SFHA publishes latest report on impact of Covid-19 on housing associations
By Shona Mitchell, SFHA Policy Lead.
SFHA is today publishing its third report bringing together the various data collections on the impact of Covid-19 on housing associations in Scotland.
The ongoing coronavirus crisis has led to significant changes for our sector due to its impact on the economy and society as a whole. And the impact is only starting to become apparent with effects expected to be with us for years to come.
Our sector is doing all it can to support tenants during the crisis, whilst also having one eye to the future as we are aware we will play an important role in the economic recovery of the country.
It is with this long-term view in mind that SFHA took the decision to collect data quarterly on the impact of Covid-19 from members to allow us to identify and track trends in the months ahead. As much as is possible, the data we are asking members for complements what is already being asked for by other organisations such as the Scottish Housing Regulator (SHR) HouseMark.
This report uses data submitted to SFHA which are cumulative figures from April to September, with available data from the SHR, from the monthly returns it has issued since April to help it to understand the impact of coronavirus on landlords' services, and HouseMark's data from its monthly Covid-19 impact monitoring work which also began in April.
Data from this latest report highlights arrears are continuing to grow, yet at a slower pace than the earlier stages of the pandemic. Figure from associations who have completed the SFHA return show average arrears have increased from approximately £300,000 per organisation in 2019 compared to £375,000 in 2020 for the April to September period. This represents an overall increase of 25%.
From all available data, arrears levels average around 4.5% across Scotland.
SFHA data also highlights a 48% increase in void loss for the same April to September period of 2020 to that of 2019. Average rental loss per association is estimated at £55,000, compared to £37,000 in 2019.
As was expected due to people staying at home, the number of emergency repairs is shown to have increased by 23% compared to last year. However, there are no indications the cost of emergency has risen significantly.
The average percentage of loans fixed for the April to September period of 2020 was approximately 61%. This is higher than the figure of 53% reported for the same period of 2019 and indicates associations are taking advantage of historically low interest rates being offered by investors.
The next data collection, which will cover the cumulative period from April to December, will take place in January with the next report of this type expected mid to late February.