RIEN members have a wealth of social housing income management experience

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  • MQ08427 - Rent setting/payment/collection/equality analysis (09-02-12)

    livin are currently in the process of carrying out an equality assessment in respect of the rent collection service. Would anyone be able to share any details of any analysis or assessments carried out relative to rent collection, etc?

    09-02-12

    Heather Clark of Livin

    There are no answers

  • MQ08426 - Promotion ideas (30-01-12)

    Would anyone be so kind in forwarding their successful promotion publications in encouraging tenants to pay their rent and contact your company for financial inclusion help. We are looking at creative, different successful ideas, as livin have not previously taken this tack, previously just following the appropriate recovery procedures.

    Thank you

    30-01-12

    Jan Welsh of Livin

    There are no answers

  • MQ08425 - Charging rent on two properties (24-01-12)

    At Nottingham City Homes we on occasion have to move our tenants to other temporary accommodation. This could be due to repair issues, fire, flood or housing management reasons, etc.

    At present we only charge rent on the substantive tenancy only.

    Do other organisations charge rent for both properties and if so do you find Housing Benefit will pay all/some of the costs?

    Thanks

    Paul Stanley of Nottingham City Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08424 - KPI on HB take-up (19-01-12)

    Does anyone monitor and record the percentage of tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit? If so, do you have a target in the form of a key performance indicator?

    Thank you for any replies.

    Bill Moran of Severnside Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08423 - Do you use incentive schemes to encourage rent payment? (19-01-12)

    We are reviewing the incentives we use for rent payments for our customers. At the moment we have quarterly prize draws for tenants with clear rent accounts and a year-end draw for customers paying by Direct Debit.

    Is this something other organisations offer? We are currently reviewing due to the current financial climate. We would like to know if any company previously offered this and has withdrawn it, and if so what the feedback was? Any comments would be appreciated.

    Catherine Ellis of East North East Homes Leeds

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08422 - Home Visit Appointments (19-01-12)

    We are increasingly finding that home visits and booked arrears appointments are not working and are considering going back to unannounced visits. I'd be interested to hear from any other organisations that have encountered a similar issue and how they resolved it.

    Thanks

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08421 -Shared ownership and market rents performance and targets (16-01-12)

    We've recently taken over a separate department that dealt with all the shared owner, market rent, intermediate rent, etc, and are looking to get a feel for the performance of other London HAs and their targets for the upcoming year.

    Does anyone have any figures and percentages they would like to share? Or if you know of somewhere like RIEN that has the market rent equivalent on benchmarking performance?

    Thanks in advance.

    Michael Day of Gallions Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08420 - FTA PIs (13-01-12)

    Currently I only report to board on two FTA PIs - arrears percentage and collection. I'd be interested to know what other organisations report to their board.

    Thanks

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08419 - Length of time for eviction date after applying for a warrant (10-01-12)

    Is anybody experiencing an increase in the length of time it is taking to be provided with eviction dates following the application of a Warrant at County Courts and, if so, what steps have you taken to resolve this?

    Also - can anyone please confirm if you HAVE to use County Court Bailiffs for evictions or if there are alternative services for registered housing providers?

    Mark Pragg of Severnside Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08418 - Intro tenancies - stay hearings (06-12-11)

    We are interested in hearing from other members how courts treat applications from introductory tenants when they apply to suspend eviction warrants. We have had two cases where the judge has suspended the warrant, despite our opposition. Surely this makes a mockery of the introductory tenancy scheme hence we are considering appealing against this. We were always under the impression that the judge had no discretion in these cases - wrong!

    Sanjay Mandil of Redbridge Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08417 - Theft of fixtures and fittings from tenanted and void properties (23-11-11)

    I would like to obtain information on how other organisations deal with theft of fixtures/fittings from tenanted and void properties, especially copper piping and boilers.

    Currently, we advise the police however if there is no evidence of forced entry, we are recharging the tenant. However, theft from our properties is on the rise and I would like to know how other organisations are dealing with this issue so to prevent a recharge being levied.

    Posted by -

    Aimee Bradbury of Wolverhampton Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08416 - Specialist rent team structures (08-11-11)

    Rochdale Boroughwide Housing are currently undergoing a re-structure, moving away from generic area based service delivery towards more specialist teams.

    Would any organisation be prepared to share the following information in relation to its rent collection/arrears team structure:

    - Structure charts
    - Number of properties managed
    - Current total rent arrears
    - Job descriptions
    - Arrears policy.

    Nigel Allan of Rochdale Boroughwide Housing

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08415 - Sewerage charges (03-11-11)

    Are there any housing providers out there who collect sewerage charges from customers who are not on mains drainage - emptying septic tanks, etc?

    If so, please can you let me know?

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08413 - Social network sites for tracing former tenants (01-11-11)

    We are considering using social network sites such as Facebook and Twitter as an aid in tracing former tenants.

    Has anybody encountered any problems in doing so?

    Does it breach any data protection regulation for example?

    Also, I would be interested to hear how successful (or not) it has proved to be?

    Thank you in advance.

    Posted by -

    Paul Seymour of Nottingham Community HA

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08412 - Direct payment criteria for DWP (28-10-11)

    We are wanting to review the DWP levels for direct payments for rent arrears. Currently in Leeds it is set at 4 x gross weekly rent which can be well in excess of £200. I have been given conflicting information in that it is a national set criteria and can not be amended. I have also been advised that it can be done on a case by case basis and can be done for alot lower amounts of debt.

    Is anyone able to provide any advice and assistance on this? Are you obtaining direct payments based on a different criteria?

    Thanks in anticipation of your assistance.

    Simon Swift

    Posted by -

    Simon Swift of East North East Homes Leeds

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08411 - Briefing - nowhere to run - insolvency is no protection (18-10-11)

    In Peter Marcus' recent briefing it was stated landlords may want to consider expressly stating in their tenancy agreements that the making of a DRO or other order writing off rent arrears may in itself constitute an actionable breach of tenancy (some prescient social landlords have already taken this step.) Our legal team are saying that such a clause is likely to be considered unfair in accordance with the Unfair Terms in Consumer Contracts Regs 1999 and the Office of Fair Trading Guidance.

    What are others views on this?

    Posted by -

    James Crayton of Guildford Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08410 - Legal possession action for ALMOs (18-10-11)

    I am reviewing the provision of legal services for rents possession action. As an ALMO we are not allowed to present our cases at court and have to use a solicitor. I know at a RIEN meeting in the past one of the members discussed having a local authority member of staff seconded to the ALMO and using this person to present the cases. Can I ask if this is successful and if anyone is prepared to share their experiences? If it is possible, then I estimate a significant potential for budget savings on legal action.

    Posted by -

    Cliff Haynes of Sutton Housing Partnership

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08409 - Tracing former tenants (10-10-11)

    We are reviewing our approach to FTA collection and would be interested in hearing from any organisations that do their own in-house tracing of former residents and, if so, the system used/approach taken and the success rates achieved.

    Posted by -

    Ben Mills of Southern Housing Group

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08408 - Debt relief orders (26-09-11)

    Does anyone have a defined policy on debt relief orders? I've seen the posts people have kindly provided on bankruptcy, but as DROs work differently I wondered if anyone had a defined policy/approach?

    Posted by -

    Benjamin Chilvers of Nottingham City Homes

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08407 - Marketing services using SMS and email (08-09-11)

    Colleagues

    Has anyone used or is looking to use SMS text messaging or email to market services?

    For example: to promote rent collection/prevent recharge repairs?

    I would really like to hear your experiences.

    Regards

    Aimee

    Posted by -

    Aimee Bradbury of Wolverhampton Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08406 - Rent setting based on amenities (06-09-11)

    Do any organisations adjust rents following improvements such as overcladding, central heating systems, dropped kerbs, etc.

    If you have a policy on this that you are able to share it would be really helpful.

    Thank you

    Posted by -

    Rob Emery of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08405 - Debt collection agency (31-08-11)

    I have been reviewing the performance of our debt collection agency and their collection rate is pretty poor. I was wondering which organisations other LAs/RSLs are currently using and their performance levels as we are looking to change who we use.

    Kind regards

    Posted by -

    Paul Jeffery of Selwood Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08404 - What projects have you done following customer profiling? (30-08-11)

    Following our customer profiling we have created ways to identify diversity strands that may be under represented in terms of support or advice. Once identified we need to put together an action plan of how to fill these gaps.

    I am keen to know what projects other organisations have undertaken and how successful these were?

    What projects did you run for your diversity strands and how did you then engage with them? What impact did the project have?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Hazel Waddington of Eastlands Homes

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08403 - Recharge repairs performance benchmarking (24-08-11)

    Colleagues

    Would you be willing to contribute to quarterly benchmarking for recharge repairs performance?

    Also, if you already report on recharge repairs collection performance, what methodology do you use?

    Look forward to hearing from you.

    Posted by -

    Aimee Bradbury of Wolverhampton Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08402 - Compensation policy (19-08-11)

    Does anyone have a compensation policy (either as part of a complaints policy or separate) that they would be willing to share?

    Do you make goodwill gestures if complaints are justified, and if so, how much?

    Thank you

    Posted by -

    Rob Emery of HQN

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08401 - Major work debt (12-08-11)

    Does anyone have a repayment plan criteria for major work debt?

    Do you allow leaseholders to pay over a period of time, if so, what terms do you apply and do you charge interest?

    If anyone has any policies or procedures which they would be willing to share I’d be really grateful.

    Posted by -

    Tina Mercer of Gallions Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08400 - Cash payments within office (12-08-11)

    We are currently reviewing our cash to bank procedure and would like to know how other housing organisations arrange the cashing of office payments and what arrangements you have in place for banking these monies. Is it collected from your offices or do designated members of staff take the payments to the bank?

    I would be grateful for any information or advice you may be able to provide on this matter.

    Posted by -

    Bill Moran of Severnside Housing

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08399 - Pre-tenancy work (10-08-11)

    I am looking at improving and expanding the pre-tenancy work we do. What I would ideally like (budgets permitting) is a designated resource to deal with the pre-tenancy work.

    Does anyone have a job description for a pre-tenancy worker (or similar post) and a process or a procedure of how you deal with referrals?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Sarah Saward of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08398 - Recommended collection bailiffs (08-08-11)

    Hello

    Can anyone recommend a collection bailiff?

    Thank you

    Kelly

    Kelly Gosling of North Lincolnshire Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08397 - Suspension of rehousing request because of arrears (04-08-11)

    Do you suspend the rehousing application of a tenant in rent arrears? If so, what sum of arrears or number of weeks owed (net or gross?) is the trigger for suspension?

    Posted by -

    Ken Robson of Camden London Borough

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08396 - Statement of accounts for service charges (28-07-11)

    Under the provisions of the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, we issue a statement of accounts to our leaseholders by 30 September each year setting out the estimated and actual costs of the services being charged for.

    Does any organisation issue a statement of accounts to their tenants (where there is a service charge payable)?

    Posted by -

    Ian Philp of Stafford and Rural Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08395 - Former tenant arrears letters (20-07-11)

    Our former tenant arrears process is currently under review. Is anyone willing to post any of their FTA letter templates?

    I would be interested to see the wording other organisations are using.

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    Hannah Garley of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08394 - Credit Union Partnership with social landlords (04-07-11)

    We currently work with Blackpool Fylde and Wyre Credit Union to make sure our tenants have access to savings and affordable loans. Our Chief Executive is a member of the credit union's board. The credit union regularly meet with BCH tenants at our housing offices. We also encourage members of BCH staff to join the credit union.

    Both Blackpool Coastal Housing, Blackpool Fylde and Wrye Credit Union want to develop that relationship further. We would be interested in hearing from any housing organisations who have close relationships with their local credit union.

    - How do you work together?
    - Do you agree joint aims and objectives? If so what are they?
    - How do you measure the success(es) of the partnership?
    - Do you have formal/informal agreements in place with a credit union and/or other social landlords? If so please can you send me a copy?

    Thank you

    Posted by -

    Andrew Walker of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08393 - Direct Debits and rent free weeks

    We are experiencing problems with our monthly direct debit payments over the rent free weeks.

    We use the Orchard system.

    The problem is that we are limited to only taking payments on the first and the 17th of the month.

    Furthermore our system does not take a payment on the rent free week even if the customer is in arrears and they are technically not entitled to the rent free weeks.

    I am looking for a system where we can take payments on any day of the month.

    I also want the system to collect the weekly charge and the arrears payment if there are arrears on the account over the rent free week periods.

