AFFT Housing Debt and Evictions Project
The University of Southampton project looks at occupier engagement in the arrears and possession process. The research aims to improve occupier engagement avoid home loss for some households.
Professor Lisa Whitehouse, University of Southampton, is leading a project funded by the Abrdn Financial Fairness Trust which aims to explore the reasons for lack of engagement with debt management processes by those in in housing debt, and to test whether better, more meaningful engagement between occupiers and housing providers could reduce the likelihood of eviction.
Employing a mixed methods approach, data will be collected from those involved in the arrears management process, such as debt advisers, lawyers, court officials and lenders as well as occupiers and housing providers. Data will be collected through a nationwide survey at https://tinyurl.com/homematters2, and in-depth case studies in Glasgow, Birmingham and Southampton. A shorter, printed version of the survey is available for distribution where this is likely to be a more accessible option than the online version.
The intention is that the project will provide evidence-based and user-led proposals to remove barriers to engagement and offer an informed and representative narrative on housing debt together with an evaluation of the causal relationship between the level of engagement and home loss.