David Mukanirwa, a 31-year-old man from Exeter, has been sentenced by magistrates after pleading guilty to illegally subletting his local authority council flat while living in Swindon.
Mr Mukanirwa told the court that he had advised the council that one of the subtenants was his girlfriend, as he wanted to obtain their permission for her to stay there.
He stated that he could not afford his university course tuition fees while paying for two flats, and added that because English was not his first or second language he did not fully understand what was meant by ‘subletting’.
David Whittaker, the chair of the bench during sentencing, said that while there was some sympathy for Mr Mukanirwa’s situation he had knowingly sublet his flat after advertising it for rent on Gumtree and lied that one of the tenants was his girlfriend.
The council tenant was prosecuted under S1(2) of the prevention of Social Housing Fraud Act 2013 for subletting his Exeter flat on two occasions.
His limited earnings were taken into account and he was served with a £100 fine for each offence, as well as a victim surcharge of £20 and prosecution costs of £450, meaning a total of £610.
Councillor Rob Hannaford, who is in charge of housing revenue at Exeter City Council, said: “There are thousands of people who desperately need a home.
“However tenancy fraud within social housing isn’t fair and costs the tax payer around £900 million a year.
“Those that are carrying out this fraud are cheating those people who genuinely need a home.
“This prosecution sends a clear message that tough action will be taken against those people who commit social housing fraud.”