    I would be grateful for any info or advice you may be able to provide on this matter.

    Thank you in anticipation of your assistance.

    01-07-11
    Posted by -

    Simon Swift of East North East Homes Leeds

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08392 - Credit checks for tenants

    We are currently looking into using a product from Callcredit to check our new tenants credit history at sign up. I was wondering if any other organisations using this service?

    If so, has it been a benefit having this service in place?

    30-6-11
    Posted by -

    Paul Jeffery of Selwood Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08391 - Person specifications

    I am currently in the process of recruiting for an income management team leader and a financial inclusion officer.

    Would anybody have any person specifications they could let me have?

    24-06-11
    Posted by -

    Robin Edwards of Plus Dane Cheshire

    There are no answers

  • MQ08390 - Set aside policy

    Are there any organisations that have a 'set aside' policy in relation to current arrears that they would be willing to share?

    24-06-11
    Posted by -

    Victoria Williams of Brighton & Hove City Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08389 - FTA incentives

    I am currently looking into offering former tenants a 10% discount if they pay their debt via Direct Debit.

    I was wondering what incentives other LA/HA's offer their former tenants to encourage them to pay?

    16-6-11
    Posted by -

    Paul Jeffery of Selwood Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08388 - Rent free weeks and tenant consultation

    I appreciate that there is a question currently in about rent free weeks but mine has a slightly different angle, in that we know as an organisation that we want to do it, but want to know what other organisations who have moved to rent free weeks have had with regard to tenant consultation and any changes that had to be made to the tenancy agreement.

    Many thanks

    15-6-11
    Posted by -

    Julie Walsh of Charter Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08387 - Threatening bankruptcy to recover arrears?

    We're constantly looking for new ways to get residents to respond to our entreaties to contact us about their arrears, whether tenant, shared owner or former tenant rent, rechargeable repairs or leasehold service charge.

    We're considering using threat of bankruptcy for residents who persist in owing over £750. This might sound bizarre, but we're willing to consider anything, and CAB website does say:

    "The other thing that a landlord could do if you owe more than £750 is apply to make you bankrupt. This could be very serious for you as you might lose your home and business. The first stage is for your landlord to send you an official demand for the money. This is called a statutory demand. You must deal with a statutory demand as a matter of urgency. Talk to an experienced adviser about what to do."

    Naturally, the loss of home would apply only to leaseholders and shared owners, and few of our residents own their own business, but we were wondering whether anyone else has tried bankruptcy, either as a bluff with a statutory demand or actually taking proceedings?

    15-6-11
    Posted by -

    Pete Maris of Metropolitan Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08386 - Welfare reform communication

    Has any organisation developed a communication strategy for customers and/or staff to communicate the changes as a result of the welfare reform?

    10-6-11
    Posted by -

    Stuart Pearson of Circle

    There are no answers

  • MQ08385 - Door entry systems

    We would like to carry out a benchmarking exercise around door entry systems. Would anyone be able to let me know:

    - The average weekly cost for door entry system servicing
    - Whether you depreciate the cost or set up sinking funds
    - If you do depreciate, over how many years?

    Many thanks

    6-6-11
    Posted by -

    Chantel John of Phoenix Community Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08384 - Rent payments in advance

    Are there any organisations out there that take rent payments in advance at sign up?

    25-5-11
    Posted by -

    Micky Patel of Charnwood Neighbourhood Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08383 - Rent payment cards

    We are currently reviewing our rent payments card contract and wondered what companies other organisations used for this service? What are the terms of your contract, eg, turnaround times from card ordering to dispatch, different methods of ordering such as online, etc?

    Any other details that you feel might be relevant would be appreciated.

    25-5-11
    Posted by -

    Sarah Cattlin of East North East Homes Leeds

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08382 - Credit card payments

    We are considering accepting rent payments made by credit cards. I would be grateful for information on:

    1. Other organisations experiences of this form of payment.
    2. Information on any restrictions imposed on accepting credit cards.
    3. The level of credit card payments.
    4. Who meets the cost of the transaction.

    Thank you

    23-5-11
    Posted by -

    Susan Thompson of Jephson Housing Association

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08381 - Terminating tenancies on any day of the week?

    Do any other organisations terminate their tenancies on any day of the week?

    We currently only end a tenancy on a Sunday and start a tenancy on a Monday.
    In terms of income management, how does this impact on your performance?

    Your help would be appreciated.

    12-5-11
    Posted by -

    Anita McCracken of Arena Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08380 - Water rate recovery

    Do any other members collect water charges on behalf of water authorities? Would you be willing to share recovery procedures/correspondence, etc, or any other information related to recovering water debt?

    Many thanks

    Tracie

    9-5-11
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08379 - Supporting People charges

    We are in the process of taking the Supporting People charge out of the rent account and holding the charges in separate accountable sub accounts. On the basis of recovery of the Supporting People charge, we cannot follow the same action as rents, does anyone have any specific policies around the recovery of unpaid charges they are willing to share?

    03-05-2011
    Posted by -

    Tina Clarke of North Lincolnshire Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08378 - Corporate debt policy

    Does anyone have any examples of corporate debt policies that they would be happy to share?

    19-4-11
    Posted by -

    Carrie Brierley of Bracknell Forest Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08377 - Termination date on eviction

    Could you please let me know what your organisation's practice is with regards to the termination date of a tenancy when the reason is eviction?

    Do you terminate the tenancy on the day of the eviction (and apportion that week's rent), or do you end the tenancy from the Sunday after the eviction?

    Thanks

    13-4-11
    Posted by -

    Lee Steele of Orbit Group Limited

    There are 5 answers

  • MQ08376 - FTA calculation

    Please can anyone share how they calculate FTA cash collection and is it a cumulative calculation?

    Many thanks
    Chantelle

    8-4-11
    Posted by -

    Chantelle Maddocks of Parkway Green Housing Trust

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08375 - Use of customer service team in arrears work

    Do any organisations that have a dedicated customer service team use them for dealing with rent arrears?

    If you do, at what level do they deal with or up to?

    Many thanks

    4-4-11
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08374 - Cooperate income recovery

    Here at Reading Borough Council we are currently looking at the possibility of combining the recovery of all debt owed to the council including HB overpayments, council tax, business rates, rents, service charges and rechargeable repairs into one department.

    Have any other authorities explored this or implemented it?

    Your ideas and thoughts would be appreciated.

    1-4-11
    Posted by -

    Natalie Waters of Reading Borough Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08373 - End of year figures

    Here at Muir we've been having discussions on when the end of year figures should be taken and I was wondering when other organisations take theirs?

    Is it at close of business on the 31 March or at the end of week 52?

    30-3-11
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08372 - Rent free weeks

    Tenants are keen to have rent free weeks (RFWs). Are there any HAs out there who operate in 10+ LA areas who have RFWs?

    How did the different HB departments react/cope?

    Have RFWs made any difference to arrears levels?

    Does having one at week 52 improve year end figures?

    23-3-11
    Posted by -

    Peter Cowley of Nottingham Community HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08371 - Mobile working solutions

    We're looking at different mobile working solutions, similar to an Ipad, for our team and income officers and would be interested to know what other organisations use, particularly those that have a main operating system supplied by CIVICA (Context)?

    Thanks

    17-3-11
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08370 - Income job profile

    Following a recent review of our income service team - I am now looking at job profiles/descriptions.

    Would other members be willing to share job descriptions for the following:

    - Income officer
    - Income assistant/admin.

    Regards

    15-3-11
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08369 - Recruitment

    Would anyone be willing to share their recruitment practices for rents staff, including management positions?

    We have attempted to recruit for a senior rents position both via the Guardian and Inside Housing with little success. We have also had limited success in the past with local press, including those in neighbouring cities. All of which have proved very expensive.

    Are you aware of any other mediums which have proved successful? Also, does anyone have any examples of working with a professional staffing agency who they'd like to recommend?

    15-3-11
    Posted by -

    Lee Steele of Orbit Group Limited

    There are no answers

  • MQ08368 - Rent to Buy

    Knowsley Housing Trust have just started a 'Rent to Buy' scheme and I wondered if anyone has a policy/procedure for dealing with rent arrears pursuance/rent increases that they would be willing to share?

    Thanks in advance
    Liz

    11-03-11
    Posted by -

    Elizabeth Bulmer of Knowsley Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08367 - Proof of posting

    The post office are planning to remove proof of posting. What is everyone else using for proof of posting when sending NSPs and court letters?

    Thanks

    10-3-11
    Posted by -

    Linda Percy of Knowsley Housing Trust

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08366 - Debt Support Trust

    At Wigan & Leigh Housing we have recently been contacted by Debt Support Trust, a charity that offers free debt and budgeting advice. We already have a positive relationship with our local CAB but wondered if any other organisations have used Debt Support Trust, and, if so, what is the quality of advice that they provide?

    I'd like to hear from anyone who has used this company and would like to know their opinion of the service.

    Thanks

    7-3-11
    Posted by -

    Peter Hughes of Wigan & Leigh Housing Company

    There are no answers

  • MQ08365 - Rent collection process for licences including licence under 18

    I am drafting an internal process for rent arrears collection on different types of tenure. I am looking at licences including
    licence under 18. Do you have such a document, and if so, could you share it with me?

    4-3-11
    Posted by -

    Anna Mirza of Lambeth Living

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08364 - Rent first campaign

    Hi

    We are looking at rolling out a rent first campaign throughout our organisation. We want to promote a rent first ethos that reaches every department and colleague. Do you have any experience of a similar campaign, great ideas that can help us achieve this along with winning the hearts and minds of staff? Or maybe any particular challenges you might have faced?

    Many thanks

    Rebecca Rouse

    22-2-11
    Posted by -

    Rebecca Rouse of Orbit Group Limited

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08363 - Rent setting and service charges

    Would any HA be willing to share their rent setting policy with me, and, what information do you give to residents on how their service charges are calculated and what they are for?

    Thanks

    21-2-11
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08362 - Split roles in income teams

    I would be interested to hear how your income teams are structured? Do you have officers who deal with cases from start to finish, or do you have a team who deal with low level arrears and legal cases?

    From your experience what are the pros and cons.

    Thanks
    Rob

    21-2-11
    Posted by -

    Rob Emery of HQN

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08361 - Rent incentive payments

    Hi

    We are reviewing the incentives we use for rent payments for our customers. At the moment we have quarterly prize draws for tenants with clear rent accounts and a year end draw for customers paying by Direct Debit.

    Is this something other organisations use or are looking to change in the current financial climate?

    Any comments would be appreciated.

    21-2-11
    Posted by -

    Sarah Cattlin of East North East Homes Leeds

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08360 - Satisfaction survey

    Can anyone provide any good examples of good practice for debt recovery and financial inclusion customer satisfaction surveys?

    I would really appreciate you sending me a copy. I am developing this area within SBH, not an easy task.

    Thank you

    17-2-11
    Posted by -

    Jan Welsh of Livin

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08359 - Starter tenancies

    We are now finding that starter tenancies are being dealt with similar to assured tenancies, when attending court for an order on rent arrears. We have also discovered that starter tenancies can only be extended once, then conversion must occur whether court order or arrears are still outstanding.

    Does anyone have any further advise you could share, so that starter tenancies can be viewed similar to IT's?

    14-2-11
    Posted by -

    Jan Welsh of Livin

    There are no answers

  • MQ08358 - ALMOs re-housing former tenants with debt

    Can you provide me with a copy of any policy/procedure you have relating to the re-housing of former tenants with debt?

    Do you make payment arrangements at sign-up? Do you take possession action if FTA payments are not made by a current tenant?

    Thanks

    9-2-11
    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08357 - Orchard Housing Management System - Do you use it?

    We have recently implemented Orchard's Housing Management System - and I would like to hear from other organisations who are using this system to manage their arrears recovery. I am particularly interested in reporting and performance management.

    Thanks

    4-2-11
    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08356 - Hardship fund

    Do any members offer a hardship fund for new customers to provide essential items, eg, cooker, fridge, bed, etc?

    If so, can you please share your criteria for grants, how much is in the budget per annum and how you arrive at the figure?

    Many thanks

    4-2-11
    Posted by -

    John Lawrence of Guinness Northern Counties

    There are no answers

  • MQ08355 - Former tenant credits

    We are reviewing our approach to former tenant credit accounts and would be interested if anyone would be prepared to share their process?

    2-2-11
    Posted by -

    Ben Mills of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08354 - Use of interpreters

    Here at Plus Dane we are having an increasing number of residents where English isn't their first language.

