Member Article

Suffolk Housing Society takes steps to mitigate Universal Credit

Suffolk Housing Society, a social landlord in East Anglia with over 2,500 properties, has invested in Mobysoft’s Rentsense solution to help them mitigate the rent cut and Universal Credit.

Many of Suffolk’s tenants are also facing reductions in their benefits due to ongoing welfare reform which affects their ability to pay their rent.

“These ongoing changes meant that we were going to be managing payment patterns and income streams that were far more complex and varied than in the past,” explained Wayne Tatlow, Income Manager at Suffolk Housing Society. “Which would become increasingly difficult to effectively monitor and respond to using traditional income management methods.”

Suffolk Housing Society made the decision to invest in Rentsense as according to Tatlow, “It (Rentsense) will enable them to proactively monitor accounts to ensure we are able to quickly identify tenants who are not paying the correct amount so that we can contact them promptly and work with them to minimise their arrears and make sure they were able to continue their tenancy.”

With the on-going roll out of Universal Credit many landlords recognise there is a need to create additional officer capacity to help landlords’ better support tenants.

“Rentsense will also enable us to prepare for the full roll out of Universal Credit and build up resilience so that we are able to effectively respond to the challenges it presents,” concludes Tatlow.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Adrian Mills .