Rent Arrears Up 20 Per Cent In First Three Months Of Universal Credit

Universal Credit has caused a 20 per cent rise in rent arrears from East Lothian Council tenants in just three months since it was introduced. A report to the local authority shows that the change to Universal Credit has seen rent arrears rise by £242,000. The net year on year increase, calculated at 12 per cent, or £157,000, has almost entirely wiped out the council’s success in reducing rent arrears in since 2014. Additional time spent by staff in dealing with the impact of the new benefit is costed at nearly £8,000 and average rent arrears stands at £898.89, compared with £589.49 for those not yet on the benefit. Read more on the Scottish Housing News website.

Survey Reveals HAs Moving Toward Private Sector Policies

Housing associations face ever increasing pressure to become more commercial entities, it seems such changes are touching all aspects of their organisations, including staff pay and benefits. The 2015 Total Rewards Survey indicates that as the sector witnesses a move away from final salary pensions, there is a growing popularity for traditionally private sector reward policies, including bonus schemes and performance related pay (PRP).  The survey of 94 housing associations from across the UK showed that with the majority of organisations seeking to reduce costs, less than 20% of new joiners are now offered a local government final salary pension scheme. Download the survey from the AON website.

Universal Credit Staff Costs ‘Unsustainable’

City West Housing Trust carried out a pilot from July 2013 to March this year, to test the direct payment of benefit to tenants ahead of the wider roll-out of universal credit over the next three years. Results from the 14,600-home landlord’s nine-month project, under which 52 tenants received housing benefit direct, show an average rent collection rate of 99.18%. However, management costs, calculated using an estimation of staff time, ballooned during this period from £178.94 for a normal case to £754.88 for a direct-payment project case. This was because of increased expenditure, including home visits to tenants to collect rent and provide support. If this cost were extrapolated across all 2,000 City West tenants set to receive direct payments, the cost would be around £1.2m. This is higher than City West’s £1.1m budget to manage the payments of all 14,600 homes it manages. Read more on Inside Housing.