    Firstly, how do other organisations deal with communication between these groups, and secondly if the services of an interpreter are requested by a District Judge at a court hearing, whose responsibility would it be to arrange this?

    I would also be interested to know who stands the costs in these two instances?

    1-2-11
    Posted by -

    Robin Edwards of Plus Dane Cheshire

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08353 - Standard arrears letters

    Would any organisations be willing to share their suite of standard arrears letters?

    We are looking to review ours, and I am keen to see what others are doing.

    31-1-11
    Posted by -

    Lee Steele of Orbit Group Limited

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08352 - Does anyone measure the average current rent arrears?

    We are introducing an indicator in order to monitor the average rent arrears for current tenants as a cash value.

    It appears this is not measured externally as I cannot find any benchmarking information on this, but would be interested to know if anyone does monitor this and if so, would you be willing to share what the average is for your organisation? We would also provide ours.

    Many thanks
    Tereska

    27-1-11
    Posted by -

    Tereska Leach of City West HT

    There are no answers

  • MQ08351 - Rent free weeks

    Hi

    We currently charge rent for 52 weeks of the year and are considering introducing rent free weeks.

    I would be interested to hear from anyone who has moved to a 48/50 week rent cycle. I am interested in how you went about it, and what the pitfalls and benefits were?

    Thanks
    Amanda

    26-1-11
    Posted by -

    Amanda Sharpe of LHA-Asra Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08350 - Use and occupation

    We are having an increasing number of tenancies where notice is being given, but the tenant is leaving with a third party being left in the property.

    How do other organisations deal with removing the person from the property, and do you take payments onto the rent account for use and occupation?

    16-12-10
    Posted by -

    Robin Edwards of Plus Dane Cheshire

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08349 - Rent setting with tenants

    Dear colleague

    Does any organisation give their tenants a choice when setting future rent increases?

    In particular what consultation process do you have in place which allows tenants to make informed decisions in setting their rent increase (and its implications) for the next financial year?

    I would be happy to hear from any organisation that has or is considering adopting this approach.

    Many thanks

    Les James

    15-12-10
    Posted by -

    Les James of Carmarthenshire County Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08348 - Local offers and worklessness

    Are any RIEN members developing local offers to address worklessness?

    13-12-10
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08347 - Debt advice

    We are currently reviewing our debt advice service and we would appreciate your help in answering the following questions.

    1. How do your tenants get access to debt advice/welfare benefit advice?

    2. How do you pay for this scheme?

    3. How much does this service cost?

    4. How do you measure the quality of the service/advice given?

    5. How long do tenants wait to access debt advice?

    6. How effective are the services provided in preventing tenancies from ending?

    7. What effect does debt advice have on your arrears figures?

    Please send any responses to either myself or andrew.walker@bch.co.uk.

    Many thanks for your help.

    10-12-10
    Posted by -

    Nathan Peacock of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08346 - DIY possession action

    I'm preparing a short briefing paper on DIY possession action. Does anyone have facts and figures in relation to the advantages of DIY possession? I'm particularly interested in the cost saving benefits, but any other pertinent information would be gratefully received.

    22-11-10
    Posted by -

    Victoria Williams of Brighton & Hove City Council

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08345 - Non dependency

    We are currently trying to calculate the impact of the changes to NDD based on very little information from the budget.

    Our calculation for the increase by 2013-2014 works out at about 42%, based on annual average earnings and predicted RPI. Has anyone else tried to calculate the increase? I've been informed it might be as high as 90%, but cannot figure out how that can be.

    18-11-10

    Chai Block of London Borough of Hillingdon

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08344 - Money laundering policy

    Does anyone have an example of their money laundering policy they are able to share?

    Has anyone made referral to serious organised crime agency when a customer has made a large cash payment and what was the response?

    17-11-10
    Posted by -

    Stephen Jackson of Harvest Housing Group

    There are no answers

  • MQ08343 - Incentive schemes for customers

    We have, since 2004, had a rewards scheme for our customers and a review in 2009 showed that take-up was low and impact on performance outcomes (reduction in arrears/ASB, etc) was not measurable in any scientific way.

    Do any members have an incentive scheme that rewards customers as well as penalising those who are in arrears or subject to some sort of action due to a breach in tenancy conditions? And how do you measure its impact?

    We are wondering how to make the link between customers who are in arrears and not carrying out anything other than emergency repairs or planned improvements to meet Decent Homes standard. I know this is contentious but I'd be interested in seeing if anyone has any advice or good practice to pass on?

    16-11-10
    Posted by -

    Wendy Powell of Accord Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08342 - Deposits and guarantors for assured and starter tenancies

    Does any member take deposits or ask for guarantors on any of their assured or starter tenancies? I'm thinking of all tenants, not just under 18 for the guarantors.

    16-11-10
    Posted by -

    Wendy Powell of Accord Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08341 - Mid-week tenancy start dates

    Does anyone start weekly tenancies other than on a Monday and could they share their experiences please?

    16-11-10
    Posted by -

    Wendy Powell of Accord Housing Association

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08340 - Rechargeable repairs

    We are looking at setting a minimum charge for rechargeable repairs.

    Have any other organisations looked at setting a minimum amount based on the costs of raising charges and sending invoices?

    Thanks

    09-11-10
    Posted by -

    Stephen Jackson of Harvest Housing Group

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08339 - Satisfaction surveys for debt advice service

    Has anyone conducted a satisfaction survey with their residents on the above, and if so, would you be willing to share the questions used?

    Thanks

    03-11-10
    Posted by -

    Patricia Clarke of Accord Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08338 - Targeted campaigns

    I am looking at incorporating arrears campaigns for FTA and leaseholders. Has any other organisation implemented with success, any form of campaign for the collection of FTA and leasehold arrears?

    03-11-10
    Posted by -

    Neil Emery of Your Homes Newcastle

    There are no answers

  • MQ08337 - Former tenant arrears - payment incentives

    I am trying to find out if there are any HAs dealing with former tenant arrears collection who offer payment incentives, eg, discounts on early payment or short instalment plans. If so what do you offer?

    Also, I would like to know what effect introducing this has had on recovery performance?

    03-11-10
    Posted by -

    Georgina Standring of Orbit Group Limited

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08336 - Bailiffs

    Does anyone use court bailiffs as part of their legal options for the collection of FTA and service charge arrears? If so what is your collection rate with regards to the following:

    a. Notice that a bailiff will be visiting (telephone calls and payments)
    b. Doors answered (payments received)
    c. Percentage of total debt paid on distress of goods.

    02-11-10
    Posted by -

    Neil Emery of Your Homes Newcastle

    There are no answers

  • MQ08335 - Rent statements

    Do any organisations send rent statements out in audio for residents with sight difficulties?

    If so, what problems have you encountered and do you still send out 'paper' ones?

    Thanks

    02-11-10
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08334 - Rechargeable repairs PI's

    I'm about to set up our corporate PI's for rechargeable repairs and would like to know what other organisations collate?

    Thanks

    01-11-10
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08333 - Accumulated service charges

    We have a situation where we have, over a number of years, collected an amount of service charge for carpets in individual flats. We have replaced carpets in old flats, usually upon a vacancy occurring but other than this we have just accumulated the monies collected. We do not intend to replace any others (many have been used as an underlay) but have a dilemma as to how we handle the accumulated surplus.

    Does anyone have experience of this situation and if so how have you dealt with the monies collected? Is there any legal requirement that anyone knows of? (Bearing in mind that a number of our tenants are in receipt of HB and the service charge for carpets has been allowed. This situation could equally apply to cookers in flats and we are faced with a similar issue.)

    Many thanks

    19-10-10
    Posted by -

    Geoff Day of Yorkshire Housing Ltd

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08332 - Offering Direct Debit payments to tenants in arrears

    Does anyone offer tenants with substantial rent arrears the opportunity to make payment by Direct Debit?

    If so what are the benefits and/or pitfalls?

    19-10-10
    Posted by -

    Mike Tierney of Warwick District Council

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08331 - Former tenant arrears

    We are in the process of outsourcing former tenant arrears to the debt collection agencies. Does anyone have examples of the contract or terms and conditions from debt collection agencies?

    11-10-10
    Posted by -

    Mrs Khadija of LHA-Asra Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08330 - Going paperless

    We are currently considering whether to stop sending paper rent statements to our residents and make them available online, however we are concerned at the impact this may have on those residents who do not have internet access.

    Has any organisation carried out going paperless or considering this change?

    08-10-10
    Posted by -

    Monique Holmes of Barnet Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08329 - Income team structures

    I am currently looking at the structure of my income team that collects current and former arrears as well as court costs.

    We have a housing stock of just over 8,000 properties. Would any other members be willing to share their team structures detailing patch sizes, job roles and responsibilities?

    I would appreciate any information received.

    Regards

    Tracie

    07-10-10
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08328 - Rent arrears letters for vulnerable tenants

    Does anyone have any examples of rent arrears letters that they send to potentially vulnerable tenants?

    01-10-10
    Posted by -

    Seamus Doran of Bournemouth Borough Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08327 - Obtaining forwarding addresses from the Housing Benefit service

    I have been unsuccessful in persuading Wirral BC's HB service to divulge forwarding addresses to us in cases where our tenant has abandoned our tenancy and is claiming HB from a new address. Does anyone get this information from their HB service?

    22-09-10
    Posted by -

    John Roach of John Roach

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08326 - Northgate escalation set-up

    We have been using Northgate for monitoring our rent arrears for a number of years. I'm not sure we have set-up our escalation policies in a way that gets the best out of the system.

    Is there anyone willing to share information on how they have set-up their Northgate escalation policies?

    16-09-10
    Posted by -

    There are no answers

  • MQ08325 - Tenancy sustainment protocol

    Do any other members have a tenancy sustainment (eviction prevention) protocol in place with the local authorities? Would you be willing to share this with me? How do you measure the success of such a protocol?

    09-09-10
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08324 - Information sharing agreement

    Has any RSL reached an agreement with their local authority to share information on the whereabouts of former tenants/council tax payers in order to pursue them for outstanding debts? Were there any data protection issues and if so how were they overcome?

    Thanks

    Tim

    08-09-10
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08323 - Financial inclusion event

    BVT are considering holding a 'financial inclusion' event in 2011, inviting all of our residents (including freeholders and leaseholders) to come along.

    It's a difficult subject to get right. We will of course invite the usual agencies, ie, CAB, local credit unions, utility companies, loan shark team, to name a few but we do not think this will attract our owner-occupiers. Have any organisations out there run a similar event which they believe to have been a success and if you have, would you be willing to share ideas on what made the event a success?

    We have thought that maybe we need to combine the financial inclusion element with another subject to encourage take-up, ie, health. Or would it be a better idea to have local events and select categories to highlight, ie, have a benefit take-up campaign morning, run DD campaigns?

    Any ideas are welcome and any shared experiences, even if they are not so positive as I can feed this info back to our working group.

    Thanks

    Ann

    23-08-10
    Posted by -

    Ann Ryan of Bournville Village Trust

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08322 - Arrears officer benchmarking

    Does anyone internally benchmark the performance for arrears recovery between different arrears management 'patches' and officers?

    If you do, what have you learnt from this and what have you changed or improved as a result? What benchmarking criteria did you use? Did it improve competition between officers?

    Thanks in advance for any feedback.

    Tim

    11-08-10
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08321 - Homeless prevention worker and rent arrears links

    We are looking to set up a homelessness prevention liaison officer by utilising a resource Leeds Council already has. The aim being to refer cases to this officer after we obtain a possession order, so that we can prevent evictions. The officer will provide a reality check to the tenant or 'options', which will clearly outline the intentionality element if they do not pay rent and are evicted as a consequence of this.

    Performance outcomes are hopefully fewer evictions and less turnover. If there are organisations out there who have tried this or something similar, and who are willing to share the good and bad, then please contact me by tel or email.

    10-08-10
    Posted by -

    Steve Oldham of West North West Homes Leeds

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08320 - Assured short hold/assured tenancies

    Wigan & Leigh Housing have been lucky enough to secure funding for 'new build'.

    Tenancies will be as above but as historically we have only dealt with secure/intro tenancies knowledge of escalation policies and wording of arrears letters is limited.

    Are any of you willing to share your EP's and letters for short hold/assured tenancies?

    Good/bad experiences of the legal process would also be very useful.

    For information there will be service charges raised so advice on what figure to quote on notices/summonses would be appreciated.

