Tonia Ashikodi (pictured) allegedly lied to her town hall bosses in a bid to secure the home

A Labour politician collected thousands of pounds in rent from three properties while living in a council house, a court heard.

Tonia Ashikodi, 30, allegedly lied to her town hall bosses while applying to be a council tenant.

But the Greenwich councillor owned three homes which she rented out to private tenants, jurors heard.

Ashikodi declared she had no other property in 2008 when she signed her council tenancy agreement then allegedly repeated the lie four years later, Inner London Crown Court heard.

The councillor, who was elected to the Glydon Ward for Labour after a by-election in 2016, still lives at the council home in Plumstead with her father, Tony Ashikodi, 50.

She alone denies two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of perverting the course of justice.

Ashikodi and her father deny perverting the course of justice by submitting a false document claiming she was only ever the legal owner, not the beneficiary of the properties.

Robert Fitt, prosecuting, said: 'These were frauds by false representation because Ms Ashikodi told these lies to Royal Borough of Greenwich (RBG), knowing they were lies, in order to obtain a council house for herself without having to give up any of the three house she already owned.

'As you may well know, social housing is a scarce commodity in London. Waiting lists for social housing in London boroughs are very long - on the facts of this case alone you can see that it took three and a half years for RBG to find a suitable property to offer Ms Ashikodi.

Ms Ashikodi has denied two counts of fraud at Inner London Crown Court (pictured) as she stands accused of living in a council house to which she is not entitled

'If RBG cannot find social housing for someone on the waiting list, the council may be obliged to pay for temporary accommodation for that person; putting them up in an hotel or hostel or something along those lines. The reality is that by obtaining a council house that she didn't really need, Ms Ashikodi has prevented someone in real need being offered the tenancy at 13B Robert Street.'

RBG estimate a loss of £67,417.46 from keeping someone in temporary accommodation between June 2012 and July 2018. That does not include the subsidised council flat rent paid by Ms Ashikodi, or the significant amounts she received for her rental properties.

Ashikodi still lives in her council flat at Robert Street, despite notice being served to repossess the property on 12 July 2018. The Labour councillor was first elected in May 2016 and re-elected to the Glyndon Ward in May 2018.

Pictured: The tower block in which Ms Ashikodi has council flat in Plumstead as she accused of knowing 'full well' she is not entitled to the apartment

Although Ms Ashikodi was most likely unaware, by the time she was re-elected the council were investigating her, said Mr Fitt.

He said: 'On 17 May 2018, Ms Ashikodi approached RBG's Chief Executive, a lady called Debbie Warren. Ms Ashikodi told Ms Warren that she had heard from another councillor that RBG conducted checks at the Land Registry for all newly elected members and that Ms Ashikodi should therefore declare if she owned any properties within the borough.

'Ms Ashikodi went on to tell Debbie Warren that her father, the second defendant in this case, Mr Tony Ashikodi, had transferred two properties to her just three weeks before, so in late April 2018. Ms Ashikodi claimed that she had had no idea that her father had done this and had only discovered it shortly before she went to speak to Debbie Warren.'

Land Registry documents show her father Tony Ashikodi, 50, transferred three properties to his daughter on 19 November 2007, over ten years before she claimed to Ms Warren.

Pictured: The two properties in Thamesmead that Ms Ashikodi is allegedly renting out after lying to council bosses about her need for a council house

Two of the properties are in Thamesmead and one is in Valiant House, overlooking the Valley, home of Charlton FC. Ashikodi received £850 a month in rent for the flat in Valiant House.

'That is quite a lot more than she was paying the council for Robert Street,' Mr Fitt told the court. Evidence shows Tonia Ashikodi knew that she owned those properties outright, a 2012 Land Registry form was even witnessed by solicitor Nicholas Hart.

Ms Ashikodi studied a postgraduate law course at the BPP Law School in Waterloo in 2012, the court heard. The prosecution allege she 'knew full well' she was not entitled to a council house.

The councillor is also allegedly renting out a property in Valiant House (pictured) which is located in Charlton

The 'Trust Deed' document she showed to John Scarborough, RBG's Head of Legal Services, on 18 May 2019 was part of a 'cover up' involving her father, the court heard.

The 'sham' document states that Ashikodi would hold properties as 'trustee for sale' for her father from 2007, but the properties were never sold.

'Ms Ashikodi told Ms Warren that she had had no idea that these properties were in her name and only found out about it in May 2018,' said Mr Fitt. 'So how could she have made an agreement with her father to hold the properties on trust for him in November 2007 if she knew nothing about it?'

'Ms Ashikodi now claims that she was only ever the legal owner of the properties and never held the beneficial interest. That is how she attempts now to avoid a conviction for fraud, by suggesting she was not dishonest when she filled out those forms in October 2008 and May 2012 because she was only the legal owner of the properties and held them on trust for her father.'

RBG's unauthorised occupancy team leader Paula Clarkson told the court Ashikodi applied for housing while claiming she lived with her aunt in Glenalvon Way, Woolwich complaining of mould and overcrowding in the property.

Ashikodi regularly Tweets photographs of herself at the Greenwich Islamic Centre, wearing a headscarf with the hashtag '#gicfamily'.

Greenwhich Council state: 'Clearly, it is of paramount importance that Ms Ashikodi's fundamental legal rights to both respond to these charges and receive a fair hearing are respected. Therefore, the Council will not be making any further comment on the matter which will continue to be dealt with by the Chief Executive and Head of Legal Services.'

Tonia Ashikodi, of Plumstead, denies two counts of fraud by false representation and one count of perverting the course of justice. Tony Ashikodi, also of Plumstead, denies perverting the course of justice. The trial continues.