Although we take a firm approach to residents who are persistent non payers, for those who are legitimately in financial hardship, and who co-operate fully with our arrears team, we will offer a reasonable repayment plan.
We understand that various welfare reforms have had a severe impact on many of our residents. Should you fall into hardship we will work with you to ensure that you receive the appropriate advice and support to avoid getting into debt and work with Local Authorities data to make sure we maintain our records as accurate and up to date as possible.
We take a firm and robust approach on rent collection and arrears recovery. If you fall into arrears, we will progress you through the arrears procedure quickly to ensure that, where possible, the debt arising is dealt with as quickly as possible. Our view, which is mirrored in our procedures, is that early intervention will give you the best chance possible of making arrangements to repay the amount outstanding before it escalates into a problem debt. This will ensure your tenancy is sustainable in the longer term.
If you are having any difficulty in paying your rent, please make sure you contact us as soon as possible and ask to speak to a member of our Arrears team. If you clear your arrears or keep to your agreed payments we will take no further action.
Our arrears team is divided into three sections:
- Early Intervention
- Arrears Recovery
- Enforcement
This structure enables arrears cases to be moved consistently and quickly though the recovery process. This process is as follows:
Our Revenues team will try to establish and maintain a relationship with tenants in arrears, providing sound advice at every stage. We use a system of both personal touch and automated contact to ensure:
- we use our existing resources as effectively as possible
- contact is attempted to all those requiring it which continues regardless of staff resources available, through the automated contact system.
We ensure that all our staff are fully and appropriately trained and have the right level of knowledge to ensure that you receive the most appropriate advice.
If you face money problems and struggle to pay your rent, you can talk to our Money Wise team. They can help you with the following:
- Advising you on welfare benefits or Housing Benefits you may be entitled to and help you apply for these benefits.
- Putting you in touch with other agencies that can offer support such as Citizens advice Bureau or Welfare Rights.
- Setting up a voluntary arrangement for tenants to pay regular amounts off their arrears.
They can also help tenants with:
- Negotiating with companies they owe money to in order to agree repayment plans.
- Provide advice on obtaining a bank account.
- Provide money advice and the best way of paying bills.
- General advice on financial inclusion
All discussions about financial circumstances will be dealt with in confidence and we will seek the tenant’s consent before sharing any information. There are some circumstances where we are obliged to share information with a third party due to legal requirements.
