London borough secures £40k unlawful profit order against tenant who sublet home

Southwark Council has secured an unlawful profit order of nearly £40,000 against a tenant who illegally sublet a property for more than a decade.

The council said it was also in the process of reclaiming the three-bedroom council home. 

The judgment against Aboubakarr Nimaga, 60, handed down by Clerkenwell and Shoreditch County Court, also awarded the council £14,999 in legal costs.

The court heard that the defendant had been renting out the property in Walworth since moving to Nottingham in 2014. 

Southwark said: “Despite having a private three-bedroom rental in Nottingham since 2017, Mr. Nimaga sought to keep his Southwark tenancy, claiming he ‘visited regularly’ and had children living at both addresses.”

Council officers investigated the case after a tip-off in 2019.

The local authority said that Mr Nimaga failed to attend court on 25 November 2024 and was ordered to give up possession of the property by 9 December 2024.

It added that it intends to enforce possession of the property “at the earliest opportunity, so that it can be allocated to a family in urgent need of social housing”.