Member Article

Poplar HARCA drives down arrears with RentSense

Poplar HARCA have created efficiencies, reduced arrears and prepared themselves for Universal Credit by investing in Mobysoft’s RentSense application.

Prior to RentSense, Poplar HARCA were using their Housing Management System to flag arrears cases to the income team. The performance and effectiveness of the team was however being compromised as the system was flagging cases that required no action, and missing cases that did need action, as Poplar HARCA’s Rents Manager, Dawn Box, explains:

“The missing cases that the HMS was not picking up were hugely important, as they were simply going into oblivion, as no one was looking at them.”

Poplar HARCA then deployed RentSense in October 2015, at that time their arrears were 4.5% and the income team were being presented with 2,968 cases a week by the HMS. The investment into RentSense was an important factor for the London-based landlord, as Dawn explains:

“I wanted the team to work cases they needed to look at and in the correct priority rather than working aimlessly through a list and not knowing which ones to look at first. They needed some structure.”

RentSense helped the London landlord reduce arrears by £339,136, in twelve months, to 3.71%. Poplar HARCA’s latest arrears figures, for February 2017 show that arrears have fallen further to 3.45%. It has also reduced the officer caseload by 42%, a significant factor in enabling the team to get through their workload.

With RentSense in-situ the income team are more focused, and according to Dawn ’much happier…“as they are working on the right cases.”

With the team focusing on the correct cases and arrears falling Poplar HARCA’s new approach to arrears is working and key in helping the organisation mitigate the welfare reform challenges it faces moving forward.

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