Rent arrears management practices in the housing association sector

preferred form of the organisation . More generally,
personal contact was regarded as more effective
than other methods in recouping rent arrears .
Cross-departmental working was particularly
facilitated through joint visits or simply from the
practice of arrears management officers . In HA E,
an RM described the arrears management there
in terms of being at the centre of the wheel with
spokes coming off to other parts of the organisation
(although it was noted that those other parts were
not always as good at communicating with them) .
In HA D and F, ROs and ISOs took the opportunity
to make home visits by accompanying a scheduled
repair visit, for example .
A further strategy designed to assist with
sustainability and the prevention of evictions was
education going beyond word-of-mouth . In-house
magazines for tenants might be used to enhance
take-up of benefits (HA C and E); leaflets are
used to promote rent-paying by emphasising the
community benefits .
d) The use of computer software to
manage rent arrears
Underpinning much of the change in practice
has been the development and use of computer
software designed to prompt officers into action
according to the HA’s policy . Different HAs had
different programmes and different experiences .
The contrasting experiences of HA E and F
demonstrate the sensitivity with which such
software has become treated .
In HA F, a new software package for the
management of rent arrears had been introduced,
which enable ISOs to prioritize cases that require
attention . The software uses a series of symbols
to order priority arrears cases hierarchically . For
instance, a police car with flashing lights icon
signals serious arrears cases . The system enables
ISOs to manage their time more effectively and
facilitated monitoring of tenants . For instance, the
software highlights tenancies less than six months
old, so that ISOs can “see how they’re coping and
whether they’re managing their rent arrears” (IRM) .
Frontline staff had mixed views on the software
package, partly due to inconsistencies in service
charge figures that it produced and partly due to
a backlog caused by the updating of the system .
Nevertheless, some officers clearly found that the
package facilitated their jobs .
In HA E, a software package had been introduced
at the time of the restructuring which was designed
to highlight the cases that represent the greatest
risk to the Trust . It provides a series of prompts
Rent arrears management practices in the housing association sector 97