Protect your rental income stream, advise HouseMark & CIH

Swingeing public sector cuts and welfare reform will cause housing providers to re-focus on collecting as much rent as possible at the lowest cost, according to a new joint report written by the Chartered Institute of Housing (CIH) and HouseMark.

Protecting your rental income stream is going to be of paramount importance to social housing organisations which will need to be fully prepared for the potential impact of all the changes expected to arise in the next four years.

PfH will be launching its Debt Management Services Agreement on 1 July 2011. This Agreement has been designed to help Asset Managers/Debt Recovery Managers within organisations to recover outstanding debts which will encompass, but is not restricted to, debt streams such as Current and Former Tenant Arrears, Council Tax Arrears and Rechargeable Debts.

PfH has under gone a thorough research programme for this Agreement and currently has six of its members acting as a product group throughout the tender process. The product group allows the members to have input both into the tender documentation and the supplier selection. By doing this, PfH have ensured that the Agreement covers the needs of the social housing sector.

The Agreement has been allocated into three lots which is aimed to assist members in the training, tracking and collecting of outstanding debts.

• Lot 1 – Track and Trace Service

Track and trace services will be used by PfH Members to assist them in tracking down missing tenants and/or alternative clients with outstanding debts owed to the Member organisation.

• Lot 2 – Debt Collection Services

Debt collection services will be used by PfH Members to assist in the collection of outstanding debts owed to them by their tenant and/or client.

• Lot 3 – Debt Training Services

Debt training services will be used by PfH Members to educate and develop their internal staff on various debt collection and management areas.

This Agreement is of enormous benefit to any organisation which is subjected to non-payment of bills and will enable Finance Personnel to recover outstanding debts effectively and expediently.

For further information, please contact Donna Richardson, Category Manager at drichardson@procurementforhousing.co.uk