Rent arrears management practices in the housing association sector

for action at certain stages defined in accordance
with the policy (although not as “flashy” as HA F’s
software) . Although there were different views
about the software, all participants had acclimatised
to its use and most found it useful most of the time .
For example an RM said that it was a useful training
tool when temporary staff arrived . However, it was
recognised that, as an RO put it, it is “designed
to evict” as the prompts flow one from the other
without taking account of the circumstances
of the tenant; it is “very prescriptive in terms of
sending letters” and there is no “in-between” (RM) .
Initially it had been seen by the organisation as
the “only thing” to bring arrears down together
with sheer hard work from staff . But, it had been
used by staff as a “blunt instrument” without them
taking initiative . It is now used as a guide as to the
appropriate action to be taken . For example, if an
RO is aware of a HB issue that has caused arrears
to accrue, letters might not be sent . Letters, whilst
standardised, can also be made more personalised .
The timeframe set by the software can also be
extended . As the AD put it, “we don’t want to
become a slave to the system” . All participants now
regard it as a good management tool . RO discretion
has been substituted for the rigidity of the software .
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e) Using the courts
In this section, attention is drawn to three factors: the
influence of the PAP; increasing or decreasing use
of the courts; and court officer perceptions of DJs .
The influence of the PAP
It is clear that the PAP has altered practice,
expressly or implicitly . Many of the above practices
of early intervention are both regarded as good
practice and included within the terms of the PAP .
If good practice on its own might not have been
enough to stimulate change, the importance of
the PAP in shaping practice has been a significant
stimulant . In particular, it has underpinned the
increasing demands for uniformity of practice so
that officers have less room for “doing their own
thing” or, perhaps more pertinently, “skipping things”
(HA B/manager) . Only in HA C and D was it said
that the PAP had limited effect on practice; in both,
it was said that its relevance lay simply in being
more formalistic so that their actions could be seen
to have been done .
Across the case study HAs, there was a more
systematic approach and more consistent recording
of the activity actually taken on individual cases .
This could be channelled into pro-forma documents
and checklists, which were also designed to support
HAs’ possession claims . In HA A, for example,