WELCOME
How to mitigate the impact of Universal Credit
on rent collection
The webinar will begin at 10am
Organised by: Sponsored by:
Opening remarks from the Chair
Emma Maier,
Editor,
Inside Housing
Organised by: Sponsored by:
Sue Ramsden,
Policy Leader (Welfare Reform),
National Housing Federation
Organised by: Sponsored by:
Universal Credit
Sue Ramsden
Policy Leader
March 2015
Federation’s work
Timetable
Nov 2014
UC extends to families in Warrington and Wirral (new claims).
End of 2014
UC live in all JCPs in NW and Hammersmith, Bath, Rugby,
Harrogate, Inverness and Shotton.
Jan 2015
UC extends to families in all existing live sites.
Tranche 1 – 26th Jan – Some areas in NW and Hammersmith,
Bath, Rugby, Harrogate, Inverness and Shotton.
Tranche 2 – 2nd March – remaining areas in NW.
Feb 2015 – March
2016
National roll out to all JCPs – new claims from single people
without children.
Tranche 1 (Feb – Apr 2015) 150 JCPs
Tranche 2 (May – Jul 2015) 160 JCPs
Tranche 3 (Sept – Nov 2015) 180 JCPs
Tranche 4 (Dec 2015 – Mar 2016) 110 JCPs
May 2016 – Dec
2017
National roll out to all new claims and claimants with change of
circumstances
Jan 2018 – Dec
2019
Managed transfer of legacy benefit claims including housing
benefit, JSA and IS
Universal Credit
Single
payment
Conditions
and
sanctions
Monthly
payment
Culture
change
Supporting
work
Direct to
tenant
Online
Assessment period
Housing element
For social sector tenants the housing element
will be:
Liable rent
and eligible
service
charges
Minus
Any underoccupation
deduction
Minus
any Housing
Cost
Contribution
(HCC) from
nondependants
Alternative payment arrangements:
process
Need for APA/ budgeting support
identified in the Job Centre
And/or landlord fills out APA form
and send to:
Freepost Plus RTEU-LESU-EXTJ
Universal Credit Post Handling
Site B Wolverhampton WV99 1AJ
Same form can be used to apply
for third party deductions.
• Use escalation process where
needed
• Understand role of service
centre and JCP work coaches
• Use information from data
sharing
• What support is available
locally?
• What information does tenant
have to verify claim?
Third party deductions
Priority list
• Applied for on APA
form
• Rent arrears 10-20%
of standard allowance
• No more than 3
deductions in total
• No more than 40%
deducted in total
Rent arrears 10%
Rent arrears 10%
Data sharing – name, address and
date of claim from 16th Feb
Preparing for UC
Knowing your tenants
• What do you need to know? Now and at different stages of roll
out?
• Can you record/retrieve information needed from your
management system?
• Sharing data – how, when and with whom?
Working with Staff
• Who needs training and in what?
• Does your organisation have the right skills (digital inclusion,
financial inclusion, debt management)?
• How do you make better use of staff resources?
• Do you need to review staff structures? Do teams work together?
Can people access the right information and share information?
Preparing for UC (2)
Communications
• What is your message?
• Are your communications consistent internally and with JCP,
LA etc? General v targeted messaging?
• Automated v driven by staff?
Rent collection
• How can you make sure that UC claim covers correct amount
of rent/eligible service charge?
• How easy is it for tenants to pay rent? How will tenants and
systems cope with monthly payments in a weekly rent
regime?
• Do you need to adapt your IT or finance system?
• Do you need to review your arrears procedure?
Preparing for UC (3)
Building relationships with stakeholders
•
•
•
•
Who are your stakeholders?
How do you build good relationships?
Do you have means to share information and learning?
What about support to get people into work?
