Q Hotel Midland Manchester 20 th and 21 st May 2013

“What money advisers need to know about social housing” Louise Harding Head of Tenant Services Coast & Country Housing

 Changing times, changing advice…..

 8 March Welfare Bill enacted marking biggest reform for 60 years  Affects working age benefit claimants  The changes to HB and LHA will affect social and private landlords, tenants and strategic housing authorities

 Policy Objective  Housing benefit bill £22b  3.3m Social Sector Housing Benefit claimants  63% on Housing benefit  1.7 million households on waiting lists in England  Turn over of social sector around 5%

 Coalition Government identified two key problems:  work incentives are poor, and  the system is too complex  Reforming system to help people move into work  Aims to make it fairer, more affordable and better able to tackle poverty, worklessness and welfare dependency  DWP – ‘Committed to overhaul the benefit system to promote work and personal responsibilit y’

 Benefit cap  Child benefit frozen  Education and Maintenance Allowance abolished  Introduction of Personal Independence Payment  Employment and Support Allowance restrictions  Increase in non-dependant charges  1% limit in welfare benefits increase  Abolition of Council tax benefit  Private rents (Local Housing Allowance) capped, frozen and reduced  Universal Credit  Housing Benefits paid direct to tenants

 Bedroom Tax (under occupation rules)  Change to council tax support  Universal Credit  Direct payment to claimants including housing benefit

The DWP estimates Source: DWP Housing Benefit: Under occupation of social housing impact assessment (28 June 2012) Under-occupation by Estimated number affected % of affected claimants Average Weekly HB loss (2013/14) One bedroom 540,00081%£12 Two or more bedrooms 120,00019%£22 Total660,000100%£14

 Annual government expenditure £60m  Annual government expenditure £155m  £20m Baseline DHP fund  £40m LHA reforms  £30m Social sector size criteria  Up to £65m for benefits cap  Annual government expenditure £125m  £20m Baseline DHP fund  £40m LHA reforms  £30m Social sector size criteria  Up to £35m for benefits cap

 Affects 1,900 Coast & Country tenants  £12 - £22 a week reduction in housing benefit  170 in properties that have been specially adapted owing to disability  Total loss of income to tenants £1.4m a year  R&C DHP £308k  C&C ‘allocation’ £123k

 10% cut in funding  Pensioners protected  Net effect on working age 20%  3.1m low income households affected  Average loss £2.64 per week

 63,000 households in Redcar & Cleveland  9,000 affected by cuts  6,000 where full council tax benefit paid before changes  Band A - £3.18 per week

 £8m affected nationally  October 2013 – 2017  Trialled in 3 areas from April then further 3 from July  Average gain £16 per month

 Coast & Country has 10,000 tenants  4237 working age and on benefit  Estimate 2816 will receive direct payment of universal credit including rent  £12m per year additional rent to collect

 42% tenants in arrears  75% on housing benefit  10% increase in debt of those under-occupying after 1 month  Arrears expected to double by 2017  16% non-payment of council tax after 1 month

 Using customer insight information to better target resources  Working with new tenants – before tenancy starts  Involving the whole organisation  Different approach to rent debt  Better partnership working  Pooling resources - Moneywise

 Which service to use  Waiting times  Advice line – limited service  Drop in sessions  Access to face to face advice  No home visits  Limited service to rural areas

 Direct referrals  Ability to make appointments  Advice delivery to meet tenant needs  Contact details of caseworker  Liaison during case  Feedback on cases and outcomes  Caseworker based with housing provider

 Ms H age 24 living in a 3 bedroom property  Lives alone following relationship breakdown and recently lost part time job  Job Seekers’ Allowance which is £56.80 a week  Rent £89.62 a week – 25% cut in housing benefit  £22.40 rent, £9.76 water rates and £4.18 a council tax per week.  Leaves £5.46 a week for food, heating, lighting and other essentials.  Owes £ gas, £ electricity, £90.79 Council Tax £90.79, and shopacheck £55.50.

 Mr B age 48 and has mental health issues  Unable to return to work because of this  His housing benefit has been cut by 25%  He gets £71.70 a week benefit  Has to pay £22.61 rent, £7.63 water rates and £4.18 council tax  Repaying social fund loan at £15 per week  Leaves him £21.58 a week to live on, to pay for gas, electricity, food and other normal living expenses  Turned down when he applied for DLA last year and we are helping him to apply for PIP  M B needs to stay near to his family as they are his lifeline and we don’t have any smaller properties to offer him.

 Steve age 36 separated from partner and lives in a 2 bedroom C&C flat  Son Jamie aged 11 lives with his mam and stays with his dad weekends and some holidays  When Steve first got the flat he was working for Corus however lost his job when Corus closed. He is now looking for work  His rent is £74.28 and his HB has been cut by £10.40  He gets £71.70 a week JSA and has to pay £10.40 rent, £8 water rates, £4.18 council tax and £19 fuel  This leaves him £30.12 a week for food, bus fares, TV licence and phone