Issues/ Areas for Discussion Raised by Group

Issues/ areas for discussion raised by group

·  Waiting period for UC

·  Trusted partner status

·  Tenants getting into debt

·  Staffing/ resources/ structure – prioritising

·  Manual admin/ IT/ automated systems

o  What systems work

o  Reporting UC separately

o  Progressing

·  With finite resources, who do you target for support?

·  Dealing with rent free weeks

·  Consistency of support/ services provided by JCP

·  Using own stock for TA – doesn’t count as exempt

·  Inconsistency/ lack of understanding by courts

·  Service charges

·  Rent in advance

·  3rd party deductions

·  Sanctions

·  Dealing with variable income – e.g. zero hours contracts

Common themes/ messages

·  Building a positive relationship with DWP work coach/ JCP is essential

·  Some initial concerns over implementation haven’t emerged – e.g. online application, applying for APA’s

·  Recent budget announcements e.g. 1% rent reduction are putting increased pressure on services such as tenancy sustainment and money advice

·  A “whole organisation” approach is essential – all staff should understand the basics of UC and how/ where to refer tenants

·  Pre-tenancy work is becoming increasingly important. A number of organisations are putting more emphasis on making sure they aren’t “setting people up to fail”

·  There is no miracle IT solution!

·  Important to get accurate information on payment info for APA’s so they can be posted to correct tenants accounts

·  Need to build relationships/ trust with whole new tenant group who might not previously come to your attention (either in work or full housing benefit)

·  Trusted partnership being piloted – for those involved, positive experience so far

·  Application for APAs should be proactive, rather than reactive (at 8 weeks arrears) – electronic encrypted process makes this easier and seems to be working well

·  APAs are not a complete solution as they do not always cover 100% of the rent, eg: where a claimant receives the partial support with their housing costs or where they are affected by the bedroom tax, so good arrears management/enforcement activity is still required

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·  Rent collection rates are on average significantly lower than “normal” cases although this has improved over time and as UC rolls out to more cases

·  UC requires a fundamental shift – you need to engrain a “rent first” message and not be seen as the last in the queue behind utilities etc.

·  Tenants need to understand that they do have a rent liability and must pay

·  Direct Debit should be offered as part of a wider range of payment options. You may not necessarily need to offer any day direct debits but you do need some choice of dates

·  The 3rd party deduction can cause real hardship – consider a voluntary arrangement initially

·  For those organisations who have introduced rent in advance, it hasn’t been as much of an issue as anticipated – generally accepted

·  Some organisations are adopting a lower tolerance of arrears and escalating cases quicker

·  Balance is needed between a process driven arrears system and a person based one

·  An “ideal” IT system for UC would have the following functionality:

o  An ability to flag up/ report on UC claimants

o  Flag those in receipt of APA

o  Register payment dates

o  Flag when at 8 weeks areas

·  There is a challenge around the scalability of some interventions. Some organisations are providing support that is very labour intensive and/or administering hardship funds which are effective at the moment but which may reach a “tipping point” as the number of UC claimants continues to increase

Things that orgs have done/ are considering in response to UC

·  Rent in advance – creates a buffer to cover waiting period. Also leaving credits on tenants accounts in order to create a buffer in preparation for eventual migration to UC

·  Pre-tenancy affordability checks – to assess peoples ability to afford a tenancy

·  Creation of a template letter setting out rent, eligible service charges and annual rent weeks (48 or 52) – ensures full housing costs are covered

·  Creation of an organisational “hardship fund” to support tenants e.g. those who have been sanctioned

·  Development of a “rent commitment” form – to reinforce message around tenants responsibility to pay the rent

·  Complete UC forms electronically on sign up (using mobile technology)

·  Give rent free weeks at the beginning of UC claim period – creates a buffer for waiting period

·  Allow any day tenancy start and end dates

·  Weekly arrears reporting

Specific issues raised

·  Service charges – any experiences of service charges, e.g. for maintenance of adaptations, not being covered by UC? Attendees hadn’t had any difficulty with this to date, however CIH are looking currently looking into the UC regulations around this issue

·  Use of own stock as TA – council owned stock does not qualify as exempt accommodation and so is included in the rollout of UC. There is no easy way around this, however the introduction of trusted partner status might help councils to manage the problem through the use of APAs

Useful information

We have a range of briefings, blogs and FAQs – please visit:

www.cih.org/universalcredit

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