Worksop tenant hands back keys after fraud offence

Julia Pressley, 38, had previously pleaded guilty to two offences at a hearing at Mansfield Magistrates Court in August.

These included committing fraud by dishonestly making a false representation through the submission of an invalid Section 21 Notice seeking possession and providing a homeless application form.

The former tenant of 147 Cavendish Road, Manton had claimed that she was being made homeless through eviction from her privately rented property in Lincolnshire and, as part of her application to A1 Housing, Pressley produced a Section 21 Notice, which is legal notification of a landlord to evict their tenant.

Subsequently Pressley was housed as a priority need, but investigations by officers from Council’s Housing Needs Team and A1 Housing uncovered that the notice had not been signed by her landlord and had in fact been signed by Peter Moore of Newcastle Avenue, Worksop.

At the same hearing in August, Peter Moore, 47, pleaded guilty to one charge of committing fraud by dishonestly making a false representation by submitting the Section 21 Notice.

For these offences Julia Pressley was fined £188 plus £200 towards prosecution costs and Peter Moore was fined £270 with £250 towards prosecution costs.

Councillor Steve Scotthorne, cabinet member for Housing at Bassetlaw District Council, said; “Housing fraud is a serious matter and if any tenant has obtained an A1 Housing property by deception, we will seek to evict them and ask the courts to impose a relevant punishment.”

Don Spittlehouse, managing director of A1 Housing, said; “There is a great demand forproperties from people who are desperately in need of somewhere to live. It is not acceptable for someone try to cheat the system simply to get ahead of the queue.”