The sentiments will clearly strike a chord with any association housing officer who has had to liaise with two dozen or more councils chasing up benefit payments, and then finds that the information is sent back in all manner of formats – from computer printout to letters and faxes. The computers don't talk to each other, so a simple, standardised, electronic exchange is out of the question. It's not surprising many throw up their hands and simply write off arrears as a bad job.
But, as the report says, associations aren't entirely powerless to tackle arrears. More could be done to track what outstanding payment is a result of slack housing benefit payments and what is genuinely bad debt. Although associations may not have any power to drive standardisation in council benefit systems, the government's plans to pay benefit directly to claimants may ultimately cause the problem to go away of its own accord. But this will be little consolation to any association struggling to keep the cash coming in right now. In the mean time, there are steps RSLs can take to work with councils more closely and offer incentives to pay rent on time to their tenants.
It’s not surprising many housing associations throw up their hand and simply write off arrears as a bad job
The Audit Commission's proposal to add rent collection to the list of inspections may seem like another headache, but for those trying everything they can to sort out arrears and still getting nowhere, it may help highlight the problem rather than exacerbate it.
Prescott's team for turning the Communities Plan into solid results seemed to be taking more shape this week (news section and page 20). There have been a few crucial signings, including foreign star David Higgins, who moves to the key striker position at English Partnerships, while the talent scouts are still combing the land for someone to take the team captain's armband by heading the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister's new Communities Plan delivery unit.
Source
Housing Today
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