How have you helped tenants with difficulties paying rent? Let us know!
By Shona Mitchell, SFHA Policy Lead.
To compliment some of the work SFHA has been doing with the Scottish Government and sector partners around the increase in rent arrears, we are also looking for members to let us know what they have done in terms of supporting tenants who have had difficulty paying rents during the current crisis.
Have you redeployed staff to this area? How many tenants have you supported with applying for Universal Credit? What other methods have you used?
SFHA is building evidence of the financial impact of the current crisis on our members. This is through using the data from the SHR monthly returns as well as our own quarterly return which asks some additional questions in order for us to determine the bigger picture and the longer-term impact.
Although the effects of reduced rental income are being felt already, the full extent of the financial impact of the coronavirus outbreak could take many months to emerge. While many sectors are asking for urgent financial assistance from government, what our sector will need to mitigate the effects of this crisis is, as yet, unknown.
We want to work with you to build a strong evidence base for Scottish Government support so that our proposal to government is based on exactly what you need. When the time does come for us to ask government for support, we need a strong evidence base to back up our request.
Part of this piece of work will require us evidencing the steps already taken by the sector to mitigate the impacts of the crisis, particularly for tenants.
We would love to hear about the steps you have taken and the outcomes you have seen as a result.
Please send any information to me at smitchell@sfha.co.uk
And if you’ve not already completed the SFHA January–March data return and are interested in doing so, it’s not too late. Contact me at the address above. The template is currently being updated for the April–June period to reflect the fact we will now have access to the data from the SHR return so do not need to also ask for this information.