 2010 Harrow Observer

ALLOWING fraudsters a twoweek amnesty in which they can walk away from their crime scot-free seems outrageous.

Why, when the government is preparing for a crackdown on these same criminals, would we give them an opportunity to walk away without prosecution?

Why should their crimes be ignored?

Of course it may free up one or two much-needed properties but it seems unlikely that these fraudsters will be queuing up outside the council offices to hand back their keys.

Many of these fraudsters have been getting away with subletting for years and while the amnesty might give them the perfect opportunity to enjoy the handsome benefits of their crime without having to look over their shoulders, they may just hesitate to hand over their cash cows.

Only time will tell if a government crackdown will have a greater effect on such fraud but hopefully it will result in these keenly-sought properties being made available to those who deserve them and result in those exploiting the system being rightly punished for their deception.

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