    Thanking you in anticipation

    Peter Gaskell

    06-08-10
    Posted by -

    Peter Gaskell of Wigan & Leigh Housing Company

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08319 - Cost of providing rents team

    We are an LSVT of just under 6,000 properties. We are doing a benchmarking exercise in relation to teams and other costs. Can anyone tell me what their costs are to run a rents team, split between staff and other costs?

    Many thanks

    Alyson Norris

    05-08-10
    Posted by -

    Alyson Norris of Parkway Green Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08318 - Managing Supporting People payments

    At Blackpool Coastal Housing we are currently implementing a new IT system and would like to know what other organisations do with regards to SP payments.

    Do you keep them in a 'sub account' and 'drip feed' into a main rent account? Do you collect them totally separately to the main account and use a different recovery sequence to collect? Are they simply posted directly onto the main account and collected as a consolidated debt?

    Your comments would be appreciated.

    05-08-10
    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08317 - Managing FTA's - the options

    At Blackpool Coastal Housing we are currently reviewing our procedures for collecting FTAs.

    We would like to know if any organisations currently 'sell' their FTAs to a reputable debt collection agency rather than collecting in-house? If so, which DCAs are used and how does this work in practice? What is the income generated by selling the debt on as a percentage of the debt sold?

    Your comments would be appreciated.

    05-08-10
    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08316 - Local authority collection structure

    Has any local authority brought together teams that manage and collect different income streams?

    I am particularly interested in hearing from any LA that has combined their council tax and rent collection/arrears teams.

    03-08-10
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08315 - Taking credit/debit card payments

    Can anyone share their experience of rent income officers taking telephone payments and/or using mobile chip/pin machines whilst seeing tenants?

    Any information on pitfalls, details of equipment suppliers and costs would be appreciated?

    02-08-10
    Posted by -

    Ken Robson of Camden London Borough

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08314 - Third party identity

    We are looking into the possibility of creating an in-house third party identity to chase FTA debts, rather than referral to a debt collection agency.

    Can anyone share their experiences of this and give feedback on positives/negatives encountered?

    29-07-10
    Posted by -

    Alex Hasson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08313 - Projected increase in unemployment - are you planning ahead?

    Are any organisations planning ahead for the impact the projected increase in unemployment will have on their services?

    Possible outcome of increase in unemployment:

    * Increase in the numbers of customers claiming housing benefit
    * Increase in the numbers of customers experiencing financial difficulties
    * Increase in numbers of customers not paying their rent and associated increase in activity levels (ie, visits, telephone calls to and from customers)
    * Increase in court/eviction cases
    * Not an exhaustive list.

    We're just in the planning stages and I was wondering what others are doing.

    Thanks

    23-07-10
    Posted by -

    Andrew Sheader of West North West Homes Leeds

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08312 Northgate - expected payments

    Does anyone out there have experience of using the 'expected payments' module within the Northgate Housing Management system? If you do, I'd really appreciate hearing from you exactly how you use it. Thanks!

    15-07-10
    Posted by -

    Benjamin Chilvers of Nottingham City Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08311 - IBS open housing users

    Boston Mayflower has been using the IBS open housing system since 2002. Our rent collection performance has improved considerably over the years but the way we use the computer system has not really developed at all.

    I would like to see how others deal with income management and arrears using IBS, and perhaps in return can pass on some tips on how they have achieved success. If you use IBS and work within reasonable travelling distance of Boston/Lincolnshire, I would be interested in hearing from you.

    28-06-10
    Posted by -

    Andy Snell of Boston Mayflower

    There are no answers

  • MQ08310 - Housing schemes

    We are in the process of developing a new housing scheme where we will be the energy provider. As such, we will be responsible for billing, payment methods, monitoring payments and collecting debts. We would like to hear from any other housing providers who operate a similar system as we need to develop our procedures. Also we would like to know if the payment of the energy bills has been made a condition of the tenancy.

    Many thanks

    23-06-10
    Posted by -

    Julie Walsh of Charter Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08309 - Time limits on debt collection

    I have recently been informed that there is a six year time limit on the collection of debt. Does this mean that we are obliged to officially write the debt off? Or, rather, would the tenant still be liable to pay even though we can't chase the debt? The main reason I am asking is to clarify whether we should disclose on a reference whether the debt is still owed?

    Many thanks

    23-06-10
    Posted by -

    Paul Seymour of Nottingham Community HA

    There are 7 answers

  • MQ08308 - Money advice contract

    Does anyone have a contract with a money advice service that provides telephone advice as opposed to face-to-face advice?

    18-06-10
    Posted by -

    Victoria Williams of Brighton & Hove City Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08307 - Intermediate rent policies

    Does anyone have policy, procedures, sample of letters they are willing to share on intermediate rent tenancies?

    Do organisations take a harder and quicker approach to arrears recovery and evictions on this type of funding initiative?

    Any comments would be appreciated.

    18-06-10
    Posted by -

    Susan Thompson

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08306 - Decanting private tenants of sold flats/maisonettes

    We here at the NIHE are reviewing our policies for decanting owner occupiers and private tenants of sold flats/maisonettes when carrying out improvements/repairs.

    Would anyone be willing to share their policies and procedures? We would be very grateful for any advice and assistance you could offer.

    Regards

    08-06-10
    Posted by -

    Mairead Quinn of Northern Ireland Housing Executive

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08305 - Debt advice/financial inclusion officer job description

    Hello

    We are looking at employing a debt advisor/financial inclusion officer as an alternative to having a contract with an external agency who provides debt advice.

    Is anyone able to send me a job description for a post like this or any general comments on the pros and cons of employing a debt advisor?

    Thanks

    07-06-10
    Posted by -

    Anna Trevena of CityWest Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08304 - Security policy for payments using credit/debit cards

    We are currently looking at drafting a security policy to cover the risk of staff taking rent payments from customers using their credit or debit cards. Does anyone have a policy that they are willing to share?

    20-05-10
    Posted by -

    Marcia Lewis of Friendship Care and Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08303 - Rent increase notification

    I have had a quick look around the forum and noted quite a few posts on the notification of rent increase. We are looking to use other methods to advise customers of their imminent rent increase.

    We are still getting large numbers of customers who don't increase their payments and, also, don't acknowledge that they have been advised of the increase.

    In addition to the standard notification letter, we are looking at:

    - Sending bulk texts/emails

    - Using a notification card that we can leave when visiting customers

    - Having a few words on envelopes advising of the imminent rent increase.

    Do any of you currently do any of the above?

    If so, how successful have you been?

    Are there any other ideas out there?

    Thanks

    20-05-10
    Posted by -

    Andy Sheader of West North West Homes Leeds

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08302 - Rent free weeks

    We here at NIHE are considering introducing 'rent free weeks'. Have any of you recently introduced this to your own organisation? And would you be willing to share your experience/best practice with us?

    We would be very grateful for any advice or assistance you can offer.

    Thank you

    Regards

    Helen

    20-05-10
    Posted by -

    Helen Tully of Northern Ireland Housing Executive

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08301 - Recovering court costs

    We are currently introducing a new housing management system and need to set up a process for collecting court costs.

    Can anyone advise of what route/process they use to recover them? The courts here do not allow for them to be recovered as part of evictable debt.

    Many thanks

    18-05-10
    Posted by -

    Carl Girvin of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08300 - Static debts

    We are finding it difficult to encourage our current tenants to clear their small static debts.

    We have tried prize draws and have considered MCOL but wondered if anyone else had any bright ideas on how to deal with this issue?

    Thanks

    18-05-10
    Posted by -

    Anne Healy of Wolverhampton Homes

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08299 - Repayment arrangements

    We are reviewing our arrangement guidelines for repayment of rent arrears.

    I'd be interested to know if other organisations work using minimum amounts linked to Housing Benefit status, ie, partial or none, or are minimum amounts agreed based on time taken to clear the arrears? If so, what are these amounts?

    14-05-10
    Posted by -

    Ben Mills of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08298 - 14 day NSPs

    I would be grateful if you could help with the following questions:

    - Is anyone routinely serving NSPs on assured tenants with a 14 day expiry?

    - Any issues/challenges from courts or other agencies?

    - If using on an exceptions basis, what is your criteria for use?

    10-05-10
    Posted by -

    John Lawrence of Guinness Northern Counties

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08297 - Money claims online

    We want to use money claims online to collect on former tenant arrears but have been advised that they won't accept a Direct Debit for payment (unlike possession claims online for example).

    NCHA don't wish to use a company credit card for payment for their own reasons.

    I wondered if any other housing organisations had encountered the same problems and if so, how they got around them?

    Many thanks

    06-05-10
    Posted by -

    Paul Seymour of Nottingham Community HA

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08296 - HB overpayments

    Currently HB overpayments, when recovered from ongoing HB entitlement, are recovered at the higher rate of £9.90 per week and in some cases more than this. Tenants can appeal against the recovery rate but must submit a financial statement to demonstrate hardship.

    We would be interested to find out if any organisations have any different policies agreed with their local benefits teams?

    06-05-10
    Posted by -

    Phil Wyatt of Bristol City Council

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08295 - Rehousing policy

    We are looking at our policy regarding rehousing/transfers when tenants are in arrears, and are particularly interested if any organisation does exclude tenants from the housing register/choice-based letting scheme because of arrears and the criteria used?

    06-05-10
    Posted by -

    Phil Wyatt of Bristol City Council

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08294 - DWP third party deductions

    I would like to know if anyone has an effective way of communicating with the DWP's third party deductions staff in Belfast? Currently we have to contact another section, who then pass on the query and wait for them to contact us. Communication regarding third party deductions has gotten worse over the years and it is very difficult to resolve queries, and arrears continue to rise whilst we wait for a response.

    30-04-10
    Posted by -

    Gavin Macaulay of London Borough of Greenwich

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08293 - Incentives for former tenants

    We are currently looking into incentives for former tenants, eg, for clearing their balance within a certain period they would given a discount off the balance.

    We are also considering this pre-term for those clearing o/s balances before they leave - however we need to get around advertising such a scheme as some will clear their balance anyway.

    Does anyone operate any incentives schemes/discounts for former tenants and how do these work?

    28-04-10
    Posted by -

    Gail Newman

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08292 - Rechargeable repairs

    We have just implemented a rechargeable repairs procedure and the former tenant ones are dealt with alongside the former tenant arrears. We would be interested to hear from anyone who operates in a similar way. We would like to hear how you operate this.

    Do you prioritise one debt over the other? Do you use debt collection agencies or legal action to collect rechargeable repairs? What is your success rate?

    If you could share any of your experiences that would be great.

    28-04-10
    Posted by -

    Gail Newman

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08291 - Legal action for FTAs

    I would be interested to know what success rate people have using legal action to collect former tenant arrears.

    Any information you can share on this subject would be useful.

    Many thanks

    28-04-10
    Posted by -

    Gail Newman

    There are no answers

  • MQ08290 - Ground 10 - assured shorthold tenants

    Hello

    A judge new to our area has questioned our use of Ground 10 for assured shorthold tenants.

    We have always used eight weeks net rent as sufficient to serve the notice. The judge thinks we should be using gross rent... and wants us to prove it.

    Any ideas?

    28-04-10
    Posted by -

    Rob Jeffreys of Cestria Community Housing Association

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08289 - Debt advice service

    I am trying to find some comparable benchmarking figures for our debt advice service. We are a stock transfer of 6,000 properties and we have two internal debt advisors. I would be grateful to hear from anyone who can provide figures on benefits gained and debts written off for 2009-10.

    Many thanks

    16-04-10
    Posted by -

    Alyson Norris of Parkway Green Housing Trust

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08288 - Arrears call/arrears matrix

    I am interested to know if anyone is using these products and if so, what your experience is.

    Thanks

    Tony

    16-04-10
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08287 - Breached court orders

    I would be interested in knowing if other organisation's advise residents to vary a breached court order, and if so, on what basis is this advice given?

    09-04-10
    Posted by -

    Ben Mills of Southern Housing Group

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08286 - Tracing FTAs

    We currently use Experian to trace our former tenants and I'm looking to see what else is 'out there' that has proved successful.

    I would appreciate any comments from members.

    07-04-10
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08285 - Reward schemes

    I am currently reviewing our reward scheme for tenant's who keep a clear rent account and do not breach their tenancy conditions.

    Can anyone share their experiences/policies on incentive schemes?

    Do you have any evidence to support incentive schemes as a cost effective means of assisting on the control of rent arrears?

