A former Wandsworth Council tenant who subleased her social housing apartment without permission has been ordered to repay more than £23,000.
Over the course of more than five years, Maria Sarabia-Ortiz subleased her Wandsworth house to several renters while she stayed overseas.
When one of the subtenants complained about the property’s lack of heating to the council’s housing department, the problem was then discovered.
Wandsworth Council’s cabinet member for finance Cllr Angela Ireland said: “There is no place for unlawful subletting in our borough, and along with the South West London Fraud Partnership, we will use the full extent of the law to root out people abusing the system.”
The South West London Fraud Partnership (SWLFP) was tasked with handling this case, with their officers working across the London boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton and Sutton, focusing on cases of abandonment and subletting.
The investigation found that two people were renting out the Council property and they were paying Sarabia-Ortiz £600 a month for each bedroom.
Sleeping in the living room were the tenants’ two adult sons, who also lived on the property and one of the tenant’s sons had promoted the rooms on Spareroom.com.
Bank documents from Sarabia-Ortiz’s extended stays overseas since 2019 revealed consistent rent credits dating back to 2018.
Ms Sarabia-Ortiz acknowledged she knew she was not allowed to sublease the property, after first denying it.
The council took her to Wandsworth County Court in September 2024.
The district judge who heard the case granted the authority an unlawful profit order of £21,744.09, with a money Judgement of £1,193.23 and court costs of £460.50 in favour of the council.
Ireland added that abusing the system of subletting for profit deprives people of much-needed homes, contributing to longer housing waiting lists across Wandsworth.
A SpareRoom.com spokesperson said: “We don’t allow unlawful subletting and will remove ads when an advertiser isn’t able to provide evidence of their permission to sublet.
“When our users register, they must agree to our terms which state they have the relevant permission to advertise and let the property/properties they advertise.
“However, these types of unlawful sublets are difficult to identify, as the advertiser generally lists themselves as either a current flatmate or a landlord.”
Spareroom.com have seen no similar cases in the past five years and if they were aware of potential unlawful subletting, then they would contact the advertiser directly to request evidence of their permission to advertise the property.
If a user was unable to provide the requested documentation, they would be removed from the platform.
Any SpareRoom.com accommodation is also subject to checks from the landlord.
The SWLFP were also contacted for comment.
