A tenant who has been living in council accommodation lied about owning a home which they "won in a competition."
The anti-fraud squad at Kensington & Chelsea Borough had been tipped off by the housing team about the unnamed tenant.
The individual, who was on the housing register, had won a competition to buy their ideal home.
However, they did not tell the council of any changes in their circumstance and continued to live in temporary accommodation, defrauding the taxpayer.
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|Officers from Kensington and Chelsea Borough launched an investigation into the tenant
The council's Corporate Anti-Fraud Service (CAFS) had investigated evidence from social media that announced the prize and found a current identity for reference.
But when they attended the temporary accommodation, the same individual answered the door.
The report read: "At first, the tenant was uncooperative with the officers. However, when confronted about the competition win, they vehemently denied any knowledge.
"Eventually, they acknowledged that there was 'something on social media' but claimed it was only for 'entertainment' purposes. When pressed for further details, they declined to elaborate and abruptly closed the door on the investigators."
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|Kensington and Chelsea officers had the door slammed in their faces
After the visit by the officers, the tenant was asked to submit written confirmation and evidence about winning the competition.
In their response, they conceded to owning a property in South West London and returned the keys to their temporary accommodation.
They have since been removed from the housing register.
It comes as a report published earlier this year found 50,000 social rent houses in London are being used for some form of fraud such as being illegally sublet on platforms like Airbnb.
The report published by the Tenancy Fraud Forum (TFF) warned councils and housing associations in the capital are failing to crackdown on social housing fraud.
Researchers estimated that taxpayers are losing around £1bn a year by having to provide additional housing for those in need while fraudsters let out their properties against their tenancies.
There are around 70,000 homeless families in temporary accommodation in London, and over 300,000 families on the London housing waiting list.