    Many Thanks

    06-04-10
    Posted by -

    Graham Glover of Stoke on Trent City Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08284 - Northgate users

    Hi

    Are there any Northgate users out there who use the Northgate system to recover rechargeable repairs?

    If so, please could you get in touch, I am trying to implement a new recharge policy and procedure, hopefully through Northgate, and would like to know what the benefits/pitfalls are.

    Many thanks

    Rachel

    30-03-10
    Posted by -

    Rachel Newsam of High Peak Community Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08283 - SMART service standards

    Has anyone SMART and challenging service standards they'd be willing to share?

    Thanks in advance

    25-03-10
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08282 - Evictions

    Can any members confirm whether they include abandonments as an eviction (BVPI66d) when there are arrears, ie, if the property has clearly been abandoned prior to the eviction date?

    23-03-10
    Posted by -

    Sanjay Mandil of Redbridge Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08281 - External tracing agents

    For those organisations that use external tracings agents for former tenants, do you wait a period of time after the tenancy has terminated before sending the cases, or do you send them straightaway?

    22-03-10
    Posted by -

    Gail Newman

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08280 - Court cost charges

    I am currently reviewing our court costs charges and was wondering whether, when you take customers to court for non-payment of rent, what are the rates of costs you recoup?

    1 Do you just ask for the listing fee (usually £100) to be reimbursed?

    2 Do you also ask for costs towards administration (extra £69.50)?

    3 Do you ask for a combination of the two depending upon the circumstances?

    I would really appreciate if you could let me know your current policy.

    Many thanks

    10-03-10
    Posted by -

    Mark O'Connor of Gentoo Group Ltd

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08279 - Taking telephone payments

    I'm trying to find a 'system' that will allow staff to take payments over the telephone using credit/debit cards but is PCI DSS compliant (Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard).

    Your help would be greatly appreciated

    Many thanks

    09-03-10
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 5 answers

  • MQ08278 - Cleared funds

    Can anyone confirm what they think cleared funds are please? We usually say cash or bankers draft, but recently we take credit card payments all the time and at the point of eviction.

    We are concerned that with the number of fraudulent payments via credit card that we may get caught out, if a credit card payment gets withdrawn. On occasions we have taken credit card payments from family or friends to stop eviction. Any thoughts please?

    Thanks

    05-03-10

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08277 - Second placement debt collectors

    Does anyone use second placement collection agencies?

    How worthwhile do you think second placement is?

    What agencies do you use?

    04-03-10
    Posted by -

    Mark Causer of Walsall Housing Group

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08276 - Direct Debit dates

    Hello

    We here at Kettering run 2 DD dates the 15th and also the 28th of each month. We have a tenancy policy that tenants pay their rent weekly in advance, however the 15th does no cause too much of a problem but we are finding that the 28th is causing concern as the tenants are building up arrears.

    I would like to know, from members, is if other LAs or HAs have or have had similar problems and what they have done, or revised to cope or compensate for build up of arrears.

    Many thanks

    25-02-10
    Posted by -

    Gary Berridge of Kettering Borough Council

    There are 6 answers

  • MQ08275 - Collecting rechargeable repair invoices

    I am in the process of writing a process map to recover rechargeable repairs and would like to know what legal action other organisations use to recover the debt and its success?

    Thanks

    24-02-10

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08274 - FTA - delegated authority

    As an ALMO, we do not have delegated authority to write off any FTAs, however small. This was a criticism by Audit Commission inspectors recently.

    Can anyone share their processes or thoughts on this?

    23-02-10
    Posted by -

    Sanjay Mandil of Redbridge Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08273 - Rent refunds

    I would like to know what your policy and procedure is for rent refunds? Do you leave a credit on the account to avoid the account ever being in arrears depending on the tenants payment cycle, ie, weekly - leave one week credit, monthly - leave the equivalent of one months rent, etc.

    Do you only refund rent via cheque or do you use any other methods?

    17-02-10
    Posted by -

    Tina Mercer of Gallions Housing Association

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08272 - Outsourcing the recovery of FTA debt

    Would anyone be willing to tell me which company they use if they outsource the recovery of FTAs?

    Does anyone know of any organisation who purchases FTA debt?

    17-02-10
    Posted by -

    Tina Mercer of Gallions Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08271 - Fair rent increases

    We have a large number of secure tenants who have current rents considerably below target rent and also below the registered rent for the property due to the policy of restricting rent increases in line with TSA guidance. We only increase the rent once every two years when we re-apply to register the rent and restrict increases to RPI plus 0.5% plus £2.00.

    Do other organisations have a similar problem?

    I'm considering whether the solution is to give these tenants an annual rent increase in line with the TSA figures to try to decrease the rent gap. This way these tenants have a £2.00 increase every year in a similar way to assured tenants. Alternatively I have considered whether the additional rent increase should be £3.00 per week rather than £2.00, as over a two year period this amount would be equivalent to assured tenants receiving an annual uplift of £2.00.

    I would be extremely grateful to hear what other people do, or have comments on my interpretation of the rent regulations.

    15-02-10
    Posted by -

    Susan Thompson

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08270 - Storage of residents goods following eviction

    1. Reasonable amount of time for storing belongings?
    2. Policies and procedures relating to this as well as any check list (inventory)?
    3. Previous cases or highlighted areas where customers have complained regarding loss or damaged goods and the outcome of complaints including any legal cases?

    Thank you

    05-02-10
    Posted by -

    Sheila Jessett of First Wessex

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08269 - Visiting recovery officers

    What are your views on having a single visiting officer to represent a group of rent officers, rather than have the rent officers do there own visits?

    Does a post for an officer to just do important visits and serve notice documentation have a place in today's housing?

    Yours views are greatly appreciated.

    Regards

    05-02-10
    Posted by -

    Daniel Buckley of Herefordshire Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08268 - Nursing home - Former Tenant Arrears

    I am currently looking to review SARH collection of former tenant arrears when customers have moved into residential/nursing care.

    After Housing Benefit have paid up to the date the customer has been made permanent and they have received four weeks run on, what is your procedure to recover any remaining balance?

    Thank you in advance

    02-02-10
    Posted by -

    Keira Jones of Stafford and Rural Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08267 - FTA satisfaction survey

    I am looking to complete a satisfaction survey on the former tenant arrears recovery process.

    If anyone has completed a similar survey, could you supply me with a copy of the documentation used and any details relating the level of response and resulting outcomes?

    02-02-10
    Posted by -

    Paul Moffett of North Tyneside Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08266 - FTA incentive schemes

    I am hoping to introduce an incentive scheme with former tenant arrears. I would be grateful if anyone could supply me with details of any schemes which have proven to be successful in reducing levels of FTAs.

    02-02-10
    Posted by -

    Paul Moffett of North Tyneside Council

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08265 - Tenants contents schemes

    Wandsworth Council are conducting some research into Tenants (etc) Contents Schemes.

    I'd be very grateful if you could please let me know the following:

    1. Do you have such a scheme? If the answer is no, then the following questions won't apply, but if yes, please advise:

    2. Who is it with/arranged by? When did it start?

    3. How did you select/short list the preferred provider? Do you have more than one provider? Do you promote the scheme, or advise residents that they're still free to choose their own provider?

    4. What are the advantages of the scheme that make it a better deal for the resident, than the resident simply buying contents cover in the normal way?

    5. Have you encountered any resistance to the council recommending such a scheme (in that the council has no insurable interest in tenants' contents)? If so, how did you overcome it?

    6. Do you collect premiums (and if so, how)? If not, who does and how is it done?

    7. Do you have one single rate, or if not, how is the scheme rated?

    8. Do loss adjusters desk top handle the claims function?

    9. Do you have an excess or excesses? If so, what?

    10. Do you have separate schemes for tenants and leaseholders?

    11. Do you know what the take up rate on your scheme is?

    12. Are there any contractual arrangements between the council and the provider?

    13. Are the rates/terms reviewed periodically, and if so, how frequently?

    14. Is a common renewal date used for each policy?

    A report will need to be made by us to committee here and to meet that timescale, it would be most helpful if I could hear from you within the next 14 days please.

    Thanks very much for your time.

    29-01-10
    Posted by -

    Kevin Legg of Wandsworth Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08264 - FTA write off process

    I am reviewing our FTA write off process. One of the areas I'm looking at is the level of debt we can write off as uneconomic.
    Can three star organisations please confirm what amount they currently work to with this criteria?

    Thanks

    28-01-10
    Posted by -

    Paul Moffett of North Tyneside Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08263 - Text messaging

    At Greenfields we would like to introduce text messaging as a way of contacting tenants in arrears.

    Has anybody else introduced this? At what level are tenants contacted about arrears by text? What IT requirements have you used?

    Any help in this area would be appreciated.

    26-01-10
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08262 - Housing stats

    Dear all

    We are currently preparing a report to our board and we would like to know if any members have a link where we can get up-to-date information on: debt in the housing sector, number of notices served, suspended possession orders, evictions etc.

    Thanks Jane

    25-01-10

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There are no answers

  • MQ08261 - Leaseholders gas servicing

    We are currently reviewing our procedures of gas servicing for leaseholders.

    We currently have leaseholders who have not had a gas service in the past year and we are looking towards taking court action for an injunction to gain access. Has or does anyone take such action and if so are the court procedures the same as current tenancies?

    22-01-10

    Tina Clarke of North Lincolnshire Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08260 - Customer survey

    I want to survey tenants who are currently in arrears or have recently been in arrears to look at the service given.

    Has anybody got examples of income surveys? If so, how do you identify the tenants to issue to, eg, at NSP level or any level of arrears?

    I am also interested in setting up a customer focus group to have input into our service delivery - does anyone else run such a group?

    20-01-10
    Posted by -

    Tracie Lovelock of Greenfields Community Housing Association

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08259 - Weekly Direct Debits

    We are currently exploring the introduction of weekly Direct Debit as a payment method. We believe this will enable us to ensure that residents do not have to pay in arrears by this method.

    Have any other providers introduced this and what were the benefits and/or issues with this?

    13-01-10
    Posted by -

    Lee Steele of Orbit Heart of England

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08258 - Rent increase letters

    I am conducting a review of our standard letters and would appreciate any rent increase letters for either tenants or leaseholders that members are happy to share.

    Thanks in advance.

    12-01-10
    Posted by -

    Katherine O'Hare

    There are no answers

  • MQ08257 - Card payments

    I am working on putting together a procedural document that covers control and mitigation of risk for processing card payments. Does anyone have anything covering this that they would be happy to share?

    Thank you in advance.

    12-01-10
    Posted by -

    Katherine O'Hare

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08256 - Effectiveness of Ground 8 Notices

    We are currently reviewing the effectiveness of serving Ground 8 notices. I would like to know if you use Ground 8, if so, why, or why not, and how effective it is in comparison to serving notices of Grounds 10 and 11?

    08-01-10
    Posted by -

    Michael Day of Gallions Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08255 - Maintaining joined-up working

    As a RIEN Associate I am preparing briefings/seminars for RIEN on best practice in ensuring that organisations who operate specialist rents teams successfully mitigate the risk that staff in related housing management teams then lose focus on income maximisation/arrears prevention work.

    I have produced protocols aimed at mitigating this risk, which I am happy to share, through RIEN, but your day-to-day best practice is what we are looking for.

    Thank you all, in anticipation of receiving your ideas/successes.

    08-01-10
    Posted by -

    Tim O'Brien of HQN

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08254 - The use of credit cards for arrears payments

    We currently only take credit card payments to clear arrears in exceptional circumstances. Does anyone take credit cards as standard practice? If so what has been the benefits and/or pitfalls?

    06-01-10
    Posted by -

    Sheila Jessett of First Wessex

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08253 - Surveying residents

    We wish to seek feedback from our customers on what they think of our newly formed rents service - arrears, payment methods, rent review, letter content etc.

    Do any other organisations have a copy of a survey they use which they might be willing to share?

    Also, I wish to introduce some form of survey for all residents who have had arrears contact - for example, everyone who has had a NOSP in the previous year to determine if contact with us was easy, lead to a positive outcome etc.

    Would anyone be willing to share their practice/procedures and experiences?

    30-12-09

    Lee Steele of Orbit Heart of England

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08252 - Arrears reporting

    Do other HAs report their performance to board on a calendar monthly basis or on a four weekly basis?

    I currently do it calendar monthly but have to work it out taking into consideration that there are 28, 30 and 31 day months. By doing it four weekly I would have consistency... just wondered what others did?

