1. ARCH/CWAG/NFA Welfare Reform Survey Early Results Matthew Warburton

2. Context Underoccupation charge in operation from 1 April 2013 Need for early analysis of impact on rent arrears and council policies Survey of all ARCH, CWAG and NFA members carried out in August 2013 Focus on impact in 1 st quarter of 2013/14 Considering repeating the survey quarterly

3. Early results Responses from 20 ARCH members (31%) Some incomplete returns (“too early to tell”, “policy still under review”) Will chase additional responses and compare with results from ALMOs sector, and incorporate in final report

4. Impact on arrears Between 1 April 2013 and 30 June 2013: Median increase in no. of tenants in arrears: 16.5% Median increase in total arrears: 21% Median percentage of tenants subject to underoccupation charge in arrears rose from 27% to 68% Median increase in arrears of these tenants rose by 43%

5. Other impacts Arrears recovery action initiated in relatively small number of cases so far Number of underoccupying tenants moved to alternative accommodation insignificant so far in nearly all responding councils Even fewer underoccupying tenants have left council housing

6. Discretionary housing payments DHP is only reaching a fraction of tenants affected by the underoccupancy charge Median: 18.5% of tenants affected Range: 4% - 70%

7. Policy changes Most responding councils are reviewing or have changed arrears recovery policy A few have non-eviction policies for tenants affected by the underoccupancy charge; most do not Very small numbers of dwellings may be reclassified Estimates of time needed to move all relevant tenants to suitable property range from 7 to 15 years; most respondents unable to provide estimate.

8. Conclusions Early days but impact of changes already significant Important to continue to monitor impact Councils and ALMOs may benefit from sharing information on impact and responses ARCH should continue to work with NFA, CWAG, HouseMark and CIH to keep developments under close scrutiny