Wandsworth tenant ordered to pay £23,000 after years of unlawful subletting

Maria Sarabia-Ortiz sublet her property in Wandsworth to various tenants over a period of more than five years. The issue came to light when one of the sub-tenants contacted the Council’s housing department to report a lack of heating in the property. They then referred the case to the South West London Fraud Partnership (SWLFP).  

An investigation found that the Council property was being sublet to two individuals who had been paying £600 a month per bedroom via bank transfer to Ms Sarabia-Ortiz. The tenants’ two adult sons were also residents at the property and were sleeping in the living room. The rooms had been advertised on Spareroom.com by one of the tenant’s sons. Ms Sarabia-Ortiz had been abroad for long periods of time since 2019, with bank statements showed regular rent credits going back to 2018.   

Ms Sarabia-Ortiz initially denied subletting and later admitted that she knew she was not permitted to sublet the property. She was taken to Wandsworth County Court in September 2024 by the Council for the subletting of her social housing property.  

The District Judge who heard the case granted the Council: 

• Money Judgement of £1,193.23.
• Court costs of £460.50 in favour of Wandsworth Council.
• Unlawful profit order of £21,744.09 payable to Wandsworth Council.

Cllr Angela Ireland, Wandsworth Council’s cabinet member for Finance, said:  

“Council housing provides a safe and secure home for those most in need. To abuse this system for profit deprives someone of a much-needed home and contributes to longer waiting lists across Wandsworth. 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) Counter Fraud officers work across the London boroughs of Kingston, Richmond, Wandsworth, Merton and Sutton investigating cases of subletting and abandonment, and encourage you to report any incidents where you suspect fraud is being committed.