    Thanks

    17-12-09
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08251 - Abolishing of rent free weeks

    Have any members experienced an improvement in the key rent arrears performance indicators that can be attributed to collecting rent over 52 weeks instead of 48 weeks or any other arrangement where there are charge free periods? One of our tenant members would like to know if collecting over 52 weeks is more affordable for our tenants?

    15-12-09
    Posted by -

    Phil Wyatt of Bristol City Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08250 - Former tenant arrears

    Have any members sold all or part of their former tenant debt to a third party collection agency?

    a) What was the level of debt?
    b) What was the income from the sale of debt?
    c) How did you choose which collection agency to sell the debt to?
    d) What was feed back from the debtors? Our housing management board did have some concerns with regards to former tenants being threatened by un-professional debt collecting agencies.

    15-12-09
    Posted by -

    Phil Wyatt of Bristol City Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08249 - Storage after eviction

    I've been tasked with reviewing our approach towards storage of tenant's belongings after an eviction has been carried out. Would any organisations be prepared to share their procedure on this?

    Many thanks

    10-12-09
    Posted by -

    Phil Gallagher of Gateshead Housing Company

    There are no answers

  • MQ08248 - Bankruptcy policy

    After successfully appealing a few cases to have rent arrears removed from a DRO as an 'allowable expense', we are looking to revise our whole approach to bankruptcy in general.

    Does anyone have any policies on the way in which their organisation deals with bankruptcy that they would be willing to share?

    Many thanks

    04-12-09
    Posted by -

    Sophie Bates of Freebridge Community Housing

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08247 - Housing Benefit changes

    One problem we have during rent reviews is not knowing what a residents new HB entitlement is. Currently local authorities send in a letter for every resident who is experiencing a change in their entitlement and I can safely say only a tiny fraction of these are added to the account. It is unrealistic with the volume of letters we receive.

    We currently send spreadsheets to all local authorities confirming the new rental amounts for each property, going forward we want to try to encourage local authorities to do the same in return. That way we can easily search a new entitlement. This will also massively benefit the local authority as it will limit the number of calls they receive from us and the number of letters they need to send.

    Has anyone ever discussed this with local authorities before?

    03-12-09
    Posted by -

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08246 - HB Service Level Agreement

    Has anyone a good, workable SLA they use with their HB service provider and are willing to share?

    Thanks in advance

    02-12-09
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08245 - Debt collection agencies

    Due to the relatively low number of former tenant arrears and sundry debtors we send for tracing and recovery, our DCA - Rossendales - have ended our arrangement on cost grounds.

    Which agencies do others use and how successful are they?

    Regards

    24-11-09
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are 7 answers

  • MQ08244 - External tracing

    I was wondering how far an ALMO should go when trying to trace people. At Sandwell Homes we currently carry out month internal checks for six months and then put forward for external tracing (which does not always prove successful). If cases are unsuccessful they are returned and recommended for write off. Are we doing the less, similar or more than other ALMOS?

    Thanks

    20-11-09
    Posted by -

    Esh Balley of Sandwell Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08243 - Analysis of FTAs

    I am currently doing an analysis of our FTA left when tenants decease. I have found that we are creating an uncollectible debt which will eventually be written off. Does any ALMO offer a grace period to enable the tenant's family to clear the property and/or deal with funeral arrangements? I understand that these tenancies are terminated once notice has been served to the public trust and this could take up to nine to ten weeks. Can anyone tell me if they do anything different?

    Thanks

    18-11-09
    Posted by -

    Esh Balley of Sandwell Homes

    There are 4 answers

  • MQ08242 - Rechargeable repairs

    Does anyone have a copy of their rechargeable repairs policy and procedure that they could share with me?

    Many thanks

    12-11-09
    Posted by -

    Rachel Newsam of High Peak Community Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08241 - Automated FTA management

    How do those who use Academy manage their FTA? We tend to use numerous and time-consuming spreadsheets as it seems as though Academy cannot adequately help us to monitor such accounts.

    06-11-09

    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08240 - Pre-tenancy visits

    We are putting together our Financial Inclusion Strategy and an area we are looking to improve on is doing pre-tenancy visits to help with budgeting, HB and all issues around being a tenant.

    Does any Council that has its own stock around the same size (10,500) have a policy on pre-tenancy and how did you link it in with your void targets as this seems to be our biggest challenge?

    Any help and advice would be most welcome

    06-11-09
    Posted by -

    Andy Kendall of Swindon Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08239 - Selling former tenant debt

    Has anyone considered selling their former tenant debt to another (debt collection) organisation? If considered but didn't pursue, why not? If decided to go ahead what percent did you get for the debt and would you do it again?

    Thanks for reading this and many thanks if responding!

    05-11-09
    Posted by -

    James Crayton of Guildford Borough Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08238 - Income management customer care strategy

    Have any RIEN members developed an income management customer care strategy?

    02-11-09
    Posted by -

    Hayley Woodcock of Bolton at Home

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08237 - Customer care strategy

    I would be interested to know what questions RIEN members have asked to collate statistics for their customer care strategy?

    02-11-09
    Posted by -

    Hayley Woodcock of Bolton at Home

    There are no answers

  • MQ08236 - Customer satisfaction surveys

    We are planning to send out customer satisfaction surveys (rents) prior to setting up a rent user group - has anybody else carried either of these out recently?

    30-10-09
    Posted by -

    Lesley Fisher of Golding Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08235 - FTA procedure

    Can anyone share with me the procedures they use when applying to court on a former tenant arrear? Do you send letters to the last known address and if so, how many letters do you send?

    Does anyone use invoices instead of letters?

    28-10-09
    Posted by -

    Jenny Cornwell of Broxbourne Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08234 - Surrender and lettings policy

    We are currently looking at how we deal with surrender and I would appreciate any policies or documents relating to this. In addition we are not running our own CBL but will be working with nine local authorities to join their scheme.

    Is anyone in the same situation and do you have a policy which reflects this?

    Your help would be appreciated.

    28-10-09
    Posted by -

    Jacqueline Nixon of Accord Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08233 - Bankruptcy clauses in tenancy agreement

    Do any members have a clause in their tenancy agreements which have the effect of making rent arrears a secured debt, enabling the landlord to continue with recovery action, including possession in the event of bankruptcy/insolvency?

    I am interested in seeing any examples.

    Thanks

    27-10-09
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08232 - Succession

    We have a few cases where a tenant has died and a succession application has been made. Whilst we are investigating, the arrears can build up and we are looking into setting up a 'use and occupation account' to assist in collecting the arrears. Does anyone employ this method and willing to share a policy/procedures or experiences?

    23-10-09

    Katherine O'Hare

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08231 - Current account and FTA credits

    We currently do not have a policy and procedure in place for refunding credits on current accounts and credits on former tenant accounts.

    We have a working practice in place but it is not recorded in any of our policies. I would be very grateful if anyone would send me copies of theirs.

    Many thanks

    23-10-09

    Chantelle Maddocks of Willow Park Housing Trust

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08230 - Direct debit

    I am interested in hearing from anyone using IBS to facilitate direct debit payments. Do you consider it to be reliable and manageable, do you think it worthwhile as a cost saving to use IBS as opposed to AllPay?

    Is there anyone making full use of AllPay for their direct debits and nothing else who would be willing to share their set up and payment costs?

    21-10-09
    Posted by -

    Susan Howes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08229 - Arrears letters

    Hi

    I've recently re-drafted our whole suite of arrears letters and now need to benchmark them against other organisations.

    Are there any members that would like to assist me with this please?

    Thanks

    19-10-09
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08228 - Re-launching the service

    Hi

    I'm looking at completely re-launching our income management service to both internal and external customers and was wondering if other members had gone down this route?

    If you have, would members be kind enough to share with me what they produced?

    Thanks

    19-10-09
    Posted by -

    Alan Fletcher of Muir Group HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08227 - Salary benchmarking (Rents Operations Manager)

    We have recently restructured our services and set up a specialist income team.

    I would be interested to know what salary level other associations have pitched the manager position at.

    To put it into context, the manager looks after around 13,000 general needs tenancies and 2,000 garages. The post manages nine account officers and three income assistants all working on current arrears recovery, with some other minor elements of income administration. The role is a mixture of operational and some strategic work.

    16-10-09
    Posted by -

    Lee Steele of Orbit Heart of England

    There are no answers

  • MQ08226 - Former Tenant Arrears team success comparison

    In order to measure our effectiveness as a former tenant arrears team I am trying to collate some data from other Housing Associations. I am interested to hear from FTA teams and would like the following information please:

    - Number of staff members per 1,000 properties
    - Revenue collected per member of staff.

    These figures should come from 2008/2009 statistics please.

    I would appreciate your help with this and will be happy to share my findings.

    16-10-09

    Debbie Burtenshaw of Yorkshire Housing Ltd

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08225 - Have your rent arrears increased?

    Our rent arrears figure has increased dramatically as a result of the recession. Has anybody else seen a significant rise in the arrears owing, and if so by how much?

    14-10-09

    Victoria Caney of Redditch Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08224 - At what level of debt do you consider court action?

    We have recently been notified of a substantial increase in court costs for the recovery of sundry debts and former tenants arrears. We currently don't consider referring any case to court under £200. As costs have increased we no longer feel it's cost effective to pursue at this level.

    I would be interested in finding out at what level of debt do other organisations take court action?

    14-10-09

    Judy Braithwaite of Redditch Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08223 - Bad debt policy

    We are looking to introduce a bad debt policy and I would be interested to find out under what circumstances that anyone would write off current tenant arrears?

    13-10-09

    Katherine O'Hare

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08222 - Court costs

    We have an example of a resident paying all the arrears on a court order but not the costs and despite continued telephone calls and visits has not paid anything. After the outright order was given all the arrears were in fact cleared in full by HB.

    What would other members do in cases like this? We are now considering writing off the costs.

    12-10-09

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08221 - Costing arrears actions

    Has anyone calculated the cost of their arrears actions such as home visits, telephone calls and sending letters to see which is more cost effective?

    If you have any findings or tips on how to carry out such an exercise would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    05-10-09

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08220 - Financial inclusion in Scotland

    I am interested in receiving details of any social landlord and partner initiatives in Scotland which have had a marked success in addressing financial exclusion.

    Thanks

    Tony

    01-10-09

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08219 - SMS messaging

    Lewisham Homes is about to launch SMS messaging and incorporate this service into its rent arrears procedures as a form of contact, along with traditional methods (letters telephone, etc) of contacting tenants about outstanding arrears.

    We would be interested in speaking to other social housing providers who have done the same particularly where a tenant requests to opt out of receiving messages by text.

    Can an organisation ignore such requests where it intends to send SMS messages specifically about outstanding rent, an imminent court case or cancelled Housing Benefit?

    28-09-09
    Posted by -

    Violet Amedee of Lewisham Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08218 - Rent arrears early support project with CAB

    We currently have a protocol in place with CAB, where we refer cases that are in rent arrears but have not yet had a notice of seeking possession served upon them. Unfortunately we have a high rate of no shows. We have looked at various options of paying CAB for this service, eg, by case, lump sum pa.

    I would be interested to hear from anyone who works closely with CAB. Do you find it VFM etc? Do you fund a caseworker?

    24-09-09

    Heather Leary of Wolverhampton Homes

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08217 - Weekly Housing Benefit Payments

    Can any traditional RSL tell me if they receive weekly Housing Benefit payments from local authorities? If so can you tell me which local authority is paying weekly?

    Thank you

    23-09-09
    Posted by -

    Diana Greenwell of Nottingham Community HA

    There are no answers

  • MQ08216 - Filling in Housing Benefit forms

    In the past I have been on several training courses about HB and housing law that have advised we should never get involved in helping fill out HB forms, because if there is fraud in the future we could be held liable.

    Any comments on this please?

    22-09-09
    Posted by -

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08215 - Team leader to income staff ratios

    We are currently looking at our management structure. Please can other members advise how many income staff team leaders manage?

    Thanks

    14-09-09
    Posted by -

    Stephen Jackson of Harvest Housing Group

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08214 - Direct debit incentives

    I would be interested to hear from any one who offers direct debit incentives, what the incentive is and what your success rate has been.

    14-09-09
    Posted by -

    Suzanne Smith of Broadacres Housing Association

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08213 - Targeting arrears before Christmas

    In the current difficult financial climate we are intending to target all tenants in arrears prior to Christmas with a one off letter/card highlighting rent as tenant's priority debt. We want to make it eye catching and not just another letter that ends in the recycling bin, so does anyone have an example of letters/cards that they have used at this particular time that they would be willing to share?

