Agenda item

(a)       That the latest financial position for rent arrears in 2018-19, which shows collection of rent was starting to stabilise, be noted; and

(b)       That the measures being taken to improve rent collection during 2019-20, through the development of specialised software to support a targeted approach to rent recovery, be endorsed.

The Revenues Manager introduced a report which provided a further operational update on the latest position for rent income collection following the recent report to the Committee in November 2018.  Despite the ongoing challenges of increasing numbers of tenants migrating away from Housing Benefit to the Universal Credit (UC) system, the latest collection position showed that by implementing measures through increased resources, early intervention and adopting a ‘rent first’ approach, collection of rent was starting to stabilise with total rent arrears reducing from £2.22m to £2.14m.

            To mitigate the financial challenges for the Council, the work of the Housing Intervention Teams continued and additional resources were being deployed to ensure tenants who fell into arrears received help and support at an early stage through a ‘fast tracked’ approach.  A copy of the latest rent arrears position for those tenants in receipt of UC and Housing Benefit was circulated to the Committee.

            The Revenues Manager explained that to ensure Council resources were targeted to those tenants who need most help to ensure rent was paid on time, a further initiative was being implemented to improve the supporting software systems that guide the work of Rent Enforcement Officers. Feasibility work had been undertaken with a software supplier whose ‘Rent Sense’ solution was rapidly becoming the housing industry standard for analysing payment variations, risk and escalating which tenants to contact and when. The software used algorithms to analyse payment patterns, highlight risk and provided predictive intelligence to support a more focused and targeted approach to rent arrears recovery work.

            The development of this software would modernise the work in the Rent service and help the service to more intelligently focus on those tenants who were more at risk of falling into arrears, free up internal resource capacity which meant that housing interventions could be put in place quickly and before arrears escalated.

            Councillor Hardcastle thanked the Revenues Manager for the report and update.  He said that he had recently requested information on current Council Tax arrears which had been provided by the Revenues Manager and which showed current arrears of £3.3m and asked if an increase in Council Tax would have a knock on affect to rent arrears.  The Revenues Manager explained that the £3.3m arrears would continually reduce as residents in Flintshire had a number of different days within the month that they could opt to pay their Council Tax.  He commented that the Council remained the best performing Council in collecting Council Tax with a collection rate of over 99%, which was above the welsh average of 98%.

            Councillor Hardcastle also referred to two emergency cases which he had dealt with within his ward over the weekend and said that the helpline for the out of hour’s service was based in London.  Whilst the service he received had been very good, he asked if the service could be brought back in house in order to reduce costs for the Council.  Councillor Attridge explained that the organisation had been appointed to take calls following a procurement exercise.  He said that he often used the service which he felt was an improvement on the previous service and provided better value for money.

            In response to a question from Councillor Hutchinson, the Revenues Manager explained the intervention options available to the Council and that the work undertaken to assist vulnerable residents with complex needs could be intensive.  Councillor Hutchinson thanked the officers for the transparent report.

            Councillor Shotton commended officers for the assistant and advice given to vulnerable tenants and asked that his thanks be passed to all officers involved.  He commented on the recent concessions made by the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions around UC which he felt showed there were problems with the current system.

            Councillor Dolphin raised concerns around the length of time tenants had to wait to move to managed payments and the arrears which build up during this time.  The Revenues Manager agreed with the concerns and said that he would like to see this time reduced.  

            In response to a question from Councillor Wisinger, Councillor Attridge explained that the collection of rent was done in-house by the Rent Enforcement Officers and there had been a great improvement in the service which had been previously provided by an external company. 

RESOLVED:

(a)       That the latest financial position for rent arrears in 2018-19, which shows collection of rent was starting to stabilise, be noted; and

(b)       That the measures being taken to improve rent collection during 2019-20, through the development of specialised software to support a targeted approach to rent recovery, be endorsed.