1. Early Impacts of Welfare Reform on rental income and arrears Kirstie Corbett 17 Feb 2014

2. Methods and Measures Quarterly online survey All Scottish Registered Social Landlords (RSLs) and local authority landlords Rental income for financial year 2013-14 Arrears as a percentage of rental income Challenges Actions Seasonal variations (March, June & Sept) Changes over time (2011, 2012 & 2013)

3. Arrears – all landlords at September

4. Arrears – seasonal pattern for RSLs

5. Landlords’ estimates of impact

6. Cash value of impact Total cash value of direct arrears = £4.86 million (for 113 landlords)

7. Over 80% of landlords have reviewed their budgets or revised their business plans Over 90% of landlords are working to identify and engage directly with vulnerable tenants Over 60% of landlords have appointed new staff specifically to deal with Welfare Reform issues All landlords are focusing on actions to advise and support tenants

8. Existing financial constraints Concerns over rental income and financial health Pressure on staffing, IT systems and resources Increasing Arrears

9. Key Findings June 2013Sept 2013 Overall % arrears = 3.97%Overall % arrears = 4.43% Total arrears = £63.1 millionTotal arrears = £72.6 million 77% landlords estimate up to around 10% arrears from Welfare Reform 66% landlords estimate up to around 10% arrears from Welfare Reform Local authority landlords report higher % arrears and estimated impacts arising from Housing Benefit reductions For individual RSLs – 64% saw increase in % arrears from March 2013 levels For individual RSLs – 49% saw increase in % arrears from march 2013 levels Landlords broadly confident in their estimates of Welfare Reform impacts