Agenda item

The Director of Housing submits a report to inform Members of the Scrutiny Commission of progress over the first quarter from 2^nd July 2018 to 30^th September 2018. Members are asked to note the report.

The Director of Housing submitted a report which informed Members of the Scrutiny Commission of progress over the first quarter from 2^nd July to 30^th September 2018. Members were asked to note the report.

Zenab Valli, Income Collection Manager, presented the report, and the following points were made:

·         Rent collection was at 98.89%.

·         Evictions were a last resort after attempts to save a tenancy were not successful. During the quarter there were 10 evictions for non-payment of rent: eight single people and two families.

·         There were 735 new claims for Universal Credit (UC), of which 465 tenants were already in rent arrears before claiming UC. Average arrears were £269 for UC claimants.

·         Partnership working with DWP was working well and the Council had been granted ‘Trusted Partner’ status, which gave access to the DWP’s Landlord Portal IT system and helped prevent delays in UC claims being assessed. Alternative Payment Arrangements (APAs) direct to landlords could also be applied for, but this was not an arrangement agreed for all tenants.

·         The pilot which had seen Income Management Team officers co-located in three Job Centre Plus sites was successful and would be extended for a further three months.

·         Four new Rent Management Advisers had been recruited and offered specialist support. Thirty five council tenants were in receipt of long term support.

The Income Collection Manager responded to questions raised by Members:

·         There was an initial spike in rent arrears during start-up of UC claims. With APAs in place, arrears were stabilising. Other Housing Associations and Councils were reporting a similar turnaround as tenants got used to being on the new benefit.

·         If all information was provided in a timely manner, the first payment would usually take five weeks. There were various reasons for a delay of the first payment to reach an account: there were claimants who did not attend their claimant interview, or information was missing. When an application was made for a managed payment, the initial request was made through the portal and could take up to a couple of months to arrive. Concerns had been raised with the DWP who were working to change the process and have it more as a bank transfer.

·         The Income Management Team continued to heavily promote Direct Debits. There were associated charges with DD if account-holders became overdrawn, and a lot of tenants preferred to pay by cash or standing order. It was hoped that a further two dates in the month on top of the current two dates would be introduced to collect payments from accounts.

·         There was a renewed focus around Clockwise accounts, and rent advisers were now trained to set up accounts. Start-up had been slow, but advisers would continue to push for the accounts to be established.

·         There were no cash payments in any of the offices, but Paypoint facilities were available. Cash payments could be made at Customer Services.

·         7,053 tenants in rent arrears were not in receipt of UC. Tenants could be in receipt of other types of benefit and not entitled to claim UC as it was restricted to two children or less and not fully rolled out. Also, some people paid full rent. When speaking to tenants, income details were established to find out if families were entitled to additional benefits. Tenants would also be directed and agencies and welfare rights and advised of appeals processes.

·         Tenants could have been in arrears for a period of time where debt had built up, a court order was in place, and repayments were low and would take a long time for the arrears to be paid. For UC, APAs could be paid directly to a landlord, payments could be split between tenants, or payment could be made more frequently until a tenant learnt how to budget. The Council tried to support tenants with different payment arrangements.

·         On the Council’s website there was information and advice on welfare rights (help with appeals, etc.) STAR, community advice and law service, and other agencies in the city. There were also benefits around immigration, and people were referred to other agencies for more specialist support.

·         People applying for UC were given assistance in the Customer Service Centre. Rent Management Advisers could educate tenants to manage their online claim, and there were online digital courses around the city, for example, in libraries. The STAR team also offered support.

·         Where people were already in arrears and there were delays in UC payments this made the situation worse -this reflected a national picture. There were some ways to mitigate the situation, including APAs to pay back arrears, and support by other means.

·         Officers based at job centres had been offering advice as a pilot for the past three to four months. They would try to see council tenants for the claimant interview to offer further advice and support. The number of people seen depended on the number of referrals. The Income Management Team when on site also tried to attend DWP team meetings to try and upskill the job centre plus staff on the types of people they wanted to see, and the types of queries. It was a test and learn environment, with positive resolutions for complicated cases.

The Assistant City Mayor for Housing, Councillor Connelly thanked the Income Management Team for the hard work they had put in to deliver and improve the situation with rent arrears. He added that UC in reality was going to be extremely difficult for many families. He said the decision to have the four Rent Management Advisers was paying off, and the relationship between DWP was working.

It was AGREED that:

1.    the contents of the report be noted.