Resources
Learning from North West
• Video: Housing association experiences
• Reports: Universal Credit One Year In, Early
learning from the North West pathfinders
• Tips: Preparing for Universal Credit
DWP (Universal Credit and rented housing)
• Landlord support pack
• Frequently asked questions
• Service charge guidance
• Rent arrears form
Contact
Sue Ramsden
National Housing Federation
020 7067 1080
Sue.ramsden@housing.org.uk
Further information: www.housing.org.uk/welfare
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Vivian Davies,
Director of Rent and Collection,
Family Mosaic
Organised by: Sponsored by:
25,000 Homes
London
£240m Income
Demonstration Project
HB Direct
Southwark
500 Tenants
1,500 Southwark
June 2012
To
December
2013
Key Learnings
• Staff skills
• Transactions Costs
• Resource?
– Technology/Data
• Preparation – Direct payment
• Did not know our customers
we can
Staff Skills
Negotiating Skills
Customer Focus
Training
we can
Transaction Costs
we can
Technology
Expected
Payments
Texts – in
advance as
well as
chasing
Focus on pace, low level
interventions
Big Issue / Experian
Rental Exchange
Rent paid =
positive rating
Risk profiling
we can
Preparation & Risk Management
Preparation
Re-engage with
our customer
HB Direct
in line with DWP UC
rollout timetable
Timetable to
2019 so
4 years
Graham Darby,
Head of Customer Service North East,
Home Group
Organised by: Sponsored by:
Universal Credit – Mitigating the Impact
Graham Darby, Head of Customer Service North East
Introduction
Home Group, a social enterprise and a charity with a turnover of
over £325m, is one of the UK’s largest providers of high quality
housing and supported housing services and products.
Home Group's role is to provide general needs housing, supported
housing services, and home ownership options targeted towards
helping some of society’s most vulnerable people take control of
their own lives:
Home Group houses over 120,000 people a year, managing 55,000
homes in over 200 local authority areas in England, Scotland and
Wales.
Each year this includes working with almost 30,000 vulnerable
people through 500+ supported housing, justice and health services
Income Protection: Our Key Themes
Protect our Customers and Clients and we Protect Our Income
Predict
Prevent
Manage
Recover
Predict
• A theme that provides focus for the business on
our ability to predict financial vulnerability and
therefore target support and intervention:
•
•
Predict
Prevent
Manage
Recover
Profiling of customer segmentation to incorporate better targeting of:
• Direct Debit campaigns
• Identification of customers already in financial distress
• Early warning indicators of customers in danger of increased rent
arrears
• Identification and prediction of where we’re likely to see increased
former and current tenant arrears.
Changes to allocations processes:
• I&E assessments
• Align size criteria with under-occupancy charge criteria
Prevent
• A theme that provides the ability to intervene at the
earliest possible stage to avoid arrears and ensure
we offer best ways to pay on time:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collections Academy – core behavioural change programme
Paperless DD
Customer Service Partner roles – income maximisation
Manage Payments
Step Change debt advice partnership
Campaign to target colleagues and customers understanding
Predict
Prevent
Manage
Recover
Manage
• A theme that provides the ability to ensure our
arrears process is ready for UC
•
•
•
Arrears process streamlining
• Remove wasteful or repetitive processes
Prioritisation modelling of arrears activity (80:20)
• Reduce case stagnation
• Increase accountability
Call to Collect
• Outbound dials – automation
• Customer call back through immediate response
• Text
• Increased call volume to CSC
• Reduces FTE demand vs traditional model
Predict
Prevent
Manage
Recover
Recover
Predict
Prevent
• Provides the ability to claw back and recover Manage Recover
debts if the customer moves on:
• Improved former tenant arrears processes – 2015
• Switchback/Clawback processes – now “Rent
Arrears” processes
Key Points
• Fail to prepare, prepare to fail!
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Collections Academy
Customer, Client and Colleague Campaign
Roll Out Support Pack for colleagues
Income Maximisation roles
Partnership with StepChange Debt Charity
Managing Your Money Packs including Budgeting & Bank Account
Information
Paperless Any day Direct Debit
Customer and Client Profiling
Call to Collect – outbound dialler and texts to reminder of payment due
Review of existing arrears process and reporting
Commercially caring approach
QUESTIONS &
ANSWERS
Organised by: Sponsored by:
Closing remarks from the Chair
Emma Maier,
Editor, Inside Housing
Organised by: Sponsored by:
THANK YOU
The webinar is now closed
A recording of the webinar and slides will be available to
download from the IH website shortly
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