Arrears monitoring and management
The Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager is responsible for closely monitoring rent and service charge accounts to ensure regular payments are made by the agreed method. Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager should refer to the process map which provides step by step guidance including details of which letters to issued at which stage.
PEBBLEs will identify when a payment has been missed and the Scheme Manager / Housing Manager must make contact with the resident as soon as practically possible to establish if the payment has been made.
Where it is established that a payment has been made but not appearing in the residents’ account the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager will contact the cash transactions team with the details of the payment who will then ensure the payment is identified and posted appropriately on the account.
If arrears are due to the non-payment of HB/UC then the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager will, when requested, support the resident by making enquiries with Housing Benefits or DWP for Universal Credit claims. Where HB/UC payment is delayed the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager will confirm with the resident that they must continue to pay any utility charge or any non-eligible charge not covered by Housing Benefit/ UC if this is paid to Housing 21.
Where it is established that a payment has been missed the Scheme Manager / Housing Manager is responsible for resolving this directly with the resident and ensuring the payment in-full is made as soon as possible. Details of discussions must be recorded on PEBBLEs and letter issued confirming agreement made. (Stage One)
In cases of financial hardship, where a resident advises they have insufficient funds to clear the arrear, the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager will complete an Income and Expenditure assessment and agree an affordable payment plan with the resident to clear the arrear. A copy of the payment plan will be provided for the resident and saved on PEBBLEs (Stage One).
Where a resident is in receipt of Housing Benefit paid to the claimant and arrears total eight weeks or more the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager will request direct payments from Housing Benefit by contacting the relevant benefit team. The resident should be advised that they continue to be responsible for residual payments such as utility charges. In relation to Housing costs for Universal Credit, again the eight-week rule applies. However, the Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager should be aware that this may only be granted for a limited period and if this is the case, the resident becomes fully liable for payment once payments revert back to the claimant. The Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager should monitor these accounts closely to ensure that the resident makes payment themselves.
If the resident refuses to agree or fails to adhere to the payment plan or misses a second payment the Scheme Manager / Housing Manager will make contact with the resident as soon as practically possible and make a further agreement. At this point the resident will be made aware that failure to make a third payment or comply with the payment plan could result in a Notice of Seeking Possession(NOSP) being served. This Threat of NOSP forms part of the pre action protocol for possession of the property and must be adhered to at all times. (Stage Two)
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Rented and shared ownership
At the point of a third payment being missed PEBBLEs workflow will identify the Notice stage has been reached and escalated to the OM/ECM. The OM/ECM is responsible for authorising service of Notice of Seeking Possession (NOSP) or agreement to defer following receipt of recommendation and discussion regarding circumstances with Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager. The Scheme Manager/ Housing Manager is responsible for serving the NOSP (Stage Three) The type of notice served will depend upon the type of tenure (Assured or Secure) but the purpose is always the same, i.e., to formally notify the resident that Housing 21 may wish to seek possession of the property. This Notice is the first step in seeking possession and legal proceedings cannot be applied for until at least 14 days after service.
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Leasehold
At the point of a third payment being missed the PEBBLEs workflow will identify the Notice stage has been reached and escalate to the Regional Leasehold Manager (RLM). As the need to serve this type of Notice on a leaseholder is rare and, therefore, is not a familiar process, preparation of pre-Notice letters, money orders and the Notice itself will be referred to Housing Law Services to prepare. (Stage Three) The cost of doing so can be recovered from the leaseholder providing that costs are requested and awarded during the court hearing. Costs cannot be added to the account until confirmed by a court order.
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Rented
If a decision is made to defer service of the NOSP the RHM/ ECM/ RLM must record reasons and regularly review to ensure appropriate action is taken. PEBBLEs will record the reason within action activities for the deferment for reporting purposes to ensure consistency and fairness. This would also be required when proceeding with future court action as persistant failure to progress an possession case could exacerbate the arrears making repayment more lengthy and possibly also affect the outcome of any court application for an order.
Where the resident is a starter tenant the OM/ECM will consider whether to pursue action using Section 21 Notice (see Starter Tenancy Policy) or serve a NOSP in line with Schedule 2 of Housing Act 1988.
