Rent arrears management practices in the housing association sector

Annex 2
Case study HA selection
Our sampling method identified the following
criteria as relevant to selection: national/local HA
coverage; use of Ground 8 (as reported in the
national survey); diversity of HA (in terms of size,
type, region and overall geographical footprint);
transfer and non-transfer HAs; and organisational
factors (relating specifically to audited
performance and type of housing management) .
We take each of these in turn below and identify
their relative significance . Given the project’s focus
on the use of Ground 8 and its relevance as a
rent arrears management tool, this criterion was
particularly significant .
National/local
Our case studies were focused on two
geographical areas of England, one in the
north and one in the south, both of which were
predominantly urban . Although the national survey
data highlighted regional contrasts in the use of
Ground 8, both areas incorporated HAs defined as
“high users” of Ground 8 – in numerical terms . The
focus on three HAs operating in the Northern area
also allowed us to investigate whether any specific
court or District Judge (“DJ”) approach or practice
influences HA organisation of its decision-making
on possession actions . Other than geography, this
criterion was also concerned with whether an HA
was a national or local provider . In the north area,
one of our case Study HAs was a national player
(HA A), although our study focused on the local
operation to ascertain the extent to which local
factors were replicated by a national organisation
with national policies/practices operating in
that locality . Thus, we were able to test for the
influence and importance of locality on the
implementation of that policy .
Use of Ground 8
The Housing Corporation’s research specification
emphasised the importance attached to the
investigation of association practice with respect
to Ground 8 . In particular, the research was
required to explore whether such practice might
have changed in response to recently issued
good practice advice on the essential need for
a preventative approach to arrears management
(as backed up by the terms of the PAP) . We have
indicated how this affected area selection . It
also influenced the selection of case study HAs,
particularly in the South . All northern HAs were
relatively high users of Ground 8 . In the South,
Rent arrears management practices in the housing association sector 121