Ipswich Man Ordered to Pay Nearly £20K Following Social Housing Fraud

Ipswich Crown Court has ordered a man to pay nearly £20,000 following the discovery of long-term social housing fraud.

Mahmut Dagdelen was sentenced in July 2025 and convicted of five counts of tenancy fraud, taking place over more than six years. Following a hearing last month, Mr Dagdelen was issued a confiscation order of £18,767.82.

The offences were related to false applications for social housing and the right to buy scheme, and were uncovered following a lengthy investigation by Ipswich Borough Council’s Corporate Fraud Team. Cllr Martin Cook, portfolio holder for resources at Ipswich Borough Council, said: “This outcome demonstrates our commitment to pursuing those who seek to abuse the social housing system and ensuring that public money is protected.

“Social housing is a valuable resource that must be available to those who genuinely need it.

“Fraud of this nature undermines fairness and can deny housing opportunities to residents and families who are entitled to support.”

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Social housing fraud has become an increasingly prevalent issue, with every case of housing fraud estimated to cost the taxpayer over £70,000, accounting for temporary accommodation costs for genuine applicants, legal charges and rent lost. The Tenancy Fraud Forum believes that nearly 6,000 homes are illegally sublet in England, with a disproportionate amount in London.

To crack down on tenancy fraud, the government recently unveiled the results of a landmark partnership between local authorities ad the short-term rental platform Airbnb, allowing councils to cross reference social housing databases with property information  on the app. Early results have shown that 470 potential cases of fraud have been identified across participating local authorities, and the government is preparing for a wider roll out of the scheme across the country.

Lisa Marçais, General Manager for UKI, Northern Europe, and MEA, Airbnb, said:

“Social housing fraud has no place on Airbnb. We’re proud to have driven the first ever data-sharing agreement of this kind in partnership with the Cabinet Office and local authorities across the country, but to truly tackle this problem we need the entire short term rental industry to follow suit and participate in this initiative.

“We remain committed to swiftly removing confirmed fraudulent listings and have a clear, established process for councils to flag issues with properties listed on Airbnb.”