    09-09-09
    Posted by -

    RIEN member of RIEN

    There are 5 answers

  • MQ08212 - Direct debits

    At East Riding we are looking at introducing direct debits as a payment method for housing rent. We are interested to here from those who use the Academy Housing System.

    We have the following questions:

    1. What the pitfalls are, any lessons learned as a result of this?
    2. Have you used paper DD mandates or are they processed over the telephone or both?
    3. What payment cycles do you offer with DD's - weekly, fortnightly, monthly and how this fits in with your recovery timetable?
    4. Do you offer direct debit as a payment option for those customers in receipt of partial benefit?
    5. Do you use EIGER and are you restricted to using this?

    02-09-09
    Posted by -

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08211 - Preventative action before commencement of tenancy

    I am trying to write a business case to get arrangement to pilot a new post which will look at preventing arrears and sustaining tenancies. The role will involve: comprehensive sign up process, which includes an affordability criteria, low level debt management advice and advance payments at sign up.

    Does anyone have any best practices or work they complete before sign up/at sign up which would support the introduction of this new post?

    01-09-09
    Posted by -

    Tina Mercer of Gallions Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08210 - Resident involvement

    I am interested in hearing about any innovative ideas for resident involvement in income management service development.

    Particularly any successes at getting younger residents involved.

    Thanks,
    Tony

    28-08-09
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08209 - Employment and support allowance and DSS direct payments

    This is a two part question really, first of all can anyone tell me if they have been successful in claiming direct payments from this new allowance, and secondly what do you do with old court orders that have the minimum payment in line with DSS direct? For example, say a court order made a few years ago with minimum payments of £2.85, do you go back to court to get them increased or just let them continue?

    20-08-09
    Posted by -

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There are no answers

  • MQ08208 - Tenancy management performance indicators

    I am trying to establish a suite of tenancy management performance indicators examples:

    - All changes of tenancy, ie, succession assignment, etc
    - Tenancy checks
    - Early tenancy visits
    - Domestic violence reports
    - Illegal occupants
    - Squatters
    - Probationary tenancies
    - Tenancy complaints
    - Management transfers
    - Estate inspections

    There doesn't seem to be anything out there. I wondered if you could point me in the right direction?

    19-08-09
    Posted by -

    There are no answers

  • MQ08207 - Rent statements

    Weaver Vale Housing Trust is currently reviewing it's housing management system. As we are doing this, all procedures, letters, etc, are being reviewed.

    The Trust is now looking at revising the rent statements which are sent out quarterly. Please would it be possible for other organisations to forward on any statements which show how they highlight HB (eligible and non-eligible), any sub-account statements, services charges and how they are listed and worded.

    We would also like to see whether covering letters are attached or is everything included in the statement?

    18-08-09
    Posted by -

    Debbie Smith of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08206 - The housing arrears pre-action scheme

    I understand that there has been a pilot in Norwich running for a year or so.

    Tenants are called to a court pre-hearing to discuss their arrears. I'm trying to find out more detail but can't seem to find anything. Does anybody know?

    14-08-09
    Posted by -

    Julie Dennis of London Borough of Greenwich

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08205 - Incentives for tenants to keep to agreements to pay

    How do other HAs manage incentives to encourage tenants to stick to arrangements to pay their rent and arrears? How much money do you offer and how long does an agreement need to be adhered to before the incentive is used?

    13-08-09
    Posted by -

    Cath Johnson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08204 - Recharges and leaseholder statistics

    Please can anyone share the methodology they use for calculating performance on (1) recharge collection, (2) leaseholder service charge collection and (3) leaseholder capital works collection?

    Do you produce monthly or quarterly stats? Do you include carry forward arrears and credits in your figures? With recharges - do you include recharges to contactors as well as residents in your figures? Any pointers would be appreciated.

    12-08-09
    Posted by -

    Robert Chedzoy of Poole Housing Partnership

    There are no answers

  • MQ08203 - Effective case management

    Has anyone an effective method of auditing arrears cases with staff on a one-to-one basis, to ensure compliance with arrears procedure and good practice?

    Have you any sample proformas that you use in the process?

    10-08-09
    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08202 - Arrears arrangement consistency

    What specific tools or guidelines do other RIEN members follow when setting re-payment arrangements with tenants?

    Do any use a 'ready reckoner' and if not how do they measure and ensure consistency when setting arrangements with tenants in arrears?

    05-08-09
    Posted by -

    Damian Gibson of Lewisham Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08201 - Shared ownership arrears

    This question is about the case of Richardson v Midland Heart in which the court held that a shared ownership lease is an assured tenancy (rather than a long leasehold interest) and can be terminated using Ground 8 Housing Act 1988. I understand that the case is being appealed to the Court of Appeal and I wonder if members (particularly in-house lawyers) have any views on strategy for dealing with current cases where arrears are piling up and action is needed?

    03-08-09
    Posted by -

    Paul Burton of Chester and District Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08200 - Service standards

    Do any RIEN members have SMART service standards for their income management service, which have been developed with residents?

    If so, we would be interested to see them and perhaps share across the network.

    Thanks

    31-07-09
    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08199 - Managing static debts

    Does anyone have a strategy/procedure for managing current low level static debts? Preferably one that does not include writing them off.

    Many thanks

    29-07-09
    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08198 - What other local PI indicators do you use?

    What other PI local indicators do you use to assess the effectiveness of your service?

    25-07-09
    Posted by -

    Suneeta Lakhenpaul of Hounslow Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08197 - 24/7 telephone payments

    We are having to switch from our current provider and were wondering who else apart from Allpay can provide this service?

    24-07-09
    Posted by -

    RIEN member of RIEN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08196 - New computer system

    Weaver Vale Housing Trust is planning to introduce a new computer system next year. Can other organisations let me know what impact a new system had on their rent arrears figures in the short and long term and on the arrears recovery process?

    23-07-09
    Posted by -

    Cath Johnson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08195 - Rent reminder cards

    The Trust wants to introduce rent reminder cards as an addition to letters and other methods of contact. Do any other organisations use them and if so what information do they contain and how effective have they been?

    22-07-09
    Posted by -

    Cath Johnson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08194 - Shared ownership arrears

    We are reviewing our procedures for dealing with shared ownership arrears. There has been a case reported recently Richardson v Midland Heart where Ground 8 was used to recover arrears.

    Do other HAs use different grounds under schedule 2 of the 1988 HA to recover arrears from shared owners?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Stephen Jackson of Harvest Housing Group

    There are no answers

  • MQ08193 - Debt/welfare benefits advisor

    Please can I request the following information from other members:

    · Do you employ a debt/welfare benefits advisor(s) within your organisation?

    · If so, how many compared to your stock size/geographical area?

    · How many rent recovery officers do you employ (specialist or generic)?

    · How do you signpost cases for the debt/welfare benefits officer?

    · Does your organisation have a cost analysis on the benefit of this post?

    · Do you have any statistics on the impact on your rent arrears?

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    RIEN member of RIEN

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08192 - Recovery of rechargeable repairs

    We are currently setting up our rechargeable repairs policy. Most organisations would appear to either use a debt collection service or write off debts if unable to gain a response after letters, etc. Has anyone used a legal process to chase up payments in court and if so, has it been found to be cost effective. Any advice would be appreciated.

    Posted by -

    Elaine Dixon of Derwentside Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08191 - Bankruptcy

    Hi

    Has anyone obtained advice on or actually incorporated into their conditions of tenancy, a clause that prohibits the inclusion of tenancy related debt in bankruptcy applications?

    What has got me thinking about this is the mention in the Shelter/CIH 'Guide to Housing Benefit and Council Tax Benefit' that local authorities can treat recovered HB overpayments as rent arrears when 'the tenancy agreement expressly allows for recovered overpayments of HB to be charged as additional rent'.

    Posted by -

    James Crayton of Guildford Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08190 - Former tenant arrears recovery

    Which organisations offer a discount on lump sum payments as an incentive for recovering former tenant arrears?

    Also how affective is this?

    Posted by -

    Reena Visram of Kensington & Chelsea TMO

    There are no answers

  • MQ08189 - HB payment post transfer

    Can anyone answer what is probably an easy question please?

    Post stock transfer tenants have the choice of who their rent is paid to, themselves or their landlord. Has this created any issues for stock transfer organisations, or are there any ways of working around this?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Mark Leith of Bolton at Home

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08188 - Credit reference agencies

    I am interested to learn whether any HA's are using credit reference agencies for any of the following: tracing, credit checks on new applicants, market intelligence, prevention of fraud.

    I am also interested in seeing any supporting evidence concerning compliance with the DPA 1988 and in particular whether anyone carries out searches under Section 29 of the act.

    Posted by -

    Jackie Uden of Gallions Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08187 - Rent reduction

    Wolverhampton Homes is interested to find out how other organisation have actioned/or are thinking about actioning the rent decrease.

    Some of the issues we are considering are:

    - Who will get the decrease
    - How benefit over payments will be dealt with
    - Will we attempt to pay back all former tenants
    - Is there a cut off below which we will not seek to find former tenants to pay them back
    - Likely timescales for making the refunds, whether it will be by cheque or a credit on the account
    - The starting point for the April 2010 rent rise

    Any views regarding the above would be greatly appreciated.

    Posted by -

    Anne Healy of Wolverhampton Homes

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08186 - Contents insurance

    Do any RSL's collect home contents insurance payments with the rent? If you do what happens if there are arrears?

    Posted by -

    Peter Cowley of Nottingham Community HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08185 - Guidance on HB toolkit for social housing providers

    I am after some guidance and advice following reading your HB toolkit for social housing providers. We are in a slightly different situation that our HB service is run by private sector contractors and has been for about ten years now, but it has never really worked very well. At the moment we have a three way SLA between the housing department, the council's client team and the contractor, which is extremely difficult to manage. I have for a long time felt that our SLA should be with our client team only as they are the ones managing the contractors and only they can tell them what to do and have the overall responsibility of providing the service. A SLA with the contractor is to me not worth the paper it is written on as we don't even know what they are contracted to do? Do you have any other subscribers with a similar set up or can someone give me their thoughts and ideas as to how we can manage this? For your information we recently received a zero star rating for our HB service from the Audit Commission.

    Any help and advice you could give would be welcome, or any other councils you know of who have a similar set up we could talk to.

    Thanks for you help.

    Posted by -

    Andy Kendall of Swindon Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08184 - Introductory or assured shorthold tenancies

    Please can you send me policies and operating procedures for assured shorthold tenancies (or introductory/probationary that are AST).

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08183 - Team structure

    I am looking to review our income services team structure and I would like some examples of other income team structures. We are a specialist team with a stock of approx 5,400 in a rural location. I would welcome all response.

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    Natalie Thelwell of Herefordshire Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08182 - Debt relief orders

    I am interested to hear of members' experience of debt relief orders (DROs).

    They were launched in April 2009 and I would like to know what impact they have had on your organisation and residents.

    Any responses will be greatly appreciated.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08181 - Financial inclusion roles

    Where does the lead for financial inclusion sit within your organisation Income management, community development? Somewhere else?

    I am trying to build a clearer picture of the response to financial exclusion from social landlords and this will be helpful to me and to members.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are 8 answers

  • MQ08180 - Rechargeable repairs

    I am reviewing our policy on rechargeable repairs. I want to establish if most organisations have a policy and if its worth it. I would be interested in any comments you can make on the benefits or not in this area of work.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    RIEN member of RIEN

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08179 - Job title

    We are looking to recruit a person that would be able to give welfare benefits and debt advice for residents and need an appropriate job title.

    Has anyone looked to recruit to such a position recently and what title did you use?

    I look forward to your replies.

    Posted by -

    Patricia Clarke of Accord Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08178 - Arrears recovery service and VfM

    Has anyone carried out a VfM exercise on their arrears recovery service/income management which they are willing to share?

    I'd be interested to learn about the methods used, findings and resultant efficiencies gained.

    Thanks in advance for any assistance.

    Posted by -

    Tim Waugh of Yorkshire Coast Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08177 - Rent free weeks following death of a tenant?

    As a specialised team dealing with both current and former rent arrears, we are constantly coming across the issue of arrears accruing following the death of a tenant. We can appreciate this is a difficult time for the family, and wondered if any organisations offer a rent free period at this time to allow for the property to be cleared - thus reducing accrued arrears and improving on any void issues? Your comments would be appreciated - in particular with regards to how you may have noticed a reduction in FTAs or void periods?

