NCH – Tenancy Sustainment Team

Context 25,592 current tenancies Annual rent debit £105,000,000 62% of tenants in receipt of Housing Benefit 2,400 affected by the under-occupancy charge 223 households affected by the reduced benefit cap 407 live UC cases – average debt £566.66 8/326 of Local Authorities for income deprivation

Our approach Supportive approach to income management Tenancy Sustainment Strategy Advice and support tailored to individual needs Supporting health and well-being Developing financial resilience and employability opportunities A “Rent First” company-wide approach

Who we are There are seven full time Tenancy Sustainment Officers: Kayleigh Fairholm Denise Ferdinand Jill McQueen Mark Thornton Agnes Husswin Jessica Carreira

One Health and Tenancy Sustainment Officer: Louise Bonsor Three Rent Support Officers: Kelly Fairhurst Jez Poyser Waqar Mulak

The Team

How we work The team works in patches – each person taking responsibility for a particular geographical area of the City There are two main areas of focus – new tenants and referrals We take referrals from any source for NCH tenants who are in need of support to sustain their tenancy The team primarily sign-post to the most appropriate agency for on-going support

Tenancy Sustainment Officers Last year the team dealt with 2,215 new tenancies and 1,443 referrals All new tenants are referred to the team for support with establishing their tenancy Vulnerability assessment dictates level of support Priority is rent being paid / Housing Benefit / essential furniture Also help with budgeting, food parcels and clothes vouchers

Example of a vulnerability assessment

Example of a vulnerability assessment

Health and Tenancy Sustainment Officer There is a proven link between health problems and financial difficulty The H & TSO works with cases where health is a factor Links with health agencies Drug and alcohol dependency Mental health issues Health awareness campaigns

Rent Support Officers Brought into team in response to welfare reform challenges Pre-tenancy work and Universal Credit Interviews carried out with applicants prior to taking NCH tenancy to establish financial capability and support needs Based in JCP one day per week – sees new NCH UC claimants to provide support with claim

Outcomes Positive impact on rent arrears with average rent balances being lower at 8, 12, 16 and 20 weeks into the tenancy compared to previous years. Some applicants have realised that they are unable to afford the tenancy and so have not taken up the offer Some under 35s have realised that they cannot afford flats with high service charges The feedback from TSOs is that they are getting much better engagement from new tenants as the service has been introduced prior to tenancy sign up

NCH – UC figures Live UC cases – 407 UC ended cases – 102 Total UC cases since rollout (including live and ended) – 509 Average arrears for UC cases = £566.66 Average arrears on all cases = £324.83

Outreach Clifton Cornerstone – 2nd and 4th Tuesday each month Denton Green, Broxtowe – once per month Bestwood and Bulwell Foodbank –every Thursday afternoon 1pm – 3pm. RSO – Thursday all day – Notts Central JCP Friday – AM – Bulwell JCP Friday – PM – Loxley House JCP

Additional NCH support Education and employment key to releasing tenants from the “benefit trap” Tenant Academy offers a range of courses to tenants including basic English and maths skills, IT, working in construction taster workshops, and how to start a market stall Employability support has included workshops such as introduction to working in beauty and hairdressing, CV writing skills and the Work Club Links with libraries Employability Manager - “My work search”

Contact details: Moneymatters@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk Text DOSH to 80800 for free Kay.frankson@nottinghamcityhomes.org.uk NCH rents line – 0115 915 4920