Case Study 1: Recurrent Localised Cuckooing

Key learning: Transfers without holistic planning increase harm. 

Recurring cuckooing and systemic challenges in supporting a vulnerable tenant  

This case involves a man who has been supported by Housing First since 2019 and is currently in his third social housing tenancy, all of which have been subject to cuckooing. Between these tenancies, he experienced several stays in temporary accommodation, some of which also showed early signs of takeover. Despite his own vulnerabilities, he is known to conduct outreach to support others in need. However, his situation is complicated by his nephew, who has played a significant role in orchestrating exploitative activities related to cuckooing, including elements of domestic abuse within the family. Untangling these overlapping forms of exploitation has been challenging for all involved.  

A major difficulty in this case has been the consistently poor practice and lack of coordinated response from safeguarding and housing teams, coupled with unacknowledged care and support needs despite persistent advocacy. The tenant, who is a chronic user of crack cocaine and heroin, has no formal diagnoses, and his substance use is often simplistically viewed as the root cause of all his issues, leading to blame rather than support. Safeguarding teams frequently dismissed his needs as housing problems, resulting in repeated “batting” of responsibility between agencies.  

After extensive advocacy, his tenancies have been managed through transfers, though these processes have been slow and reluctant. A critical failure occurred when one borough accepted a reciprocal housing transfer but did not share vital risk information or history, placing him in a known cuckooing hotspot with a pre-existing drug-using population outside his property. This put him at elevated risk of tenancy failure and further exploitation.  

Although the new borough has begun to recognise him more as a victim and has offered another transfer, this support comes with problematic conditions, including signing an Acceptable Behaviour Contract typically intended for perpetrators, which reinforces a message of fault despite his limited control over the situation. Throughout, there has been little focus on holistic care or addressing underlying support needs. The approach has largely been to move him on and expect abstinence from drug use, without adequate strategies to prevent repeat cuckooing or provide meaningful support to sustain tenancy and wellbeing.