    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08176 - Private sector leasing schemes

    Wolverhampton Homes is launching a private sector leasing scheme and acquiring properties from private landlords on a five-year lease and subsequently letting to people from its housing register eventually through Choice Based Lettings at Local Housing Allowance (LHA) rates. Therefore the occupier will be the tenant and Wolverhampton Homes will be the landlord.

    Has anyone developed or operated such a scheme and of those that have whether you have been able to receive LHA direct from your housing benefit provider?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Mark Henderson of Wolverhampton Homes

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08175 - Life span of section 21 notices

    We have some assured shorthold tenancies and we serve section 21 notices.

    Does anyone know if these notices have a life span (like assured notices that expire after one year)?

    Posted by -

    Jane Kemp of Southern Housing Group

    There are no answers

  • MQ08174 - Direct Debit incentives

    Please can any other organisations advise what, if any, incentive is offered for paying via Direct Debit.

    If an incentive is offered what is it and how is the effectiveness measured.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Stephen Jackson of Harvest Housing Group

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08173 - Debt collection agencies

    I am reviewing how we use DCAs and wondered if anyone could recommend DCAs that have achieved good recovery in relation to FTA and recharge debts?

    Posted by -

    Alex Hasson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There are no answers

  • MQ08172 - Profiling arrears cases

    I was wondering whether anyone has any examples, or can point me in the direction of any authority that has done any work on profiling arrears cases and in turn where this has had an improvement on cash collection?

    I look forward to hearing from you.

    Posted by -

    William Carter of FCH Housing & Care

    There are no answers

  • MQ08171 - Eviction ratios

    I would like to know if any RIEN members record ratios for evictions, ie, how many evictions do they carry out per residents for example 1:300.

    I would like this information to include in an eviction review report to see how our organisation fares against others in this area.

    Posted by -

    Dan Smith of Sovereign Housing Group Ltd

    There are 6 answers

  • MQ08170 - Profiling tenants

    NCHA is currently profiling our current tenants where we have taken possession or eviction action. We are doing this to ascertain if there are particular groups of people who are at most risk of losing their tenancies.

    Has anyone used profiling or census information in this way? If so, what criteria are you using, eg, family types, income types, age, ethnic origin, etc. Are there any other categories you use?

    Also how are you using this information to tailor your procedures?

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Diana Greenwell of Nottingham Community HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08169 - Adding ASB to rent order

    We are looking at a trial case of adding ASB to a current rent SPO. Please email if you can help.

    Posted by -

    Jane Crookes of North Lincolnshire Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08168 - Payment cards for major works, recharges, etc?

    We currently offer few payment methods for our sundry accounts - for major works, rechargeable repairs and ground rent.

    We are considering introducing payment cards, which we currently issue only for residential rent/service charge and garage tenancies.

    Can anyone please let me know your organisations' answers to the two queries below:

    - Have you issued payment cards for any of these account types?

    - If you have, do you know whether the cards are well-used?

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    Pete Maris

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08167 - Shared owners - repossession

    Has anyone developed a policy or procedure they would be willing to share in respect of action available when a shared owner is subject to repossession action by their mortgage lender?

    Posted by -

    Sally Hind of Rosebery Housing Association

    There are no answers

  • MQ08166 - Fast track arrears procedure

    We are looking at introducing a fast track arrears procedure to use in special circumstances. Does anyone have any examples of this type of procedure?

    Posted by -

    Cath Johnson of Weaver Vale Housing Trust

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08165 - Benefits of debt advice in your organisation

    I am completing a project on the benefits of the in-house debt advisors within our organisation - and would appreciate any comments, reports or information you may have gathered with regards to your own debt advisors.

    Do you complete satisfaction surveys and do you have any results?

    Your comments would be appreciated.

    Posted by -

    Sara Brabin of Blackpool Coastal Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08164 - Rent increase review

    I am conducting a rent increase review (mainly on the correspondence we send to customers). Are there any examples of good practice I could use, I am new to this so maybe I have missed something on the site!

    Thanks

    Kathryn

    Posted by -

    kathryn bradbury of Stafford and Rural Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08163 - Area housing manager

    We are looking to introduce a home contents insurance scheme for our tenants. Does anyone have examples of such a scheme that they run and type of specification they use? Any information on this would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Les James of Carmarthenshire County Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08162 - Joint protocols with social care and health

    Have any organisations introduced formal protocols for joint working between housing, social care and health?

    We would be interested to see any examples with a view to sharing with members.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Tony Newman of HQN

    There are no answers

  • MQ08161 - Arrears targets due to recession

    I was wondering whether you had to adjust your arrears targets to accommodate the likely increase of arrears due to the recession.

    We have recently starting to see an increase in our rent arrears, but I am finding it really difficult to provide quantifiable evidence to provide to our board.

    Your views or approach will be greatly appreciated.

    Posted by -

    Laurence Khellas of East Thames Group

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08160 - Individual targets for welfare benefits officer

    Does anyone have any examples of individual performance measures/targets they have set their welfare benefits officer that they would be willing to share?

    If so, can they email them to me?

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    Tina Mercer of Gallions Housing Association

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08159 - Financial inclusion survey

    I would be pleased to hear from anyone with experiences (good or bad) of the use and effectiveness of surveys concerning financial inclusion issues.

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    James Crayton of Guildford Borough Council

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08158 - Possession cases for Housing Benefit fraud

    Has anyone successfully sought possession in cases of criminal conviction for Housing Benefit fraud?

    Posted by -

    Elizabeth Willington of Valleys to Coast Housing

    There are no answers

  • MQ08157 - Tenant contents insurance scheme

    If you operate a tenant contents insurance scheme can you please answer the following questions?

    1) Is the premium collected with rent?
    2) What is the percentage take up?
    3) Is scheme also offered to leaseholders?

    Best regards

    Posted by -

    Kevin Legg of Wandsworth Borough Council

    There are 5 answers

  • MQ08156 - Eviction information leaflets

    I am looking at introducing an eviction information leaflet to give to our residents when they are facing eviction. Does anyone do this and if so, at what point in the proceedings do you give this out and do you have a copy I could have a look at please?

    Many thanks

    Posted by -

    Sue Jeffery of Twynham Housing Association

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08155 - Small claims for current arrears

    Has anyone got a procedure, standard letter etc? We are going to trial a few cases using claims online. Just thinking about the practical problems of, do the arrears stay on the rent account, what costs should be charged, etc.

    Posted by -

    Peter Cowley of Nottingham Community HA

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08154 - Call centre dealing with early arrears

    Do you have a call centre who are accountable for early arrears up to a certain level? Ie, manage early arrears up to £500? If you do I would be interested in visiting you to ascertain how you manage this. We have a call centre but they only handle incoming calls and deal with enquiries on arrears calls received up to £500 - they do not manage patches.

    Posted by -

    Suneeta Lakhenpaul of Hounslow Homes

    There are no answers

  • MQ08153 - Rent visit reports

    We are in the process of amending our visits report for rent and I would be grateful for any examples used by other organisations.

    I would be grateful if you could email me if you can help.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    G Ahmed of Luton Borough Council

    There are no answers

  • MQ08152 - Postponed possessions

    We have recently been refused a request for a postponed possession date by our local court on the basis that our application notice letter didn't comply with practice direction 55, paragraph 10 of the civil procedure rules. The main reasons were that although the letter gave a date 14 days in the future, the judge wasn't happy that by the time they received the letter they would have less than 14 days to respond. We feel he was being excessively picky as we have used the letter for over two years now and the letter we use was one that was suggested by RIEN when the new rules came out in 2006.

    Does anyone have any thoughts or examples of application notice letters that we could use to get round this please?

    Posted by -

    Andy Kendall of Swindon Borough Council

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08151 - Performance management

    I am looking at how I can accurately set individual cash performance targets.
    System: Northgate (no task manager module as of yet).

    Team structure: debt recovery officer (no visits), debt recovery officer (visits).

    Operational: both debt recovery officer job roles send out letters, make phone calls, conduct tracing with specific officers conducting visits.

    The team currently concentrate their efforts city wide and do not work in patches. (Feel I would have to make all officers the same JD [visiting] for that to work).

    Workload; former tenant arrears, service charge arrears and major works arrears

    Does any organisation currently set individual team member targets?

    Posted by -

    Neil Emery of Your Homes Newcastle

    There are 3 answers

  • MQ08141 - Margaret Beckett help for rent increases

    Hi all

    We understand that Margaret Beckett the Housing Minster has announced help for local authorities to allow them to limit rent increases for the forthcoming financial year.

    Is anybody aware that this help will also be extended to housing associations?

    We have just set our rent increases so early replies would be appreciated.

    Thanks

    Posted by -

    Christopher Burgess

    There is 1 answer

  • MQ08137 - Debt relief orders

    Hi all

    I understand in April 2009, the government are rolling out new debt relief orders. These are designed as an alternative to personal bankruptcy orders. They are specifically for debtors on low incomes with debts below £15,000 with few assets.

    The CAB are keen on their introduction as a good number of their clients fall into this category.

    Accordingly if rent arrears are to be included in the these orders it could pose a potential threat to rent arrears.

    Has anybody got any further information or done any early preparation work?

    Posted by -

    Christopher Burgess

    There are 2 answers

  • MQ08132 - Leasehold arrears

    Hi

    I am currently reviewing how we calculate our leasehold arrears and whether we should be excluding any categories of debt (eg, repossessions, residents who are bankrupt) to ensure we are reporting a true position on the debt.

    Could members please advise if they exclude portions of the debt from their reporting as uncollectable?

    Posted by -

    There are no answers

  • MQ08125 - Service charges for individual disabled adaptations

    I am currently reviewing income recovery on service charge expenditure. Does anyone recover the costs of servicing and/or insuring and/or repairing of stairlifts from an individual tenant where a disabled adaptation has taken place in there home?

    The NHF guide to service charges for housing associations clearly states these are acceptable service charge items however I would like to know the stand other organisations have taken.

    Many thanks

    Susan Thompson

    There are no answers

  • MQ08122 - Payment outlet leaflet

    Hi all

    We at the Plus Dane Group Housing Association, are considering displaying flyer leaflets in selected payment outlets advertising the fact that rent can be paid at that point and a selection of others in the surrounding area.

    Has anybody in the group had any experience of this or anything simliar, if so I would be very grateful if you could forward any relevant paperwork or leaflets to help.

    Chris Burgess

    Christopher Burgess

    There are no answers

  • MQ08092 - Complaints P&P

    We are in the process of reviewing our complaints policy & procedure. I would be interested to learn how members manage their complaints process.

    Would members be happy to share a copy of their complaints policy & procedure?

    Maria Crompton

    There are no answers

  • MQ08080 - Impact Assessments

    Hello

    I am interested in hearing from organisations who may have carried out impact assessments which relate generally to their income management strategies (not just in relation to diversity issues)

    Many thanks

    Joanne McCabe

    There are no answers

  • MQ08078 - Rechargeable Repairs

    Contour Housing Group Limited has recently agreed to the introduction of a Rechargeable Repairs Policy (for current and former tenants).

    Initially, I have six weeks (from now) to formulate some proposals with a view to producing a procedure (including relevant reporting/monitoring features), with my proposed procedure to follow within a further six weeks - by mid September.

    Any information or assistance members may be able to share, particular regarding the topics listed below, will be greatly appreciated :

    - Overcoming the problem of VAT at billing stage

    - Billing format (for current and former tenants)

    - Recovery/means of enforcement for R/R debts

    - Information or articles to tenants (eg, leaflets, newsletter articles, incentive schemes, etc).

    Thank you

    Brian O'Gorman

    There are no answers

  • MQ08026 - Assured Shorthold Tenancies

    I would like to know what other organisations do about Assured Shorthold Tenancies that are out of 12 month timescale. At Harvest we don't use S21 for rent arrears, we use the normal possession route.

    We are currently reviewing a number of ASTs that are out of time. Those that have Court Orders are currently not being converted to Assured Tenancies, we are leaving them to run as periodic assured shortholds so that we don't lose the court order.

    I would like to know how other organisations deal with AST's with court
    orders. Do they convert them or let then run as periodic and if they let them run as periodic AST, how long do they leave them for?

    Thanks Paul

    Paul Warburton

    There are no answers

  • MQ08025 - Disability Discrimination Act

    We are in the process of reviewing our income management policy with reference to the Disabilty Discrimination Act. I would be grateful if anyone is willing to share any guidance notes, checklists or polices which staff consider in terms of arrears recovery and the impact of the DDA.
    Thank you

    Joanne McCabe

    There are no answers